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 UCSB LIBRARY 
 Y-3I03H

 
 THE LIFE 
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOKOUGH 
 
 BY CHARLES BUCKE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " ON THE BEAUTIES, HARMONIES, AND SUBLIMITIES OF NATURE, 
 " THE BOOK OK HUMAN CHARACTER," ETC. ETC. 
 
 " To whom has this country ever been under greater obligation than 
 to the DuUe of Marlborough ? " 
 
 " To conquer DESPOTS is to conquer TIME." 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR THOMAS TEGG, 73, CHEAPSIDE. 
 
 MDCCCXXXIX.
 
 r.KAMirjiV AND SVAKS, FRINTJ.R&, VVi
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE following pages contain an abstract of all, that 
 has been written, essential to the understanding the 
 character of the illustrious personage of whom they 
 treat. The author, (or rather the compiler,) lays 
 no claim whatever to originality; his only merits, 
 if indeed he have any at all, being confined to his 
 having availed himself of an opportunity of showing 
 some skill in the art of compression ; and of having 
 observed that strictest of all biographical duties, 
 the truth. Being of no party, and never having 
 been, he stands aloof from all bias. He has given 
 Marlborough, therefore, no political or even private 
 virtues, which he does not believe him to have 
 possessed ; nor has he attempted to shield him from 
 the effects of any part of his conduct ; one or two 
 points of which, it must be confessed, were rather
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 equivocal, to say the least of them. The result of the 
 
 
 
 trial, however, is, that he comes out of the furnace, 
 in a great measure, purified; and standing, in bold 
 relief (with another illustrious personage, now living, 
 for a companion), at the head of all the military 
 persons, that have, in any period of our history, cast 
 mantles of glory over this proud, transcendant, and, 
 hitherto, unequalled country. Had his victories, 
 one of which hasneverbeen surpassed, been followed 
 up, in treaties, with the same firmness of purpose and 
 the same honesty of judgment which attended that, 
 gained on the plains of Waterloo, a thousand interests 
 had been advanced, and a multitude of subsequent 
 evils been happily avoided. As it is, it proves how 
 little to the purpose it is for heroes to expose them- 
 selves in the field; if others, who neither risk their 
 persons nor even their reputations, are permitted to 
 neutralise all their victories, either in the camp, the 
 closet or the senate. 
 
 There is one subject stated in this volume, which 
 it is thought proper to direct immediate attention 
 to. During a short visit to Blenheim House, last
 
 PREPACK. 
 
 autumn, made with a view of obtaining correct 
 information, in respect to a very important matter, 
 treated of in this volume, the author was informed 
 of the circumstance, recorded in page 167- The 
 country, it is believed, has little or no knowledge in 
 regard to the matter, there stated. A great injustice, 
 as well as a great act of impolicy, seems to have 
 been committed ; and it appears, (at least to the 
 compiler,) high time that so great a wrong should 
 no longer be permitted to exist. It is a subject, well 
 worthy the immediate attention and consideration 
 of Parliament ; and it is, therefore, earnestly hoped, 
 that no great length of time will be suffered to elapse 
 before it is repaired, not only as it regards the pre- 
 sent and future, but the past. The descendants of 
 our heroes must be protected ; or no confidence can 
 ever be established in the minds of those, who may 
 hereafter be disposed to serve us.
 
 LIFE 
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 
 
 JOHN CHURCHILL, Duke of Maryborough, was the 
 second son of Sir Winston Churchill. He was born 
 at Ashe, in the parish of Musburg, in the county of 
 Devon, about noon, on the 24th of June, 1650, and 
 four days after was baptised by the Rev. Matthew 
 Drake, rector of that parish. 
 
 Sir Winston's eldest son having died in his infancy, 
 John became heir to the family name. Of his edu- 
 cation little has been recorded. The chief that is 
 known is, that he acquired the rudiments of know- 
 ledge from a clergyman, who lived in the neighbour- 
 hood of his father, from whom he imbibed so ardent 
 an attachment to the Church of England, that he 
 never hesitated, as the reader will hereafter find, to 
 sacrifice all other interests whenever they came in 
 competition with it. 
 
 The father having established himself at court soon 
 after the restoration of Charles the Second, the son 
 was placed at St. Paul's school, then under the 
 mastership of Dr. Crumleholm ; and, there, though 
 his stay was but short, he is supposed, by the 
 frequent reading of Vegetius' work De Re Militari, 
 which was in the school library, to have been first
 
 2 LIFE OF 
 
 awakened to the ambition of distinguishing himself 
 in military affairs. At this school, however, he was 
 permitted to remain but a very short time ; for his 
 father, anxious to introduce his children early into 
 life, succeeded in procuring for his son the situation 
 of page of honour to the Duke of York ; and for his 
 only daughter, Arabella, that of maid of honour to 
 the duchess. 
 
 Shortly after these appointments, the Duke of York, 
 happy in every opportunity that might exercise his 
 own skill in arms, held frequent reviews of the 
 guards; and young Churchill having shown great 
 assiduity at these times, the duke became so pleased 
 with the indications of military ambition he exhibited, 
 that he inquired of him, one day, what he could do 
 for him, as a first step to fortune. On this Churchill 
 fell on his knees, and earnestly petitioned his royal 
 highness to honour him with a pair of colours. The 
 duke promised that his request should be complied 
 with ; and, as a surety of future favour, his royal 
 highness soon after gave his young favourite the 
 post he had petitioned for. 
 
 This appointment has been attributed to the in- 
 fluence which his sister, Arabella, had obtained over 
 the affections of the duke. But this could not have 
 been the case. For, let that influence have been, in 
 the after-time, ever so great, certain it is that, at this 
 period, the influence had not commenced. 
 
 Not long after this, Churchill embarked for Tan- 
 giers ; and many idle tales were conjured up to 
 account for that enterprise : among which this that, 
 during the time the court was at Oxford, (1665,) the 
 Duchess of York had indicated more kindness and 
 favour to the young aspirant, than her husband, the 
 duke, thought prudent; and that he grew, at length,
 
 JOIIN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 
 
 so jealous, that he took the first opportunity he could 
 find of sending him abroad. That this, however, 
 
 ~ * 
 
 was not the case, is evident from the circumstance, 
 that Churchill staid at Tangiers hut a very short time ; 
 and that when he returned, it was at the instance 
 of the duke himself. Besides, at that period, the 
 young ensign was not more than fifteen years of age. 
 
 Though his stay at Tangiers was short, he was 
 engaged in most of the sallies and skirmishes, \vhich 
 occurred during the siege with the Moors ; and in 
 those engagements he did not fail to exhibit dawn- 
 ings of that courage and conduct, which, in after 
 years, placed him at the head of all the heroes of his 
 time. 
 
 Returning to England the same year in which he 
 had sailed, the duke commanded his attendance ; 
 the king himself (Charles II.) gave him frequent 
 proofs of favour ; and the Duke of Monmouth having 
 been sent to the Continent with 6,000 men, to assist 
 France against Holland, Churchill was permitted to 
 accompany him ; and the French army being com- 
 manded by the greatest generals of that time, (the 
 Prince of Conde and Marshal Turenne,) he had very 
 favourable opportunities of improving his military 
 talent and genius. 
 
 This appointment, as well as the gift of ensigncy, 
 did not fail to call forth many observations ; and scan- 
 dal has not failed to leave its impression to the future 
 time. It is broadly stated, for instance, that his 
 being sent to join the French army arose from the 
 circumstance, that King Charles had discovered an 
 intrigue between the elegant and handsome Marl- 
 borough and one of his own mistresses. Though 
 there has been no positive evidence left on record, in 
 regard to this matter, it is very certain, that the 
 
 B2
 
 4 LIFE OP 
 
 Duchess of Cleveland held him in very great admi- 
 ration ; and even contributed to his being able to 
 make at various times a comparatively splendid 
 appearance. " Struck by his beautiful figure and 
 captivating manners, when an ensign of the guards," 
 says Lord Chesterfield, " she gave him five thousand 
 pounds, with which he bought an annuity for his 
 life, of five hundred a year, of my grandfather, 
 Halifax, which was the foundation of his subsequent 
 fortune." The purchasing of the annuity must, of 
 necessity, be true ; since Lord Chesterfield asserts its 
 being bought of his grandfather ; how Churchill 
 came by the money, however, is not so certain. 
 
 The service, to which Churchill was called, was 
 in that memorable campaign, in which the French, 
 overrunning the United Provinces with a boldness 
 and rapidity till then nearly unknown, had suc- 
 ceeded in reaching the vicinity of Amsterdam. He 
 was therefore present, under his commanding officer, 
 the Duke of Monmouth, at the taking of Orsoy, 
 Rhineberg, Emerick, Doesburg, Zutphen and Utrecht. 
 He volunteered his services on every occasion of diffi- 
 culty and danger ; and in so signal a manner did he 
 engage the notice of Turenne, that when a French 
 officer, during the siege of Nimeguen, had failed to 
 retain a post of consequence, which he had been 
 appointed to defend, Turenne instantly exclaimed 
 " I will bet a supper and a dozen of claret, that my 
 handsome Englishman will recover the post, with half 
 the number of men that the officer commanded who 
 has lost it." Turenne was far from being deceived 
 in this opinion. Churchill regained the post which 
 had been lost, after a short but desperate struggle, 
 won the marshal his wager, and gained for himself 
 the applause and admiration of the whole army.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 5 
 
 In the ensuing year, he greatly signalised himself 
 at the siege of Maestricht. During this siege there 
 were a thousand glorious actions ; among which one, 
 performed by Captain Churchill, was very remarkable. 
 A lodgment having been made in what was called 
 the "half-moon," he accompanied a party, commanded 
 by the Duke of Monmouth ; and, at the head of his 
 own company, planted the banner of France on the 
 summit of the rampart. In this action he was 
 slightly wounded. 
 
 His conduct in this affair was so highly appreciated 
 by Louis XIV., that he gave him thanks at the 
 head of the army ; and recommended him, in a most 
 especial manner, to the notice of his own sovereign. 
 The Duke of Monmouth conceded to him the whole 
 honour of the exploit ; and his Grace moreover con- 
 fessed afterwards to the king, that to Captain 
 Churchill's gallantry and discretion he was indebted 
 for his life. 
 
 These campaigns may be considered as having 
 afforded opportunities for improving his talents, and 
 laying the groundwork of that consummate skill, 
 which subsequently rendered him the wonder and 
 admiration of his age. 
 
 The king's previous knowledge of him, and the 
 recommendation of the French sovereign, procured 
 for him higher honours. Louis himself made him 
 lieutenant -colonel, on the resignation of Lord Peter- 
 borough ; and on his return to England he was made 
 gentleman of the bed-chamber and master of the 
 robes to his earliest patron, the Duke of York. 
 
 To a fine person Churchill added a noble counte- 
 nance and peculiarly fascinating manners. He could not 
 fail, therefore, to be entangled in the gallantries of a 
 dissipated court. Various accounts of his engage- 
 ments in this respect have been published ; but as
 
 6 LIFE OF 
 
 many of them rest upon very equivocal authority, 
 we think it better at present to take no further 
 notice of them. That he was indebted to the 
 Duchess of Cleveland for a thousand services is 
 certain ; but that these services might not be abso- 
 lutely the result of an illegitimate affection is ren- 
 dered the' more probable by the certainty, that he 
 had a strong claim to her protection from affinity ; 
 he having been nearly related to her on the mother's 
 side. 
 
 Be this and other analogous matters true or 
 false, certain it is that at this period he became 
 captivated by the beauty of Miss Sarah Jennings, 
 daughter and co-heiress (with her sister, Lady 
 Tyrconnel) of Richard Jennings of Sandridge, 
 in the county of Hertford ; a gentleman of ancient 
 and distinguished lineage. This lady (who had been 
 appointed maid of honour to the Duchess of York 
 at the early age of twelve) was born on the 
 day (May 29, 1660) on which Charles the Second 
 was restored to his dominions. She was very beau- 
 tiful ; of an animated countenance and commanding 
 figure ; of great prudence and propriety of conduct ; 
 of much wit, and in conversation great vivacity. 
 The letters that passed between this illustrious couple 
 have not been published ; but Mr. Coxe, who was 
 admitted to an opportunity of seeing them, speaks of 
 them in a very agreeable manner. " They display," 
 says he, " the peculiar features of their respective 
 characters ; and show the origin and growth of that 
 deep and ardent attachment, to w r hich Churchill owed 
 a higher degree both of happiness and disquietude, 
 than usually attends the nuptial union. His notes 
 in particular breathe a romantic tenderness and keen 
 sensibility, which appear foreign to the general 
 sedateness of his character. Indeed, this correspond-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MABLBOROUGH. 7 
 
 ence fully exemplifies the eulogium, afterward paid 
 to him by King William, that, " to the coolest head 
 he united the warmest heart." The letters of the 
 lady were equally indicative of her character. " They 
 evince," continues Mr. Coxe, " the vivacity and 
 petulance of her temper ; and display that alternate 
 haughtiness and courtesy, which gave her so powerful 
 a command over the passions of those to whom she 
 was attached." 
 
 Their union, however, was for a time retarded hy 
 many circumstances ; want of competent fortune, for 
 instance ; a reluctance on the part of the colonel's 
 father and mother, who joined in being anxious to 
 unite him with a lady of large fortune, though pos- 
 sibly of less personal attractions. This produced an 
 altercation between Miss Jennings and the colonel. 
 She reproached him with infidelity ; and, with 
 affected generosity, urged him to renounce all attach- 
 ment to her, since she would be the last person in 
 the world to stand in the way of his future pro- 
 spects. The courtship, indeed, was attended with 
 numberless " complaints and apologies, bickerings and 
 reconciliations." At length the marriage took place 
 (1678) in the presence of the Duchess of York, who 
 presented several gifts of value to the bride ; and 
 Churchill, from that moment, renounced all the 
 irregularities that, in so striking a manner, distin- 
 guished, or rather disgraced, the court and age of 
 Charles the Second. 
 
 Soon after the marriage, Churchill obtained the 
 command of a regiment of foot ; and being still in 
 the service of the duke, he was engaged in various 
 matters for that prince, and hurried from place to 
 place ; sometimes sent abroad ; then returning ; and 
 once in danger of shipwreck : for the duke having
 
 8 LIFE OF 
 
 embarked on board the Gloucester frigate, then lying 
 off Margate, with a view of going to Scotland, 
 the ship struck near the Lemon and Ore in Yar- 
 mouth roads, and in a short time took in not 
 less than seven feet of water. The duke and the 
 colonel narrowly escaped with their lives; but several 
 persons of note lost theirs ; amongst whom were 
 the Earl of Roxburgh, the Lord O'Brian, the Laird 
 of Hopeton, Sir Joseph Douglas, and Mr. Hyde, the 
 duke's brother-in-law. To preserve the memory of 
 this escape a medal was struck ; on the face of which 
 was the bust of the duke, with an inscription ; and 
 on the reverse a ship sinking in the ocean, and a 
 rock and castle standing at a distance, w r ith these 
 words " Impavidumferiunt." 
 
 The duke's government of Scotland was exceed- 
 ingly arbitrary ; he gave some tokens of cruelty ; and 
 showed an inveterate hatred to the presbyterians. 
 All which passing under the eyes of Churchill, he 
 became confirmed in the sentiments which led to the 
 important line he afterwards pursued. 
 
 So many important affairs are to be related in this 
 history, that we must pass over many less important 
 ones. The Duke of York was too deeply interested 
 in the succession to the crown to remain long at ease 
 in Scotland. He returned, therefore, to London ; 
 but, being very unpopular, the opposition succeeded 
 in driving him back to Scotland ; where, on arriving, 
 he soon after despatched Churchill to the king, with 
 advice to adopt measures for what he was pleased to 
 call " the interests and safety" of both. 
 
 These measures, however, were of so violent a 
 character, that the king refused to father them. The 
 negociator, however, at the same time, acted with so 
 much address and discretion, that the king never
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 
 
 hesitated to confide in him ; and, on his return to 
 Scotland, the duke was prevailed upon not to re- 
 appear at court, lest his presence should exasperate 
 his enemies and awaken further suspicion. 
 
 At this time, Churchill's wife, who had accom- 
 panied the duchess to London, was, to their great 
 joy, safely delivered of a daughter; and the king, 
 having obtained the power of giving his brother a 
 permanent establishment at court, the colonel accom- 
 panied him to London ; where, as a reward for his 
 services to both royal brothers, he was created, by 
 letters patent, Baron Churchill of Aymouth, in the 
 county of Berwick. 
 
 When Lady Churchill was first introduced at 
 court, and appointed to a station in the Duchess of 
 York's household, the Princess Anne, who was about 
 three years younger than herself, felt so greatly 
 attached to her, that they became, at length, inse- 
 parable companions. When the Princess Anne be- 
 came the wife of Prince George of Denmark, there- 
 fore, which occurred about this time, the princess 
 managed to get her friend appointed lady of her bed- 
 chamber : an appointment which the princess made 
 known to her in the following manner : 
 
 " The duke came in just as you were gone, and made 
 no difficulties; but has promised me that I shall have 
 you ; which, I assure you, is a great joy to me : I should 
 say a great deal for your kindness in offering it ; but I am 
 not good at compliments. I will only say, that I do take 
 it extremely kind, and shall be ready at any time to do 
 you ah 1 the service that lies in my power." 
 
 This appointment furnished a thousand oppor- 
 tunities of increasing the affection, that already sub- 
 sisted between the ladies, and a correspondence took 
 place, which was kept up for many years; till, in order
 
 10 LIFE OP 
 
 to avoid constraint, the duchess informs us, that 
 two names were adopted in order to render the whole 
 more easy and familiar. " I," says her Grace, " chose 
 the name of Freeman, as more conformable to the 
 frankness of my disposition ; and the princess adopted 
 that of Morley." 
 
 Most historians ascribe all the rigours of the last 
 year of King Charles's reign, and all the measures 
 taken by his Majesty for the advancement of abso- 
 lute power, to the counsels of the Duke of York. 
 In these, Churchill, however, had no concern ; since, 
 from the marriage of the Princess Anne, till the 
 death of Charles, which took place February 1682, 
 Churchill does not appear to have taken any part 
 whatever in public affairs. 
 
 On the day after the king's death, James having 
 been proclaimed, one of his first acts was to make 
 his favourite lieutenant-general ; and to despatch 
 him, in the quality of ambassador, to Paris, in order 
 to communicate the event to the French king, as 
 well as to return thanks for the various largesses, 
 his Majesty had received from the bounty of that 
 monarch. This mission being accomplished, he 
 returned to London in a few days ; but not without 
 leaving in the mind of Lord Gal w r ay, who was then 
 in Paris, some indications as to what he feared, and 
 what his resolution was, in case those fears should 
 prove true. " Should his Majesty make any attempt 
 to change either our religion or our constitution," 
 said he, " I will instantly quit his service." 
 
 Soon after his return, he was constituted high 
 steward of St. Albans , he was permitted to occupy 
 an honourable place at the king's coronation; and 
 was soon after raised to an English peerage, by the 
 title of Baron Churchill of Sandridge, in the county
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 11 
 
 of Hertford : Sandridge being his wife's paternal 
 estate. 
 
 To this dignity he was raised in the month of 
 May ; in that of June he was, with the rank of 
 brigadier, despatched to Salisbury to take command 
 of the forces there assembled against the rebels, who 
 had risen in favour of the Duke of Monmouth. In 
 this service he acted with great prudence, vigilance, 
 and activity: he kept his troops, we are told, in con- 
 tinued motion ; collecting intelligence, scouring the 
 country, and dispersing the bands of the rebels, though 
 considerably superior in number. For these services 
 he was created major-general. 
 
 While thus engaged, a trumpeter arrived from 
 the Duke of Monmouth, with a letter, claiming 
 Churchill's allegiance to him as King of England. 
 Churchill dismissed the trumpeter, and sent no 
 answer ; but continued harassing the enemy so much 
 that the unfortunate Monmouth was compelled to con- 
 centrate his forces and risk a general engagement. 
 
 This battle was fought at Sedgemoor. The details 
 of battles are, for the most part, difficult to convey, 
 and equally difficult to comprehend ; we shall, 
 therefore, only state, that the battle of Sedgemoor 
 was fatal to the Duke of Monmouth ; and that 
 Churchill's part of the victory was so splendid, from 
 the negligence and want of vigilance of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, Lord Feversham, that, had he not 
 been present, it is more than probable the engage- 
 ment would have terminated in a defeat. He not 
 only saved the royal army from a surprise, on the 
 eve of the battle, but greatly contributed to the 
 success by his courage, promptitude, and decision. 
 As a reward for this, he was appointed colonel of 
 the third regiment of Horse -Guards.
 
 12 LIFE OP 
 
 It is very remarkable, that, from this period till 
 the closing scene of James's reign, little has been 
 stated in regard to Lord Churchill. He was raised 
 to no office in the state ; and though the cruelties of 
 Jefferies in the west, the king's assumption of a 
 dispensing power, the forbidding all preaching or 
 writing against the Church of Rome, the establish- 
 ment of a high ecclesiastical court, the proceedings 
 against the Bishop of London, and the formation of 
 a camp at Hounslow, the sending of an ambassador 
 to Rome, the dispensing with the penal laws and 
 tests, the prosecution of the bishops, and other 
 matters of essential import, passed under the eyes of 
 Lord Churchill ; yet little has been left on record as 
 to the part he took. It is supposed, however, that 
 the discordance of his principles, political and reli- 
 gious, with those of the sovereign, produced some 
 coolness : and it is very certain, that he was no 
 friend to the designs of the king to establish tyranny 
 and to introduce the Roman ritual ; and, as full 
 evidence of this, we need only transcribe the letter 
 which he wrote to the Prince of Orange by command 
 of the Princess Anne. 
 
 May 17, 1G87. 
 
 " The Princess of Denmark having ordered me to 
 discourse with Monsieur Dykvelt, I, to let him know her 
 resolutions, so that he might let your Highness and the 
 princess her sister know that she was resolved, by the 
 assistance of God, to suffer all extremities, even to death 
 itself, rather than be thought to change her religion, I 
 thought it my duty to your Highness and the princess 
 royal, by this opportunity of Monsieur Dyk\elt, to give 
 you assurances under my own hand, that my places and 
 the king's favour I set at nought, in comparison of being 
 true to my religion. In all things but this the king may 
 command me ; and I call God to witness, that even with
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 13 
 
 joy I should expose my life for his service, so sensible am 
 I of his favours. I know the troubling you, sir, with 
 this much of myself, I being of so little use to your High- 
 ness, is very impertinent; but I think it may be a great 
 ease to your Highness and the princess to be satisfied, that 
 the Princess of Denmark is safe in the trusting of me; 
 I being resolved, although I cannot live the life of a saint, 
 if there be ever occasion for it, to show the resolution 
 of a martyr." 
 
 It is very difficult to conceive how Churchill, who 
 was so near the king's person, and so much in his 
 favour and intimacy, could abstain from being engaged 
 in some of the pernicious councils in which the king 
 was engaged, without giving offence ; and that he 
 did not, has been quoted as a striking proof of his 
 prudence ; for he was not among the number of those 
 who dissembled their real sentiments ; nor has he ever 
 been charged with flattering thebigotryand infatuation 
 of his master. On the contrary, he is said to have 
 laboured, to the last moment, to rouse him to a sense 
 of his danger ; and went even so far as to remonstrate, 
 though, of course, in respectful and grateful terms, 
 against all the encroachments he saw going on, and 
 the arbitrary system of government, the king was en- 
 deavouring to introduce. And here we may record 
 a very remarkable conversation, which took place at 
 Winchester, on the day in which the king had 
 touched several persons for the king's evil. " Well, 
 Churchill," said his Majesty, " what do my subjects 
 say about this ceremony of touching in the church ?" 
 " Truly," replied Marlborough, " they do not approve 
 it ; and it is the general opinion, that your Majesty is 
 paving the way to the introduction of popery." 
 " Now," exclaimed the king, "have I not given my 
 royal word, and will they not believe their king ? I
 
 14 LIFE OP 
 
 have given liberty of conscience to others ; I was 
 always of opinion, that toleration was necessary for 
 all Christian people; and most certainly I will not 
 be abridged of that liberty myself; nor suffer those 
 of my own religion to be prevented from paying their 
 devotions to God in their own way." Upon this, 
 Churchill said, " What I spoke, sir, proceeded partly 
 from my zeal for your Majesty's service, which I 
 prefer above all things, next to that of God ; and 
 humbly beseech your Majesty to believe, that no 
 subject in the three kingdoms will venture further 
 than I will to purchase your favour and good-liking. 
 But as I have been bred a Protestant, and intend to 
 live and die in that communion, as above nine parts 
 in ten of the whole people are of that persuasion ; 
 and I fear, (which I say from the excess of duty,) 
 from the genius of the English, and their natural 
 aversion to the Roman Catholic worship, some con- 
 sequences, which I dare not so much as name, and 
 which I cannot contemplate without horror." " I 
 tell you, Churchill," interrupted the 'king, " I will 
 exercise my own religion in such a manner as I shall 
 think fitting. I will show favour to my Catholic 
 subjects, and be a common father to all my Protest- 
 ants, of what religion soever ; but I am to remember 
 that I am a king, and to be obeyed by them. As to 
 the consequences, I shall leave them to Providence, and 
 make use of the power God has put into my hands, 
 to prevent any thing that shall be injurious to my 
 honour, or derogatory to the duty that is owing to 
 me." This conversation is recorded by the author of 
 the lives of Marlborough and Eugene: " It took place," 
 he says, " at the deanery at Winchester, while his 
 Majesty and Churchill were walking in the garden : 
 I was myself," continues he, " present at the dinner
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 15 
 
 which ensued, and received a relation of what had 
 passed from Lord Churchill himself." 
 
 Churchill had a difficult trial : gratitude and 
 respect for religion were now at issue. Like an 
 honourable man, he decided in favour of the latter. 
 " Mr. Sydney," said he, in a letter to the Prince of 
 Orange*, " will let you know how I intend to be- 
 have myself. I think it is what I owe to God and 
 my country. My homnir I take leave to put in your 
 Majesty's hands, in which I think it safe. If you 
 think there is any thing else I ought to do, you have 
 but to command me ; I shall pay an entire obedience 
 to it ; being resolved to die in that religion, that it 
 has pleased God to give you both the will and power 
 to protect." 
 
 The history of the Revolution is so well known, 
 and has been so fully treated of by various writers, 
 that it would be superfluous to say more of it here 
 than what is necessary to illustrate the conduct and 
 character of the illustrious person of whom we treat. 
 The many provocations the king had given the nation, 
 and the little prospect they could have of any remedy 
 on his side, at length induced many leading lords, 
 spiritual and temporal, secretly to invite the Prince 
 of Orange to come over from Holland to their as- 
 sistance : and of these, there can be little doubt, 
 Churchill, however reluctant he might be, was one. 
 
 The king, nevertheless, was so far from suspecting 
 any dereliction on the part of Lord Churchill, that, 
 when the Prince of Orange had actually landed, he 
 intrusted him with a command of a brigade in the 
 army, which he himself led as far as Salisbury, to 
 repel the invasion, and even raised him to the rank 
 of lieutenant-general. That some suspicion, how- 
 * August 4tb, 1688.
 
 16 LIFE OP 
 
 ever, was sustained against him by others is very 
 evident ; for Lord Feversham conjured the king, 
 in a manner the most urgent, to arrest him, " as a 
 terror to the rest." James, however, whether from 
 fear, policy, or affection, or from the hope that 
 Churchill could never entertain a wish to desert 
 him, refused to listen to the proposal. Added to 
 which, perhaps, he might apprehend, that such a 
 procedure would excite a mutiny in the whole army. 
 In this the king made a perfect mistake : for 
 Churchill, the next day, having heard something 
 of what had passed between the king and Lord 
 Feversham, went over to the Prince of Orange, with 
 the Duke of Grafton, Colonel Berkeley, and four or 
 five captains of his own regiment. On leaving the 
 town, he sent the following letter : 
 
 "Sir, Since men are seldom suspected of sincerity 
 when they act contrary to their interests ; and though my 
 dutiful behaviour to your Majesty in the worst of times 
 (for which I acknowledge my poor services over paid) may 
 not be sufficient to incline you to a charitable interpreta- 
 tion of my actions; yet 1 hope the great advantage I 
 enjoy under your Majesty, which I can never expect in 
 any other change of government, may reasonably convince 
 your Majesty and the world, that I am actuated by a 
 higher principle, when I offer that violence to my inclina- 
 tion and interest, as to desert your Majesty at a time when 
 your affairs seem to challenge the strictest obedience from 
 all your subjects, much more from one who lies under the 
 greatest obligations to your Majesty. This, sir, could 
 proceed from nothing but the inviolable dictates of my 
 conscience, and a necessary concern for my religion, which 
 no good man can oppose ; and with which, I am in- 
 structed, nothing can come in competition. Heaven 
 knows with what partiality my dutiful opinion of your 
 Majesty has hitherto represented those unhappy designs, 
 which inconsiderate and self-interested men have formed
 
 JOHN, DTTKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 17 
 
 against your Majesty's true interest, and the Protestant 
 religion ; but as 1 can no longer join with such to give a 
 pretence by conquest to bring them to effect ; so I will 
 always with the hazard of my life and fortune (so much 
 your Majesty's due) endeavour to preserve your royal 
 person and lawful rights, with all the tender concern and 
 dutiful respect that becomes, &c." 
 
 "When the king heard of this defection, he was 
 greatly affected ; and, turning to Lord Feversham, 
 " Feversham," said his Majesty, " I little expected 
 this severe blow ; but you, my lord, formed but too 
 true a judgment of this person, and his intentions, 
 when you proposed, as you did yesterday, that he 
 should be secured, as well as the rest of the fugitives. 
 I have nothing to do now but to throw myself into 
 the hands of Providence." Such was the natural 
 effect upon the king ; and it must be conceded, that 
 nothing could justify the defection of Churchill but the 
 inviolable dictates of his conscience, which prompted 
 him to incur the charge of ingratitude, rather than 
 cease to adhere to the church in which he had been 
 bred, and the constitution of the country in which he 
 had been born. In regard to this defection, Hume 
 has left the following sentiment: "Lord Churchill 
 had been raised from the rank of a page, had 
 been invested with a high command in the army, 
 and been created a peer ; and had owed his whole 
 fortune to the king's favour : yet even he could 
 resolve, during the present extremity, to desert his 
 unhappy master, who had ever reposed entire confi- 
 dence in him. This conduct was a signal sacrifice 
 to passive virtue of every duty in private life, and 
 required ever after the most upright, disinterested, 
 and public -spirited behaviour, to render it justi- 
 fiable." 
 
 On quitting the king's camp Lord Churchill and
 
 18 LIFE OF 
 
 his party directed their way to Axminster (twenty 
 miles from Exeter), and his lordship was received by 
 the Prince of Orange with distinguished marks of 
 attention and respect. 
 
 Churchill's defection was the signal for that of 
 others ; especially of Prince George of Denmark and 
 his consort the Princess Anne ; the latter withdraw- 
 ing herself under the conduct of Lady Churchill, 
 who, as we have already stated, was her chief 
 favourite as well as groom of the stole. 
 
 On the approach of the prince to London, and 
 the flight of James to Feversham, Churchill was 
 despatched' to London in order to put himself at the 
 head of his own regiment of guards, and to bring the 
 prince intelligence as to the manner in which all 
 things were regarded in London. This commission 
 Churchill executed with great promptitude and 
 address ; and so favourable was the report he ren- 
 dered, that the prince determined on immediately 
 hastening to the capital. 
 
 James having departed, Churchill gave his assist- 
 ance to the convention parliament ; he was, also, 
 one of the peers who associated and signed a com- 
 pact to stand by one another in pursuing the ends of 
 the Prince of Orange's declaration ; and that if any 
 attempt should be made upon his person, it should 
 be punished on all by whom the attempt should be 
 made. He was, also, one of the peers who, on the 
 25th of December, addressed his highness to take 
 upon him the administration of public affairs. 
 Another important matter was arranged and effected 
 by Lord Churchill. In conjunction with his wife he 
 induced the Princess Anne (James's daughter) to 
 postpone her own succession to the throne, in favour 
 of the Prince and Princess of Orange. On the 14th
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 19 
 
 of February he was sworn a member of the privy 
 council, and made gentleman of the bed-chamber ; 
 and in April (two days before the coronation) he was 
 raised to the dignity of Earl of Marlborough. 
 
 Churchill had previously, after the departure of 
 James, assisted in the convention parliament, and 
 was one of the peers who associated in support of 
 the prince's declaration and in the defence of his per- 
 son. But when the question came on in regard to 
 placing the prince on the throne, either alone or in 
 conjunction with his consort, the Princess Mary, 
 Churchill voted for a regency ; and when the con- 
 tending parties rose so high as to threaten a counter- 
 revolution, and there appeared no other alternative 
 than to recall James, or confer the crown on William, 
 Marlborough, from delicacy, absented himself from the 
 house of peers during the discussion, which termi- 
 nated in declaring the throne vacant. Several other 
 peers having acted in the same manner, the question 
 was decided by seven voices only. 
 
 The king having been crowned, and his authority 
 ratified, an altercation took place between his Majesty 
 and the princess Anne. The cause was this. The 
 princess having given up all claim to the throne 
 till after the death of the king, (now William III.) 
 her royal highness naturally expected, that some 
 permanent allowance would be settled upon her. To 
 this the king objected ; and even went so far as to 
 hesitate in continuing the allowance of 30,000. a 
 year, the late king had allowed her. In this matter 
 the queen (Mary), the princess's sister, took part with 
 the king ; and the subject caused that celebrated 
 quarrel which ended in dividing the whole family. 
 
 In this dispute Lord and Lady Churchill took 
 part with the Princess Anne ; and the affair termi-
 
 20 LIFE OF 
 
 nated in the king's reluctant consent, at the recom- 
 mendation of parliament, to allow the princess 50,0007. 
 a year. 
 
 This matter having been brought to a successful 
 issue chiefly through the exertions and influence of 
 Lord and Lady Marlborough, the princess became 
 more attached to them than ever ; but the effect was 
 otherwise with the king and queen. Notwithstand- 
 ing this, war having been declared against France, 
 in consequence of the French king having not only 
 received the ex-king in a distinguished manner at 
 his court, but sent French forces into Ireland to 
 support his cause, Marlborough was intrusted with 
 the command of the British forces acting against the 
 French in the Netherlands. 
 
 He arrived at Maestricht on the second of June 
 (1689). and having held a conference there with the 
 Prince of Waldeck on the operations of the cam- 
 paign, they both set out the next day for the camp. 
 
 Beins inferior in force to the enemv, the confede- 
 
 O 
 
 rates were reduced to the necessity of acting on the 
 defensive : but the French having attacked the town 
 of Walcourt, an action took place ; the result of 
 which was, that the enemy was compelled to draw 
 back in great haste and disorder ; leaving behind 
 them some cannon and ammunition, with two thou- 
 sand officers and soldiers killed and wounded; the 
 loss of the allies being only two hundred. 
 
 In this action the gallantry and conduct of Marl- 
 borough were so conspicuous and effective, that the 
 Prince of Waldeck assured King William, that he 
 had " manifested greater talents in one day, than 
 generals of longer experience had done in many 
 years." On hearing this, the king wrote to him in 
 the following manner : 
 
 " I am very happy that my troops behaved so well in
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 21 
 
 the affair of Walcourt. It is to you that this advantage 
 is principally owing. You will please accordingly to 
 accept my thanks, and rest assured that your conduct will 
 induce me to confer on you still further marks of my 
 esteem and friendship, on which you may always rely." 
 
 At the close of the campaign Maryborough returned 
 to England ; and the king received him with great 
 cordiality and distinction. James, in the mean time, 
 having landed in Ireland, and A\ r illiam having deter- 
 mined on contending for his crown in person, Marl- 
 borough was invited to accompany his Majesty in 
 that service. But feeling the indelicacy of lighting 
 his benefactor in person, Marlborough declined that 
 service : when, however, the defeat at the Boyne had 
 compelled the ex-king to leave Ireland, he voluntarily 
 tendered his services to reduce Cork and Kinsale ; 
 the presence of William having become necessary in 
 London. 
 
 Marlborough remained in Ireland only thirty-seven 
 days ; but in that short time he compelled Cork to 
 surrender, and the garrison of Kinsale to capitulate ; 
 straitened the communications with France, and con- 
 fined them to the province of Ulster, where they 
 could now subsist but with great difficulty. 
 
 Having effected these important matters, Marl- 
 borough returned with his prisoners to England ; and 
 on being introduced to the King, his Majesty was 
 pleased to compliment him with the assurance, that 
 " he knew no man so fully qualified for a general, 
 who had seen so few campaigns." 
 
 His stay was short ; for his services were thought 
 still to be wanted ; and he embarked, therefore, 
 again for Ireland; where he remained till summoned 
 to England preparatory to being nominated to a new 
 command on the Continent. Before we accompany
 
 22 LIFE OF 
 
 him thither, however, we must state a most extra- 
 ordinary and astounding fact. While Maryborough 
 was serving the interest of King William in the 
 most effective manner, he was carrying on a secret 
 correspondence with his old master ! 
 
 This is attested by the exiled king himself, and 
 has never been denied. " The correspondence with 
 my Lord (meaning Churchill) was still kept up, for 
 though so much former treachery, and so little other 
 proofs of a change, than words and protestations, 
 made his intentions liable to suspicion ; yet he put 
 so plausible a face upon his reasons and actions, they 
 .had at least a specious appearance of fair and honest 
 dealing, and had this reason above all others to be 
 
 credited, that not only he but was out of 
 
 favour with the Prince of Orange, and reaped no other 
 benefit from their past infidelities and the infamy of 
 having committed them ; and the most interested 
 men's repentance may be credited, when they can 
 reasonably hope to mend their fortune by repairing 
 their fault, and better their condition by returning to 
 their duty*." 
 
 Several apologies have been made for this conduct, 
 but none that will stand the test of rigid examina- 
 tion. The melancholy fact is, he apprehended that a 
 change of public sentiment might eventually restore 
 the exiled monarch to the throne of his ancestors. 
 " Under the apparent influence of these considera- 
 tions," says Mr. Coxe, " Marlborough listened to the 
 overtures of the exiled monarch as early as the com- 
 mencement of 1691, and through Colonel Sackville 
 and Mr. Bulkeley, two of the Jacobite agents, he 
 testified, in the most unqualified terms, his contrition 
 
 * Life of James II., collected out of materials written \vith his 
 own hand, vol. ii. p. 476, 4to.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 23 
 
 for his past conduct, and anxiety to make amends 
 for his defection. From this period he and his friend 
 Godolphin occasionally maintained a clandestine in- 
 tercourse with the court of St. Germains, and even 
 made many communications on the state of public 
 affairs and domestic transactions." 
 
 It has been said, that the promises of Marlborough 
 and Godolphin were merely illusory ; and intended 
 merely to secure an indemnity in case of a counter- 
 revolution. View it, however, in what light we will, it 
 was conduct very unworthy such illustrious persons ; 
 nor does it at all lessen the deed to acknowledge, that 
 many persons of 'high consequence acted in the same 
 manner. 
 
 In this duplicity he was not suspected. Soon 
 after his last return from Ireland, therefore, he was 
 appointed to a high and confidential post under the 
 king, who now prepared to go to the Continent to 
 take command of the army. In this campaign, the 
 conduct of Marlborough was so extraordinary, that 
 Prince Vaudemont, having been desired by hismajesty 
 to state his opinion of the English generals, answered, 
 " There is something in the earl of Marlborough 
 inexpressible! for the fire of Kirk, the thought of 
 Lanier, the skill of Mackay, and the bravery of 
 Colchester, are all united in his person : and I have 
 lost all knowledge of physiognomy, which never has 
 yet deceived me, if any subject, your Majesty has, 
 can ever attain such a height of military glory, as 
 that to which this combination of sublime perfections 
 must raise him." On hearing this enthusiastic pa- 
 negyric, the king answered, with a smile, " Cousin, 
 you have done your part in answering my question ; 
 and I believe the earl of Marlborough will do his to 
 verify your prediction,"
 
 24 LIFE OP 
 
 At the end of the campaign, the king returned to 
 England, and Marlborough returned also ; but soon to 
 encounter a very different scene. For, on the 10th 
 of January, Lord Nottingham waited upon him, by 
 command of the king, to announce his dismissal 
 from all his offices, civil and military ; and to prohibit, 
 for the future, his appearance at court. On the 5th 
 of May, he was suddenly arrested on a charge of 
 high-treason. 
 
 His dismissal from court has been ascribed to his 
 having, with the countess, acted a decided part in 
 the misunderstandings and quarrels, that were con- 
 stantly taking place between the queen and the 
 Princess Anne. This, however, was not the only 
 cause : one equally effective, and perhaps more so, 
 was, that the earl had frequently presumed to make 
 remonstrances to the king against his reserve to the 
 English, and his evident partiality to his Dutch 
 adherents. 
 
 The arrest had a different origin. The Earl of 
 Scarsdale, and Dr. Spratt, bishop of Rochester, were 
 arrested at the same time. They were committed to 
 the Tower on a charge equally false and disgraceful. 
 It arose out of the circumstance of a man in Newgate, 
 named Young, who, expert in counterfeiting hands, 
 had drawn up an association in favour of James the 
 Second, and forged several letters, to which he had 
 annexed the signatures of the bishop of Rochester, 
 Lord Cornbury, Sir Basil Firebrass, and the Earls of 
 Scarsdale and Marlborough. Having done this, he 
 found means to get the papers and letters concealed 
 in the palace of the Bishop of Rochester; where, 
 having given notice of such documents to the go- 
 vernment, search was made, and the instruments 
 were discovered ; in consequence of which the par-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 25 
 
 tics were arrested, and committed to the Tower. 
 These forgeries were committed in the hope, that the 
 giving notice of such instruments would be liberally 
 rewarded. The whole matter, however, was found 
 out, and the authors condemned to be whipped and 
 placed in the pillory. 
 
 The discharge of Marlborough, nevertheless, was 
 not immediate. He was held in custody for some 
 time. This detention arose out of his being sus- 
 pected of holding secret intercourse with the exiled 
 family. That he did hold such intercourse is cer- 
 tain. The Princess of Denmark, too so great was 
 the panic excited by the expedition then preparing 
 in the French ports in favour of the exiled king 
 made overtures to her father. This overture having 
 become known to the king, he ascribed the whole 
 conduct of it to the advice of Lord Marlborough and 
 his countess. The evidence, however, on which the 
 matter rested, was much too slight to justify stronger 
 proceedings, and the earl was in consequence soon 
 after set at liberty ; but not without giving bail. 
 
 Though set at liberty, he was not released from 
 suspicion, nor sufficiently punished in the estimation 
 of his enemies. He was, in consequence, struck off 
 the list of privy councillors, as well as the two 
 noblemen who had become his sureties ; viz. the 
 Earl of Shrewsbury and the Marquis of Halifax. 
 
 These proceedings gave great offence to many ; 
 amongst the rest, Admiral Russel, who had gained 
 great reputation and conferred signal service by his 
 recent victory off La Hogue, presumed to remon- 
 strate strongly ; closing his remonstrance with the 
 assertion, that Marlborough was " the man who had 
 placed the crown upon the king's head." After a 
 long struggle in Parliament in regard to the breach
 
 26 LIFE OF 
 
 of privilege, which had been committed in arresting 
 the earl and bishop, Marlborough having appealed 
 to the House of Peers against his detention without 
 a specific charge, the king closed the discussion by 
 discharging his sureties from their recognizances ; 
 and the House of Peers vindicated their privileges 
 by a declaration against such arrests and detention 
 in future of any member of their house ; and the 
 ministers were compelled to resort for exoneration to 
 a bill of indemnity. 
 
 From this period to the death of Queen Mary, 
 the Earl of Marlborough lived estranged from court ; 
 sometimes at his seat at Sandridge ; and sometimes 
 in the apartment which the countess occupied at 
 Berkeley House, the mansion of the Princess Anne. 
 At this period, the princess, considering him a victim 
 in her cause, proposed to create a new place in his 
 favour in her household, with a salary of 1000/. 
 a-year ; but this generous intention Marlborough 
 firmly though respectfully declined. 
 
 The war on the Continent, however, going on in 
 a very unsatisfactory manner, and Marlborough's 
 friends Shrewsbury, Godolphin, and Russel 
 having succeeded to power, the Earl of Shrewsbury 
 took an opportunity of recommending his majesty to 
 employ Marlborough. " Writing on this subject," 
 said his lordship in a letter to the king, " it is im- 
 possible to forget what is here become a very general 
 subject of discourse ; the popularity and convenience 
 of receiving Lord Marlborough into your favour. 
 He has been with me to offer his service, with all the 
 duty and fidelity imaginable. What I can say by 
 way of persuasion upon this subject will signify but 
 little ; since I very well remember, when your 
 Majesty discoursed with me upon it, in the spring,
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 27 
 
 you were sufficiently convinced of his usefulness. 
 But some points of a delicate nature, too tender for 
 me to pretend to advise upon, and of which your 
 Majesty is the only judge if these could be accom- 
 modated to your Majesty's satisfaction, I cannot but 
 think that he is very capable of being very service- 
 able. It is so unquestionably his interest to be 
 faithful, that that single argument makes me not 
 doubt it." 
 
 The king, however, was not to be moved. " In 
 respect to what you wrote in your last," returned 
 his majesty, " in regard to Lord Maryborough, I can 
 say no more than that I do not think it for the good 
 of my service to intrust the command of my troops 
 to him." It was, in fact, reported that, previous to 
 his imprisonment, his lady had discovered to her 
 sister (Lady Tyrconnel) a design upon Dunkirk, 
 which had been communicated to Marlborough and 
 two others only ; and that the king had reproached 
 him for it, finishing his censure with, " You put 
 greater confidence in your wife than I did in mine." 
 
 About six months after this, Queen Mary died ; 
 (December 28, 1694), thereby producing a very 
 important change in the situation of the royal family. 
 " She was in her person tall," says one of our his- 
 torians, " and well-proportioned, with an oval visage, 
 lively eyes, agreeable features, a mild aspect, and an 
 air of dignity. Her apprehension was clear, her 
 memory tenacious, and her judgment solid. She 
 was a zealous Protestant, scrupulously exact in all 
 the duties of devotion, of an even temper, of a calm 
 and mild conversation. She was ruffled by no pas- 
 sion ; and seems to have been a stranger to the 
 emotions of natural affection ; for she ascended a 
 throne from which her father had been deposed, and
 
 28 LIFE OF 
 
 treated her sister as an alien to her blood. In a 
 word, Mary seems to have imbibed the cold disposi- 
 tion and apathy of her husband, and to have centred 
 all her ambition in deserving the epithet of an obe- 
 dient wife." Her majesty died of the small-pox. 
 
 The death of the queen, though it gave occasion 
 to what might be called a new reign, made no alter- 
 ation in public affairs, but in the royal title, which 
 now, instead of William and Mary, was changed to 
 that of "William III. The illness of the queen had 
 been so sudden and violent, that no opportunity had 
 been afforded whereby to soothe the irritation 
 existing between the two sisters ; nor any time for 
 an interview. After the queen's death, however, the 
 Princess Anne wrote to the king, in which she 
 expressed her concern at having incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of her late majesty, and declared her readi- 
 ness to wait upon him and give proofs of her zeal 
 for his interests and respect for his person. This 
 interview was arranged through the medium of Lord 
 Somers ; and a reconciliation took place, the king 
 receiving her with kindness, and informing her that St. 
 James's Palace should be appropriated for her future 
 residence. But though the princess was thus in some 
 degree admitted to royal consideration, her friend and 
 councillor, Marlborough, was not so fortunate. Nor 
 did he indeed deserve it ; for it appears, from unde- 
 niable evidence, that he still kept up a clandestine 
 intercourse with the exiled family. Indeed it is 
 upon absolute record, that, only a few days before 
 he offered his services to William, he communicated 
 to the exiled monarch intelligence of an expedition 
 then in the act of fitting out, for the purpose of 
 destroying the French fleet in Brest harbour. " It 
 is but this day (says Marlborough, in his letter of
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 29 
 
 May 4) that it came to my knowledge what I now 
 send you ; which is, that the bomb- vessels and the 
 twelve regiments that are now encamped at Ports- 
 mouth, together with the two marine regiments, are 
 to be commanded by Talmash, and designed to burn 
 the harbour of Brest and destroy the men-of-war 
 that are there ; this would be a great advantage to 
 England, but no consideration can, or ever shall, 
 hinder me from letting you know what may be for 
 your service ; so you may make what use you think 
 best of this intelligence, which you may depend on 
 to be true." 
 
 In allusion to this letter, Macpherson (Original 
 Papers) says, that Marlborough wished to serve 
 James with Louis XIV, and to ruin General Tal- 
 mash, as well as to be revenged on William. What 
 is equally wonderful, similar evidence exists, that 
 Lord Godolphin, though a minister, made the same 
 disclosure on the preceding day. Such having been 
 the case, we are the less indignant at the charge 
 about this time brought against Marlborough by Sir 
 John Fenwick. 
 
 Fenwick was a Jacobite deeply implicated in a 
 plot to assassinate the king. Having been arrested 
 in his attempt to escape, his guilt was rendered 
 manifest by a letter he had addressed to his wife. 
 This letter was to the effect, that, being guilty, he 
 looked upon himself as a dead man, unless powerful 
 application could be made for him, or some of the 
 jury cQuld be bribed to starve out the rest. Being 
 taken before the lords-justices, he denied the accusa- 
 tion against him in full; but his letter being pro- 
 duced, he was so confounded, that he offered to impart 
 all he knew, provided he was promised his life and 
 excused from appearing as an evidence. This the king
 
 30 LIFE OP 
 
 having refused, he threw himself upon the king's 
 mercy. 
 
 In order to assure himself of this, he placed in the 
 hands of the lord high steward, the Duke of Devon- 
 shire, a paper, which he called his confession, con- 
 taining vague accounts of several plots and projects, 
 entertained by the Jacobites ; with many obscure 
 allusions to persons, who were charged with the 
 ex-king's interests; amongst whom were expressly 
 named, the Duke of Shrewsbury, the Earls of Marl- 
 borough and Bath, Admiral Russel, and several 
 others of inferior note. 
 
 As the whole of this was a mere fabrication, it is 
 not, at this distance of time, necessary to dwell upon 
 it. We shall, therefore, merely give the result. The 
 whole matter was brought before Parliament, where 
 it was voted that the papers which had been read, 
 entitled Sir John Fenwick's Informations, accusing 
 several persons of the realm of disloyalty, were 
 false and scandalous, tending to the subversion of 
 the government, to raise a jealousy between the 
 king and his subjects, and to stifle the truth of con- 
 troversy. Sir John was immediately attainted, and 
 in virtue of that attainder he expiated his crimes on 
 the scaffold. 
 
 After the death of the queen, King William is 
 said to have shown more than his accustomed 
 affection for the Duke of Gloucester, who w r as now 
 entering his tenth year, and had given so many 
 instances of a forward genius, that it was esteemed 
 proper to take him out of the hands of Lady Fit*- 
 harding, his governess, and place him in those of 
 tutors qualified to enable him to become an able and 
 accomplished prince. 
 
 The king having, it is said, discovered, that the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 31 
 
 extensive correspondence, which had taken place 
 between many noblemen and other subjects with the 
 exiled family, did not arise from disaffection to him- 
 self; but out of an apprehension that, by the assist- 
 ance of France, James might, possibly, be restored ; 
 his Majesty was induced to employ many persons 
 who he knew had entered into that correspondence ; 
 and, among the rest, Maryborough. 
 
 The Duke of Gloucester was the son of the 
 Princess Anne by Prince George of Denmark. She 
 naturally wished to have her son committed to the 
 charge of one, whose accomplishments were of the 
 first order, and whose integrity and discretion she 
 held in high estimation. Her inclinations, too, were in 
 perfect unison with the public voice. The king, how- 
 ever, was averse to the appointment of the Earl of 
 Marlborough as governor to the young duke. He 
 even went so far as to propose its acceptance to the 
 Duke of Shrewsbury. The duke, however, respect- 
 fully declining the appointment, on the plea of illness, 
 his Majesty was pleased to appoint Marlborough 
 to the office, and Bishop Burnet to that of pre- 
 ceptor. 
 
 Though the king had hesitated about this matter 
 a long time, and was even exceedingly reluctant, he 
 was pleased to confer the honour in a very gracious 
 and ilattering manner. " Teach him, my lord," said 
 his Majesty to Marlborough, " to be what you are 
 yourself, and he will not want accomplishments." 
 The same evening the earl was restored to his place 
 in the privy council. He was, also, re-appointed 
 to his military rank and all the employments of 
 which he had been deprived ; and, two years after, 
 the king having signified in council, that he intended 
 to pass over into Holland for a short time, his Ma-
 
 32 LIFE OP 
 
 jesty nominated Marlborough one of the nine lords - 
 justices to govern during his absence. t 
 
 The appointment of Bishop Burnet was far from 
 being agreeable to the tories ; and it must be con- 
 ceded that, as members of a party, they had some 
 reason for their dissatisfaction ; but Burnet being a 
 man of learning, frankness, and integrity, the governor 
 and preceptor agreed well in the fulfilment of their 
 respective duties ; and though their political prin- 
 ciples were, in many respects, widely different, their 
 connexion became the foundation of a friendship, 
 which terminated only with death. 
 
 The object of their mutual care, however, did not 
 live long to engage their time and attention. His 
 royal highness was seized with an illness, at a time 
 in which Marlborough and his lady were at Althorpe; 
 and his lordship arrived at Windsor, therefore, only 
 in time to receive his dying breath. His royal 
 highness died on the 29th of July, 1700, aged eleven 
 years and five days ; and though so young, was 
 greatly lamented by the nobility, and by the public 
 at large. Marlborough immediately communicated 
 the distressing event by letter to the king, then at 
 Loo ; and received the following short but affecting 
 letter in reply : 
 
 " I do not think it necessary to employ many words in 
 expressing my surprise and grief at the death of the Duke 
 of Gloucester. It is so great a loss to me, as well as to all 
 England, that it pierces my heart with affliction." 
 
 The years 1698 and 1700 were marked in the 
 life of Marlborough by the marriages of two of his 
 daughters, his family consisting of one son and four 
 daughters. Lady Henrietta was married to Francis, 
 only son of Lord Godolphin; and Lady Anne to 
 Lord Spencer, the only son of Lord and Lady Sunder-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROtTGH. 33 
 
 land. "With each of these ladies the Princess Anne 
 gave, as marriage portions, five thousand pounds ; and 
 Marlborough five thousand pounds more. The Prin- 
 cess Anne indeed was so warmly interested in these 
 matches, that she offered, in the most delicate manner, 
 to endow the ladies with ten thousand pounds each ; 
 but the countess could he persuaded to accept only 
 half. These marriages at first added greatly to the 
 happiness of all parties; but not so afterwards. 
 Lord Godolphin and Lord Sunderland had long been 
 Marlborough's intimate friends ; and an attachment 
 of the most romantic kind had, for some years, sub- 
 sisted between Lady Marlborough and Lady Sunder- 
 land. Lord Spencer, however, did not agree with 
 his father-in-law in politics, and this occasioned 
 some objection in the first instance, and became a 
 source of no small uneasiness afterwards. 
 
 Marlborough, on his restoration to favour, had a 
 difficult part to perform : for a series of questions 
 arose in Parliament, which left him no alternative 
 but to offend the king, or desert his party. Those 
 subjects related to the dismission of the Dutch 
 guards ; the liquidation of a debt which had been 
 contracted with the Prince of Denmark ; the reduc- 
 tion of the army and navy ; and the resumption of 
 the forfeited lands, which William had distributed 
 with no penurious hand among his favourites, in 
 Ireland. Debates on all these questions arose in 
 parliament, and to such an extent were they carried, 
 that his majesty dismissed the whigs, and formed 
 a new administration ; a new parliament, also, was 
 called ; and the tories became ascendant. In all 
 these affairs Marlborough bore a part ; and in some 
 instances the conduct he adopted was so offensive 
 to his majesty, that he was regarded by the king
 
 34 LIFE OF 
 
 with strong feelings of dislike. Indeed various sub- 
 jects became so embarrassing, that in a letter to the 
 Duke of Shrewsbury, Marlborough complained that 
 the king's coldness to him was such, that he would 
 have been glad to have his friendly advice ; " for," 
 said his lordship, " to have friends and acquaintance 
 unreasonably jealous, and the king at the same time 
 angry, is what I know not how to bear, nor do I 
 know how to behave myself." 
 
 The king, nevertheless, consulted him on various 
 occasions. A tory ministry was appointed ; a new 
 parliament, as we have before stated, was called ; 
 and Harley was chosen speaker, in opposition to 
 Sir Richard Onslow. But the death of the Duke of 
 Gloucester, and the perfidious conduct of the French 
 king, in usurping the Spanish monarchy, had excited 
 so great an alarm throughout the kingdom, that 
 the number of members, friendly to the exiled family, 
 became greatly diminished. We have no space, 
 however, for a detail of what ensued till Marlborough 
 was summoned abroad ; we therefore pass on to more 
 important matters. 
 
 Upon the death of the king of Spain, and the 
 recession of the French king from the treaty of 
 partition of the Spanish monarchy, Europe became 
 threatened with a new war ; and the king, sensible 
 of his own declining state of health, and anxious for 
 the maintenance of that system which it had been 
 the labour of his life to uphold ; and knowing that 
 he could confide in the ability of none so competent 
 as the Earl of Marlborough, his majesty was pleased 
 to appoint him general of the foot, and commander 
 of the forces in Holland. He appointed him also 
 ambassador and plenipotentiary for the negotiations 
 then carrying on at the Hague, having for their
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOUOUGII. 35 
 
 object the renewal of the grand alliance among the 
 foreign powers. This was one of the last acts of the 
 king before he departed to the Continent, to organise 
 the most formidable confederacy, which had been 
 yet formed against the power of France. 
 
 Maryborough embarked on the 1st of July, 1701, 
 at Margate, and arrived at the Hague two days 
 after ; where he took up his residence in the house 
 of Prince Maurice, near the court, which the States, 
 out of peculiar respect to the king and esteem for 
 his lordship, lent him ; and there he received the visits 
 of all the foreign ministers. 
 
 The affairs to be arranged were manifold. For 
 " he had," as an elegant writer has justly observed, 
 "to reconcile jarring interests; to suspend, if not to 
 allay, inveterate enmities ; to moderate extravagant 
 pretensions; and to conciliate impracticable young- 
 sovereigns, in whom will and passion were para- 
 mount, and obstinate ministers, who had grown old 
 in imbecility and error." A general war being anti- 
 cipated on the death of Charles II. of Spain, the 
 most important matter as it regards Maryborough, 
 was that of settling the quota of men each state 
 should furnish to the general interest. The Dutch 
 government strongly urged him to fix the proportion 
 for England on his own authority. This, however, 
 he declined in a most decisive manner, though urged 
 to it by the king himself. His language on this 
 subject to Mr. Secretary Hedges and Lord Godolphin 
 was exceedingly eloquent. " I am fully persiiaded, 
 that if the king should be prevailed upon to settle 
 this matter by his own authority, we shall never see 
 a quiet day more in England ; and consequently not 
 only ruin ourselves, but also undo the liberties of 
 Europe : for if the king and parliament begin with
 
 36 LIFE OF 
 
 a dispute, France will give what law she pleases. I 
 am sure I would be rather buried alive than be the 
 fatal instrument of such misfortunes." " It is very 
 plain to me, that the Pensioner continues his opinion, 
 that I ought to do this before the meeting of parlia- 
 ment ; but I have been so positive, that he despairs 
 of prevailing upon me. But I am afraid he hopes the 
 king may be able, when he comes to England, to 
 persuade yourself and the cabinet council to it ; so 
 that I may have orders sent me, believing that I 
 should then make no difficulty : but I do assure you, 
 that I am so persuaded, that the doing this by his 
 Majesty's authority would prove so fatal to himself 
 and the kingdom, that I should desire to be recalled ; 
 for, before God, I will die rather than do so fatal a 
 thing." 
 
 The postponement of this matter was the effect of 
 Marlborough's representations ; and fortunate was it 
 for Europe that it was so. A- convention was signed 
 between the parties, that the Dutch should furnish ten 
 thousand men ; the emperor, ninety thousand ; and 
 the English, forty thousand : but the arrangement in 
 regard to the English quota was to be subject to the 
 decision of the British parliament. In this matter 
 William had been governed, not by any desire of 
 increasing his power by unconstitutional means, but 
 by an imperfect understanding of the constitution. 
 
 Several struggles for power characterised this 
 period ; but it is not necessary to dwell upon them. 
 Having reviewed the troops at Breda and in other 
 garrisons, and prepared everything for the king's 
 reception, Maryborough set out from the camp in 
 order to confer with the states-general and foreign 
 ministers at the Hague. 
 
 In the midst of all this, James the Second passed
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 37 
 
 his last ordeal. He died on the 16th of September, 
 after a short illness. On receiving this intelligence, 
 the French king, (Louis XIV.) instantly acknow- 
 ledged the young pretender as king of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland : a proceeding so resented by 
 William, that he immediately despatched a command 
 to his ambassador at Paris (Lord Manchester) to 
 leave France without delay. On receiving this com- 
 mand, Lord Manchester wrote to M. de Torcy in the 
 following manner : " The king, my master, being in- 
 formed, that his most Christian Majesty has acknow- 
 ledged another king of Great Britain, thinks that his 
 glory and honour permit him no more to have an 
 ambassador near the king, your master. He has 
 therefore sent me orders to depart immediately ; 
 whereof I do myself the honour to acquaint you by 
 this letter." Louis was then at Fontainebleau ; whence 
 having directed an evasive answer to be sent, Lord 
 Manchester immediately left France ; and a com- 
 mand was issued to the French minister in London to 
 leave England without delay. 
 
 The unjustifiable conduct of the French king 
 excited, as may well be supposed, the greatest resent- 
 ment through the whole of Britain. Addresses 
 poured in from all quarters, expressing the warmest 
 attachment to the established government, as well as 
 indignation at the ambition and perfidy of the French 
 court. These addresses determined William in the 
 resolution of recalling the whigs immediately to 
 office. He left Holland, therefore, without impart- 
 ing any hint of his intention to Marlborough, and 
 arrived in London before the least notice had tran- 
 spired of his voyage. 
 
 Marlborough soon followed. For, having closed 
 the negociations with which he had been charged, he
 
 38 LIFE OF 
 
 received permission to return. That permission, 
 however, was to his unbounded astonishment 
 accompanied by the receipt of a letter from Secretary 
 Hedges, announcing the dissolution of parliament 
 and the retirement of his friend Godolphin ! 
 
 On the receipt of this intelligence, Marlborough 
 set out for England without an hour's delay. On 
 arriving in London, to his great mortification he dis- 
 covered that his party was held in general detestation 
 for the mortifications they had heaped upon the king, 
 and the dishonour which they had brought upon the 
 nation, by their violence in domestic policy and their 
 timidity in foreign transactions. " Nor were the 
 circumstances of their disgrace," says Mr. Coxe, 
 " calculated to alleviate his chagrin at the failure of 
 his endeavours to rouse them to a more efficient dis- 
 charge of their public duty." 
 
 A proclamation for a new parliament was issued. 
 It assembled on the last day of the year; and his 
 Majesty, after the ceremony of swearing in the mem- 
 bers, made the last speech he ever made from the 
 throne. In this he signified his gratitude to both housee, 
 as well as the whole nation, for the ardent manner 
 in which they had resented the affront put upon him 
 by the French king. This was answered by addresses 
 from the two houses, containing a prayer, that his 
 majesty would be graciously pleased to take care, 
 that it be an article in the several treaties of alliance 
 with his majesty and other potentates, that no peace 
 should be made with France, until the king and the 
 kingdom received reparation for the indignity, offered 
 by the French king, in owning and declaring the 
 pretended Prince of Wales to be king of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland. 
 
 The kingdom was thoroughly roused, and all
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 39 
 
 necessary preparations made for the war about to 
 take place, when his majesty accidentally fell from 
 his horse, as he was. hunting at Hampton Court. 
 This fall accelerated his death. His health had been 
 long declining. Anxiety of mind had brought on 
 many infirmities, and he had frequently assured his 
 friends that his life would be of no long duration. 
 His majesty, however, struggled with his infirmities 
 several weeks, and lived to the completion of the 
 great edifice of civil and religious liberty. The bill 
 of adjuration was presented for his signature. His 
 hand, however, was not sufficiently strong to enable 
 him to perform the office ; he, therefore, rendered 
 the instrument legal by a stamp, and in a few hours 
 resigned his life to Him that gave it. 
 
 Though the king had left Holland without making 
 any communication of his intention of so doing to 
 Marlborough, his majesty was so well satisfied with 
 the zeal Marlborough had manifested in concluding 
 the treaties of alliance, and otherwise promoting 
 the grand design he meditated ; and so assured, also, 
 of his fidelity and commanding genius, that, anxious 
 to establish the Protestant succession, as well as to 
 preserve civil and religious liberty, the last advice he 
 gave to his successor (the Princess Anne) was, that 
 she should regard Marlborough as the most com- 
 petent and proper person of all her subjects to lead 
 her armies and direct her councils. And here we 
 cannot do better than adopt the sentiments of 
 Marlborough's best and most competent biographer, 
 Mr. Coxe. 
 
 " Whatever may have been the errors and faults of 
 Lord Marlborough in the preceding period of doubt and 
 infidelity; whatever intercourse he had hitherto maintained 
 with his former sovereign and benefactor, or which he
 
 40 LIFE OF 
 
 afterwards held with the Stuart family ; he religiously 
 fulfilled the great trust reposed in him hy his sovereign 
 and his country ; and more than any individual contributed 
 to consolidate the work of the revolution, to baffle the 
 hopes and machinations of the Stuarts and their ad- 
 herents, and to smite that great colossus of power, which 
 threatened the destruction of civil and religious liberty, 
 and on which they placed their hopes of a counter-revo- 
 lution." 
 
 Happy was it for Europe, as well as for England, 
 that Marlborough possessed so great an influence as 
 he then possessed over the new sovereign ; for the 
 exigencies of the times fully demanded the public 
 exercise of the best and most fortunate genius. The 
 power of France exceeded all precedent in modern 
 history ; and it would have been easy, with such a 
 combination of resources as its king possessed, to have 
 effected the subjugation of Europe, had not this 
 country stood, as it were, in the breach, and won the 
 palm of victory, not only for that period, but for 
 subsequent ones. 
 
 On the death of William, the crown, in conformity 
 with the order of succession established on the abdi- 
 cation of James, her father, devolved upon the 
 Princess Anne. To this accession the princess had 
 now little scruple. For her father was dead : his 
 son she looked upon as illegitimate. " When I 
 saw," said the Countess of Marlborough, " that the 
 queen had such a partiality for those that I knew to 
 be Jacobites, I asked her one day whether she had a 
 mind to give up her crown ; for, if it had been her 
 conscience not to wear it, I do solemnly protest I 
 would not have disturbed her, or struggled as I did. 
 But she told me, that she was not sure the Prince of 
 Wales was her brother ; and that it was not prac-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLB011OUGH. 41 
 
 ticable for him to come here, without ruin to the 
 religion and the country." 
 
 The first exercise of the queen's power was to 
 nominate Prince George of Denmark (her husband) 
 generalissimo and lord high admiral ; and, in a few 
 days after, to make Marlborough captain general, 
 master of the ordnance, and a knight of the garter. 
 The countess also received tokens of the royal 
 favour, being made groom of the stole, mistress of 
 the robes, and keeper of the privy purse. She was 
 also in consequence of her having, one day, as she 
 accompanied the queen through Windsor Park, 
 expressed admiration of the situation of the great 
 lodge appointed to the rangership ; and her two 
 daughters were nominated ladies of the bed-cham- 
 ber. 
 
 As to the administration, it was now formed 
 upon the principles of Marlborough and his friend 
 Godolphin. They were both tories ; but, more than 
 any men of their time, free from the narrowness and 
 asperity of party spirit. Though the ministry was 
 thus formed, the queen arranged it without their 
 interference. She consulted her own inclinations and 
 antipathies, and composed it mostly of tories ; men 
 so intolerant, that, not content with being appointed 
 to all the higher offices of the state, they would not 
 have permitted a single magistrate of the whig side 
 to have been nominated, in any part of the kingdom, 
 had not Marlborough and his coadjutor, Godolphin, 
 interposed and restrained them. 
 
 The queen, in fact, was deeply imbued with tory 
 prejudices; and of so great a timidity, that nothing 
 but the dangers, which encompassed her on all sides, 
 could have influenced her to adopt the same hostility 
 against France, which had marked the reign of her
 
 42 LIFE OF 
 
 predecessor. Her uncle, Lord Rochester, son of the 
 celebrated historian, the Earl of Clarendon, was at 
 the head of the tories; and he, having inherited 
 neither the moderation, wisdom, nor manly decided 
 character of his father when the question, now at 
 issue, of peace or war was to be determined, and it 
 was time for England to come forward in fulfilment 
 of the alliances which the late king had concluded 
 he and the more violent of his party temporised 
 and drew back, and so far dishonoured themselves 
 and their cause, as to propose the expedient of en- 
 gaging merely in the character of auxiliaries. 
 
 In the mean time, the death of the king had 
 spread the utmost consternation on the Continent, 
 and most especially in Holland. This suspense and 
 alarm, however, were speedily dissipated. The 
 advice of Marlborough and Godolphin prevailed ; 
 and a letter was despatched to the states-general, 
 with an assurance that her majesty had determined 
 on supporting the policy and alliances of the late 
 king. This letter was everywhere received with 
 transports of joy ; and the Dutch immediately passed 
 a resolution, asserting, in the strongest manner, that 
 they would sacrifice not only all their treasure, 
 but all their blood, to support their government, 
 liberty, and religion. 
 
 To give additional weight to the declaration of 
 the queen, Marlborough was deputed to Holland, 
 as ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipo- 
 tentiary. He arrived at the Hague on the 28th 
 of March, 1702, and arranged with the Dutch 
 republic and the imperial minister, that war should 
 be declared at London, the Hague, and Vienna, on 
 the same day. A plan of operations, also, was 
 arranged under his direction ; and the campaign was
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 43 
 
 even opened during his stay, by the siege of a strong 
 fortress in the electorate of Cologne, which had 
 been occupied by a French garrison the preceding- 
 year. Haying thus fulfilled his commission, he 
 returned to England. 
 
 When in Holland, he had proposed to the states 
 that the command of the army, which had been 
 coveted by the King of Prussia, the Elector of 
 Hanover (afterwards our George I.), the Duke of 
 Zell, and the Archduke Charles, should be conferred 
 upon the Prince of Denmark. This proposition, how- 
 ever, the Dutch would not listen to ; and Maryborough 
 was compelled to leave that important matter in 
 suspense ; hoping that in his absence some expedient 
 might be found to obviate the difficulty. On his 
 return, Parliament sanctioned the conventions which 
 he had made; and, on the 4th of May, 1702, 
 hostilities were declared against France and Spain. 
 
 We nuist now say a few words in regard to the 
 countess. She had long been inclined to favour the 
 whigs ; and from the marriage of her daughter 
 with Lord Spencer, who was a staxinch adherent to 
 that party, that inclination had increased, till it 
 became a strong and decided preference. During 
 the late king's life, all difference between the queen 
 and herself upon political subjects had been sus- 
 pended by their mutual dislike to the king ; but 
 upon the queen's accession, a disunion immediately 
 ensued, which, though only perceptible at first in 
 the point of difference, insensibly extended, till, at 
 last, it leavened the feelings of both, and converted 
 their friendship into mutual ill-will. A number of 
 bickerings ensued; and in these Marlborough and 
 Godolphin were often involved, either because they 
 supported the opinions of their royal mistress, or
 
 44 LIFE OF 
 
 endeavoured to restrain the antipathies and par- 
 tialities of the countess. 
 
 Having stated thus much, we return to more im- 
 portant matters : but it was requisite to advert to 
 these circumstances, because it is essential to the 
 understanding of many passages of Marlborough's 
 subsequent life, to note the commencement of a dis- 
 pute, which afterwards rose to so great a height, 
 and operated throughout with so fatal an effect to 
 Marlborough's interest. 
 
 Having been appointed to the command on the 
 Continent, Marlborough became impatient to depart. 
 At length he embarked at Margate, on the 15th of 
 May : and here it may not be unessential to let 
 him, in his own words, show the state of his feelings 
 after he had quitted port. What would we give 
 to have the opportunity of reading a letter from 
 Caesar to Calphurnia, on taking his departure for 
 the command in Gaul ! " It is impossible," wrote 
 Marlborough to the countess, " to express with 
 what a heavy heart I parted with you when I 
 was at the water's side. I could have given my 
 life to have come back, though I knew my own 
 weakness so much that I durst not ; for I knew I 
 should expose myself to the company. I did for 
 a great while, with a perspective-glass, look upon 
 the cliffs, in hopes I might have one sight of you. 
 We are now out of sight of Margate, and I have 
 neither soul nor spirits ; but I do at this minute 
 suffer so much, that nothing but being with you can 
 recompense it. If you will be sensible of what I 
 now feel, you will endeavour to be easy to me, and 
 then I shall be most happy ; for it is you only that can 
 give me true content. I pray God to make you and 
 yours happy ; and if I could contribute anything to
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 45 
 
 it with the utmost hazard of my life, I should be 
 glad to do it." In another letter, written after his 
 arrival at the Hague, there is the following beautiful 
 and affecting passage : " I do assure you, upon my 
 soul, I had much rather the whole world should go 
 wrong, than you should be uneasy ; for the quiet of 
 my life depends only upon your kindness, and I beg 
 you to believe that you are dearer to me than all 
 things in this world. My temper may make you 
 and myself sometimes uneasy ; but when I am 
 alone, and I find you kind, if you knew the true 
 quiet I have in mind, you would then be convinced 
 of my being entirely yours, and that it is in no 
 other power in this world to make me happy but 
 yourself." 
 
 On Marlborough's arrival at the Hague, he again 
 exercised his influence to get the queen's consort 
 nominated to the chief command. The Dutch, how- 
 ever, could not be induced to consent : and fortunate 
 it was for all Europe that it was so. The post was 
 also sought, as we have already stated, by the arch- 
 duke Charles, for whom Spain, to which he laid 
 claim, was a better scene of action ; by the King 
 of Prussia ; by the Duke of Zell ; by the Elector of 
 Hanover, afterwards our George the First. There 
 were objections to all these. The Prince of Nassau- 
 Saarbruck and the Earl of Athlone also set up 
 pretensions : the first, a prince of the empire; the 
 last, a general of great experience and reputation ; 
 and, as a native of Holland, warmly supported by 
 such of his countrymen as were averse to the exten- 
 sive system of operations proposed by Marlborough, 
 and by those who were jealous of foreign influence. 
 All obstacles, however, were after a time removed by 
 the patriotic exertions of Heinsius, the pensionary, and
 
 46 LIFE OF 
 
 the party attached to England ; and the two last- 
 named generals having withdrawn their pretensions 
 and throwTi their influence into the scale, Marlborough 
 was appointed generalissimo, with a salary of 1 0,000. 
 a year. 
 
 The Prince of Denmark was greatly chagrined at 
 the exclusion of himself and the election of Marl- 
 borough, whom he suspected, very unjustly, of not 
 having supported his pretensions with sufficient per- 
 severance and zeal ; in consequence of which, Marl- 
 borough had no small difficulty in allaying his 
 suspicions, and giving ease to his disappointed 
 ambition. ^Nor was this the only difficulty with 
 which he had to contend. Instead of the advantages 
 which King William had derived from his exalted 
 rank and authority as stadtholder, Marlborough, as 
 a subject, felt himself exposed to rivalry, and reduced 
 to depend on his own personal interest. 
 
 It is here necessary to state the manner, in which 
 the confederate forces were distributed. The prin- 
 cipal army of the allies was under the command 
 of Athlone, in the vicinity of Cleves, for the 
 purpose of covering that part of the frontier be- 
 tween the Rhine and the Meuse, as well as to 
 favour the Prince of Saarbruck, who was besieging 
 Kayerswerth. Cohorn had ten thousand men near 
 the mouth of the Scheldt, to secure that quarter, and 
 threaten the district of Bruges. On the enemy's 
 part, the Marquis de Bedmar, who commanded in 
 the name of Philip, and the Count de la Motte, 
 covered the side against Cohorn. Marshal Tallard 
 was detached from the Upper Rhine to interrupt the 
 siege of Kayerswerth ; but the most numerous army 
 was that commanded by the Duke of Burgundy, 
 with Marshal Boufflers to assist him. And this was
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 47 
 
 assembled on the Meuse, occupying fortresses in the 
 bishopric of Liege, which were of signal advantage 
 to him. 
 
 ' It is now necessary to state a few more of the 
 circumstances which contributed to render Marl- 
 borough's position exceedingly difficult. This has 
 been done so ably by Mr. Coxe, that our duty is to 
 copy his account. " His means of directing or 
 influencing the factions in the Dutch republic 
 depended chiefly on the credit of Heinsius and the 
 other partisans of the war, who themselves shrank 
 from responsibility. At the army, he was subjected 
 to the control of the field-deputies, who, though 
 vested with great powers, were yet ignorant of 
 military affairs ; and consequently were either led by 
 the opinions of their own generals, or wasted the most 
 decisive moments in fruitless deliberation, and in 
 soliciting instructions from the Hague." These 
 were far from being the only evils. " Among the 
 generals he found also more rivals than coadjutors. 
 By them he was often thwarted, from personal 
 jealousy or prejudice; and at the time when vigour 
 and promptitude were necessary, he found them as 
 timid and indecisive as the deputies. From Athlone, 
 in particular, he experienced constant opposition, 
 though cloaked with the affectation of deference. 
 Indeed," continues Mr. Coxe, " it would have been 
 difficult to unite two commanders more discordant 
 in character : Marlborough, active, enterprising, and 
 decisive ; Athlone, naturally cold and circumspect, 
 and rendered still more unaccommodating and cir- 
 cumspect by the effects of age and jealousy." In 
 fact, not more than half of Marlborough was ever 
 engaged against the enemy. It has been well ob- 
 served, that the adage in respect to there being safety
 
 48 LIFE OP 
 
 in a multitude of counsellors, is not often applicable 
 to military affairs ; since in them everything depends 
 on unity of opinion, great decision, and instant action. 
 
 All things having heen regulated with the deputies 
 of the states, Marlborough repaired to Nimeguen, 
 where he gave orders to draw the army together, 
 amounting to about sixty thousand men, sixty-two 
 pieces of cannon, eight mortars, and four-and-twenty 
 pontoons. Here a delay of fourteen days occurred in 
 useless discussions ; and, to add to the vexation and 
 embarrassments of the general, points of punctilio 
 arose concerning the Prussian and Hanoverian allies. 
 At length it was resolved to pass the Meuse and 
 march to the siege of Rheinberg ; the object of cross- 
 ing the river being, as the general wrote to Lord 
 Godolphin, to alarm the French, and to prevent the 
 army from eating up that part of the country, which 
 ought to be in subsistence during the siege. The 
 plan, however, was not that which Marlborough 
 would have adopted ; because he knew that if the 
 enemy chanced to get good intelligence, they might 
 act so as to make him adopt new measures. "If 
 the fear of Nimeguen and the Rhine," said he in the 
 letter above alluded to, " had not hindered us from 
 marching into Brabant, they must then have had the 
 disadvantage of governing themselves by our motions, 
 whereas we are now obliged to mind them." 
 
 While engaged in this service, Marlborough was 
 not so entirely occupied but that he could steal 
 time to write home. " We have now very hot wea- 
 ther," said he in a letter to the countess, " which I 
 hope will ripen the fruit at St. Albans. When you 
 are there, pray think how happy I should be walking 
 alone with you. No ambition can make me amends 
 for being from you. If it were not impertinent, I
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOKOUGH. 49 
 
 should desire you in every letter to give my humble 
 duty to the queen ; for I do serve her with all my 
 heart and soul. I am on horseback, or answering 
 letters, all day long ; for, besides the business of the 
 army, I have letters from the Hague, and all places 
 where her majesty has any ministers. So that if it 
 were not for my zeal for her service, I should cer- 
 tainly desert ; for you know of all things I do not 
 love writing." 
 
 At length he was allowed to exercise his own 
 plan and act upon his own judgment ; and, pointing 
 to the enemy's camp, then in sight, he is said to have 
 exclaimed to the Dutch deputies, who were accom- 
 panying him in a reconnoitring party, " I hope soon 
 to deliver you from these troublesome neighbours." 
 The event justified this confidence ; for, no sooner 
 did the enemy hear that he had crossed the Meuse, 
 than they suddenly decamped the same evening, 
 traversed the river in several columns at Venloo 
 and Ruremond, and hastened by forced marches, 
 in the direction of Peer and Bray, two small towns 
 in the bishopric of Liege. 
 
 Marlborough was now assured, that he should 
 not only draw the enemy entirely from the Meuse, 
 but be able to besiege Venloo, and to subsist in the 
 adversary's territory during the remainder of the 
 campaign. Having advanced to St. Hubert's Lill, 
 he had scarcely established his head-quarters there 
 when a report reached him, that the enemy was again 
 in motion. He instantly mounted his horse and 
 spent twelve hours in reconnoitring the ground, and 
 obtaining intelligence of their march. Two days 
 after, he was resolved on attacking the enemy ; and 
 with this view the whole army was commanded to 
 be in readiness early the next morning. The general
 
 50 LIFE OF 
 
 hoped the action would be decisive. From this fate, 
 however, the enemy was spared ; for the Dutch 
 deputies, on learning the design of the general, fear- 
 ful of putting tilings to such a hazard, positively 
 refused their assent. That Marlborough was right 
 in the design, however, is amply attested by Berwick, 
 who, in his Memoirs, fully allows, that, had he at- 
 tacked the French in the position in which they then 
 stood, their defeat had been inevitable. For, as it 
 afterwards appeared, the French army had not above 
 half got to their camp, greatly fatigued by the march 
 of two days and two nights ; and in a state, too, of 
 great consternation. A second time, also, he was 
 prevented from attacking them and obtaining an 
 easy victory, by the tardiness of the allied troops in 
 executing his orders. This he complained of in a 
 letter to Godolphin. " I have but too much reason 
 to complain, that the ten thousand men upon our 
 right did not march so soon as I sent the orders ; 
 which, if they had, I believe we should have had a 
 very easy victory, for their whole left was in disorder. 
 However, I have thought it much for her majesty's 
 service to take no notice of it, as you see by my 
 letter to the States. * * I am in so ill humour that I 
 will not trouble you, nor dare I trust myself to write 
 more ; but believe this truth, that I honour and love 
 you, my lady Marlborough, and would die for the 
 queen." 
 
 The blame of this escape of the French was, 
 nevertheless, laid upon Marlborough ; at least by the 
 faction opposed to him in England. They had even 
 the hardihood to accuse him of having permitted the 
 enemy to escape, in order that the war might be 
 prolonged for his personal interest. These aspersions 
 he bore with great patience, and, from delicacy to-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 51 
 
 wards the states-general, restrained from any public 
 vindication of his conduct. The consequence of this 
 forbearance, however, was, that the report gained 
 ground ; and it was propagated with such malignant 
 activity, that he never entirely could relieve himself 
 from the imputation. The officers and soldiers of his 
 army, however, loudly exclaimed against those, by 
 whom his purposes and their eager hopes had been 
 frustrated ; and one good resulted from it : the 
 troops were inspired with additional confidence in 
 their commander, and burned with impatience to re^- 
 trieve the glorious opportunities that had been so 
 wantonly lost. 
 
 In allusion to this charge, the author of a narra- 
 tive of the life and actions of Marlborough, has 
 several pertinent and sagacious observations : 
 " When the officers, coming from Flanders after the 
 campaign, appear in the newest fashions, which they 
 bring over with them, with a good air and genteel 
 mien, which is almost common to them ; the people, 
 who never saw the hardships they undergo, think 
 them only designed for pleasure and ease, and their 
 profession to be desired above everything in the 
 world besides. They often hear of fights and sieges, 
 and of a great many men killed in a few hours ; but 
 because they see not the actions, the talk leaves but 
 a small and transient impression. But if they did 
 but see them in a rainy season, when the whole 
 country about them is trod into a chaos, and in such 
 intolerable marches, men and horses dying and dead 
 together, and the best of them glad of a bundle of 
 straw to lay down their wet and weary limbs : if 
 they did but see a siege, besides the daily danger and 
 expectation of death, which is common to all, from the 
 general to the sentinel ; the watches, the labours, the 
 
 E2
 
 52 LIFE OF 
 
 cares, which attend the greatest ; the ugly sights, the 
 stinks of mortality, the grass all withered and black 
 with the smoke of powder, the horrid noises all night 
 and all day, and spoil and destruction on every side ; 
 I am sure they would be persuaded, that a state of 
 war, to those who are engaged in it, must needs be a 
 state of labour and misery ; and that a great general, 
 I mean such a one as the Duke of Marlborough, 
 weak in his constitution, and well stricken in years, 
 would not undergo those eating cares which must be 
 continually at his heart ; the toils and hardships 
 which he must endure, if he has the least spark of 
 humane consideration ; I say he would not engage in 
 such a life, if not for the sake of his queen, and 
 country, and his honour." 
 
 Soon after this, the Duke of Burgundy, seeing 
 that no advantage could be won in the campaign, 
 thought it unbecoming his dignity to remain in the 
 French army ; he, therefore, retired from his first 
 campaign rather ingloriously ; leaving the whole to 
 Marshal Boufflers, in regard to whom Lediard re- 
 marks, that " as long as he only commanded a 
 flying camp, to surprise a post, bombard a city, or 
 to perform any other expedition of that nature, he 
 justly acquired a reputation ; but the office of a 
 general, w r hich requires great judgment as well as 
 valour, was too much for him ; and he soon sank 
 under the weight of it." 
 
 It is not expedient, from the limit to which our 
 pages are prescribed, to enter too particularly into 
 military minutiae. It is here, therefore, sufficient to 
 state, that Venloo, Stevenswaert, and Ruremond, 
 were taken, notwithstanding the indecision and want 
 of activity on the part of the Dutch ; and that the 
 campaign was concluded by the capture of Liege.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 53 
 
 We must, however, not neglect to record Mr. Car- 
 donnell's testimony, in regard to the general's con- 
 duct, contained in a letter to Secretary Harley. All 
 the good fortune that had attended the allies he as- 
 cribes to Marlborough. " If his excellency," says he, 
 " had not been very firm in his resolutions, not only 
 against the Dutch generals, but even the States 
 themselves, the alarm in Flanders would have carried 
 a good part of our troops that way, and entirely 
 defeated our designs this campaign. This the Dutch 
 begin to own freely, with a good deal of applause to 
 his excellency." Nor must we neglect to state, thatj 
 after the taking of Liege, a mistake occurred, by 
 which several of the victors lost their lives. Having 
 got possession of the town, several persons, to testify 
 their joy, let off ten pieces of small-arms, in conse- 
 quence of which, those who were in the batteries 
 fancying that the enemy had rallied, poured in a 
 whole shower of bombs at random, which, falling 
 among friends and foes, did considerable damage 
 before the mistake was discovered. 
 
 A large booty was found in the citadel. Besides 
 thirty-six pieces of cannon, and a great quantity of 
 arms and ammunition, the troops discovered 300,000 
 florins, in gold and silver ; a valuable parcel of plate ; 
 and 1,200,000 florins, in notes upon substantial 
 merchants in the town. One grenadier found a 
 thousand louis-d'or in a bag. 
 
 The general success attending the campaign was 
 highly agreeable to the Dutch, who congratulated 
 the general in a letter of some price. Nor ought 
 we to neglect alluding to the conduct of the Earl of 
 Athlone. He had been in opposition to Marlborough 
 in everything ; but, at the close of the campaign, he 
 did not hesitate to confess, that the whole success of
 
 54 LIFE OF 
 
 it had been owing to the British general's wisdom 
 and judgment. 
 
 A curious adventure now befell the hero of our 
 history. On the evening on which the army sepa- 
 rated, thinking it the easiest, quickest, and even 
 safest way, Marlborough embarked, with the 
 Dutch deputies, in a boat, with a view of descending 
 the Meuse for the Hague. He had a detachment of 
 twenty-five soldiers, commanded by a lieutenant, in 
 the boat with him. He was joined the following 
 day by Cohorn, at Ruremond, in a larger boat with 
 sixty men ; and an additional escort of fifty troopers 
 attended them along the banks of the river. Having 
 dined at this place with the Prince of Holstein Beck, 
 governor of the town, they continued their way 
 down the Meuse. But, in the night, the troopers 
 having lost their way, the larger boat went on with- 
 out attending to its companion; and Marlborough was 
 left with only his slender guard of twenty-five men. 
 The French had the town of Guelders still in their 
 hands. It so happened that a party of five-and- 
 thirty men from that town was lurking among the 
 reeds and sedge of the river, about nine miles below 
 Venloo, waiting for an adventure. Most of the 
 company on board Marlborough's boat were asleep ; 
 when, between eleven and twelve o'clock, those who 
 were awake felt the tow-rope seized, and soon after 
 heard a discharge of arms ; several soldiers were 
 wounded, but Marlborough fortunately remained 
 unhurt. The assailants then rushed on board, and 
 seized the whole party before they could get in any 
 order to make an opposition. Tims had a small 
 number of men the good fortune to take, in one mo- 
 ment, that general prisoner, whom the whole French 
 army had scarcely the courage to face during a 
 whole summer.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF JIARLBOROUGII. 55 
 
 The Dutch deputies had taken care to furnish 
 themselves with French passes. Marlborough, 
 however, thought it beneath him to solicit such a 
 safeguard ; and he was saved only by the presence 
 of mind of an attendant, named Gell, and whom he 
 afterwards rewarded with an annuity of 50^., who, 
 having in his pocket a pass which had been granted 
 to Maryborough's brother, General Churchill, when 
 obliged to quit the army from ill-health, slipped it into 
 his hand unperceived by any one. This passport bore 
 date some time before ; and the least scrutiny would 
 have detected the deception, had not the general 
 presented it with an undismayed countenance. The 
 calm indifference with which he offered the passport 
 prevented the men almost from looking at it, and the 
 night being rather dark, the adventurers contented 
 themselves with searching the trunks and baggage, 
 emptying them of what plate and things of value 
 they contained ; having done which, they permitted 
 Marlborough and his fellow-voyagers to proceed. 
 
 The alarm was soon given that Marlborough was 
 taken ; and the governor of Venloo, presuming that 
 he had been carried prisoner to Guelders, marched 
 immediately to that place with his whole garrison, 
 in order to invest it. The news arriving, also, at the 
 Hague in the same imperfect manner, the states- 
 general, who were there assembled, almost over- 
 whelmed with consternation, passed a vote by 
 acclamation, enjoining all their troops to march 
 without delay for the purpose of rescuing a com- 
 mander, whose importance to the common cause was 
 now instantaneously and instinctively acknowledged. 
 Before these orders, however, could be despatched, 
 Marlborough arrived at the Hague. The transport 
 of joy, which burst forth on his appearance, may be
 
 56 LIFE OF 
 
 easier imagined than described. The sedate and 
 deliberative character of the Dutch was lost in the 
 enthusiasm of exultation ; and it was with great 
 difficulty their now valued general could get through 
 the crowd to the hotel appointed for his reception, 
 accompanied by a cavalcade " less pompous indeed," 
 says Mr. Coxe, "but far more gratifying than any 
 which perhaps had ever graced the triumphal pro- 
 cession of a Roman general to the capitol." Marl- 
 borough's friend, Heinsius the pensionary, was 
 deputed to compliment him on his providential 
 escape. " Your captivity," said he, " was on the 
 point of causing the slavery of these states, and of 
 restoring to France the power of extending her un- 
 controllable dominion over all Europe. No hope 
 was left, if she retained in bondage the man whom 
 we revere as the instrument of Providence to secure 
 the independence of the greater part of the Christian 
 world." 
 
 To this flattering address, Marlborough returned 
 an answer, greatly to be admired for its modesty 
 and address : " He should always take pride in 
 being serviceable to the common cause, and to their 
 high mightinesses in particular. But he thought 
 that that, which had been applied to him belonged, 
 in justice, to the queen, his mistress ; for it was the 
 queen who might, by God's assistance, be rightly 
 styled -the instrument of the Divine will. For his 
 own part, it was sufficient glory for him to be her 
 majesty's agent." In his letter to Lord Godolphin, 
 he made use of the following expressions : " My 
 room is full at this time, I being more welcome by 
 an accident I had of being taken by a French party. 
 Till they saw me, they thought me a prisoner in 
 France ; so that I was not ashore one minute, before
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 57 
 
 I liad great crowds of the common people, some 
 endeavouring to shake me by the hands, and all 
 crying out welcome. But that, which moved me 
 most, was to see a great many of both sexes cry for 
 joy. I pray God bless the queen and her under- 
 takings ; for the liberty of Christendom depends 
 upon it." . 
 
 Soon after this Marlborough returned to England. 
 Before his arrival, however, the queen had summoned 
 a new Parliament, in which Harley was chosen 
 speaker, without opposition ; and the decisions of 
 contested elections amply and unequivocally mani- 
 fested, that the tories had gained the ascendancy. 
 Three days after this meeting, the House of Lords 
 waited on the queen with an address, in which they 
 congratulated her majesty on the glorious success with 
 which it had pleased God to bless the arms of England 
 and the allies, " under the command of the illustrious 
 general, the Earl of Marlborough." The address from 
 the House of Commons had an extraordinary pecu- 
 liarity; for, in allusion to Marlborough's success 
 more fortunate than the operations of the late king 
 (William) it was observed, that the conduct of the 
 Earl of Marlborough had " signally retrieved the 
 ancient honour of the nation." This invidious term 
 the whigs laboured hard to change ; but, after a 
 warm debate, the tories gained their object by a 
 majority of a hundred votes. 
 
 The queen was so satisfied with the success of her 
 arms, that a day of thanksgiving was appointed; 
 and her majesty went in great state to St. Paul's 
 Cathedral, attended by both Houses of Parliament. 
 The House of Commons voted Marlborough their 
 thanks ; and the queen, to signalise the sense she 
 entertained of the earl's services, signified her inten-
 
 58 LIFE OF 
 
 tion to a committee of council, that she intended to 
 raise him to the dignity of a dukedom. 
 
 It is very remarkable that when the queen signi- 
 fied her desire to confer this enviable distinction, the 
 countess, so far from hailing such an accession of 
 honour, was entirely averse to it. The queen had 
 written to inform her what she intended to do. The 
 answer of the countess has not been preserved ; but 
 we may understand her reasons of objection from 
 what she wrote, some time after, to one of her most 
 particular friends. " I believe," said she, " there 
 are very few in the world, that did not think me 
 very much pleased with the increase of honour the 
 queen gave Lord Marlborough, when he commanded 
 the army, at her coming to the crown ; and perhaps 
 it is so ridiculous, at least what so few people will 
 believe, that I would not mention it but to those I 
 could show the original letters to. If there be any 
 truth in a mortal, it was so uneasy to me, that when 
 I read the letter first upon it, I let it drop out of 
 my hand, and was, for some minutes, like one that 
 had received the news of the death of one of their 
 dearest friends : I was so sorry for anything of that 
 kind, having before all that was of any use." 
 
 Her grace's reasons for this certainly unexpected 
 reluctance are stated in another part of the same 
 letter : " I fear you will think what I have said on 
 this subject is affected ; and therefore I must repeat 
 again, that it was more uneasy to me, for a time, 
 than can easily be believed. I do think there is no 
 advantage but in going in at a door ; and when a 
 rule is settled, I like as well to follow five hundred 
 as one. And the title of duke in a family, where 
 there are many sons, is often a great burden. Though 
 at that time I had myself but one ; yet I might
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARYBOROUGH. 59 
 
 have had more, and the next generation a great 
 many." 
 
 These objections her ladyship did not fail to urge 
 with Marlborough himself ; and this we may be the 
 more assured of, since the reply of Marlborough 
 amply testifies it. " As yovt have let me have your 
 thoughts as to the dukedom, you shall have mine in 
 short, since I shall have the happiness of being with 
 you soon, when I may advise you more at large in 
 this matter. But be assured, I shall have a mind 
 to nothing, but as it may be easy to you. I do 
 agree with you, that we ought not to wish for a 
 higher title, till we have a greater estate." 
 
 The queen, however, persisted in her purpose ; 
 Lord Godolphin also pressed the matter urgently ; 
 and the pensionary Heinsius, whose advice Marl- 
 borough solicited, fully determined the acceptance. 
 The pensionary met all the objections Marlborough 
 raised. " In regard to its being a greater advan- 
 tage," said he, " to your family, at the end of the 
 war, than now, I think otherwise : for if it be done 
 now, it will be a justice to the queen, and do her ser- 
 vice with all the princes abroad ; more especially in 
 this country (Holland), where, I hope, her majesty 
 will employ you as long as the war lasts. If it be 
 done now, it will have all the effect of having been 
 done as a reward for service. If it be done at the 
 end of the war, it may seem to be the mere effect of 
 favour. In regard to your fear that, if such a title is 
 now conferred, it may have the effect of causing other 
 families to expect the same, and thereby causing 
 many solicitations and trouble to the queen, such 
 can never be the case ; since the honour conferred, if 
 conferred now, will evidently be the effect, not of 
 favour, but of service. In respect to your observa-
 
 60 LIFE OF 
 
 tion, that you will make a worse figure in England by 
 being a duke than you will without that title, because 
 your estate is not equal to it ; be assured that the 
 queen will not grant the title without giving you 
 wherewithal to support it." The pensionary also 
 urged his acceptance, on the ground that the title 
 would make him of more consideration abroad ; and 
 that very great advantage might, therefore, accrue 
 to all Europe from it. 
 
 These reasons induced Marlborough no longer to 
 hesitate. He was, therefore, created' Marquis of 
 Blandford and Duke of Marlborough. The queen 
 also signified her wish to Parliament, that 5000/. 
 a-year should be settled upon him and his heirs, out of 
 the revenue arising from the post-office. But that 
 proposal excited so great an opposition, that, at the 
 duke's desire, it was withdrawn. The queen, how- 
 ever, was not to be disappointed ; so she settled 
 upon him the 50001. a-year as long as she lived, and 
 would have added 2000/. a-year from the privy 
 purse ; but this latter sum was respectfully declined. 
 It must not, however, be concealed, that w T hen the 
 duchess some years after fell into disgrace, she had 
 the meanness to claim this grant, and absolutely re 
 ceived it for the nine preceding years ! 
 
 The first wish of the queen, on coming to the 
 throne, had been to associate her husband, Prince 
 George, with herself in the dignity. This design 
 having been objected to as unconstitutional, her 
 majesty became the more solicitous that a further 
 provision should be made for him, in case he should 
 survive herself. The sum proposed was 100,00(V. 
 a-year ; and this, after a great struggle between the 
 two parties, passed at length into a law ; chiefly, as 
 the queen thought, from the influence of the duke
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARYBOROUGH. 61 
 
 and duchess. Her gratitude, on this occasion, was 
 therefore signified in the following letter : 
 
 " I am sure the prince's bill passing, after so much 
 struggle, is wholly owing to the pains you and Mr. Free- 
 man * have taken, and I ought to say a great deal to both 
 of you in return ; but neither words nor actions can ever 
 express the true sense Mr. Morley (the prince) and I have 
 on this and all other occasions; and therefore I will not 
 say any more on this subject, but that to my last moment 
 your dear unfortunatef faithful Morley will be most pas- 
 sionately and tenderly yours." 
 
 In opposition to this grant, however, the duke 
 was greatly mortified to see among the protests that 
 of his son-in-law, Lord Sunderland, who had re- 
 cently taken his seat in the House of Peers, on the 
 death of his father. The duchess more particularly 
 was irritated at this want of respect ; and, in her 
 wish to gratify the queen, even forgot her attachment 
 to whig principles. A reconciliation, indeed, was 
 brought about after a time by Lady Sunderland ; but 
 it will be seen, that this was not the last mortification, 
 Marlborough had to encounter from the party-spirit 
 of Lord Sunderland. In the midst of all this, active 
 preparations were making for the next campaign. 
 Ten thousand troops, as an additional force, were 
 voted : upon condition, however, that the states- 
 general should prohibit all commerce and corre- 
 spondence by letter with France and Spain. 
 
 At this time, Marlborough was visited by a very 
 severe domestic calamity. His only remaining son, 
 the Marquis of Blandford, was suddenly seized with 
 the small-pox of the most malignant kind, at 
 Cambridge, and so rapid was the disorder, that 
 
 * See page 10. 
 
 f- This epithet her majesty always used after the death of her
 
 62 LIFE OF 
 
 the duke and duchess had scarcely arrived beside his 
 sick-hed, when he expired in their arms (Feb. 20, 
 1703). He was buried in the chapel of King's 
 College, where a monument is dedicated to his 
 memory ; and greatly was he lamented by the duke, 
 as well as by the duchess. They wanted not, how- 
 ever, a queen to condole with them, and many other 
 affectionate friends, amongst whom we may parti- 
 cularly note Mrs. Burnet, a fragment from one of 
 whose letters we quote, on account of the beauty of 
 sentiment it contains : " I can say nothing to lessen 
 your misfortune. It was as great as it could well 
 be; because the person was excellent, and, perhaps, 
 has therefore got an early dismission from the certain 
 infelicities and almost unavoidable irregularities of a 
 long life. Why should we wish those we love to be 
 long tossed in storms, and in danger of an eternal 
 shipwreck, rather than that they should make a 
 short, secure, and pleasant voyage to an everlasting 
 state of joy and satisfaction, where they want us not, 
 and gain an advantage, though we suffer by a short 
 absence ? I know your grace wants not the feeble 
 helps, I am capable to bring ; yet permit me to 
 recommend one very reasonable reflection, and to 
 beg you to recall it often, which is the many, very 
 many, blessings you have still remaining. To be one 
 of the most fortunate persons in the world is a subject 
 of great thankfulness to God, though you were once 
 possessed of a greater degree of happiness. I am 
 persuaded, that you know how much submission to 
 God is a duty, as well as the proper use of all afflic- 
 tions. I have, therefore, only presumed to remind 
 you of your remaining mercies, having generally 
 observed, that persons under present griefs are apt 
 to slight and overlook their present advantages,
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 63 
 
 which they would have found full satisfaction in, 
 had they never possessed what they lament when 
 withdrawn. May God support you in this great 
 trial, and preserve you from all future causes of 
 sorrow, bless the remains of your gracious family, 
 and give the duke the best success, and a safe and 
 glorious return." 
 
 The death of his son suspended, for a time, the 
 duke's voyage to the Continent ; but having in some 
 degree subdued his grief, he departed in the begin- 
 ning of March, and a short time after his arrival 
 we find him writing to her grace in the following 
 terms : " I received this morning two of your dear 
 letters, which I read with all the pleasure imaginable. 
 They were so very kind, that, if it be possible, you 
 are dearer to me ten thousand times than ever you 
 were. I am so entirely yours, that if I might have 
 all the world given to me, I could not be happy but 
 in your love." The remembrance of his son, how- 
 ever, still haunted him. " I have this day seen a 
 very great procession, and the thoughts how pleased 
 poor Lord Churchill would have been with such a 
 sight, have added very much to my uneasiness. 
 Since it has pleased God to take him, I do wish from 
 my soul I could think less of him." 
 
 Some time before this calamitous event, he had 
 united his third daughter, Lady Elizabeth, then in 
 her seventeenth year, with Scroop Egerton, Earl of 
 Bridgewater ; and, a year after, his fourth daughter, 
 Lady Mary, in her sixteenth year, was married to 
 Viscount Mounthermer, son of Ralph Earl of Mon- 
 tagu, who was, not long after, through the interest 
 of Marlborough, created Duke of Montagu ; and the 
 son obtained the reversion of the place of greater 
 master of the wardrobe, held by his father. Though
 
 64 LIFE OF 
 
 there had been some bickerings between the queen 
 and the duchess, her majesty still held her grace and 
 the duke in such esteem and affection, that when 
 their two daughters married, as we have just now 
 related, she gave to each of them a present and dower 
 of ten thousand pounds. 
 
 From the death of his son the duke became exceed- 
 ingly anxious to perpetuate his name and honours ; 
 and every now and then felt it possible, that the 
 duchess might present him with an heir. How 
 great his affection was for his children may, in some 
 measure, be judged of from what he wrote to the 
 duchess, when he had leisure to write to her after 
 the fatigues of a day passed in military operations or 
 conventual debates and duties. " I think you are 
 very happy in having dear Lady Mary with you. 
 I should esteem myself so, if she could be sometimes 
 for an hour with me ; for the greatest ease, I now 
 have, is sometimes sitting for an hour in my chair 
 alone, and think of the happiness I may yet have of 
 living quietly with you, which is the greatest I pro- 
 pose to myself in this world." In a letter, dated 
 from Op-heeren, he pursues the same strain even 
 more religiously : " You and I have great reason 
 to bless God for all we have ; so that we must not 
 repine at his taking our poor child from us, but 
 bless and praise him for what his goodness leaves 
 us ; and I do beseech him with all my heart and 
 soul, that he would comfort and strengthen both you 
 and me, not only to bear this, but any other cor- 
 rection he may think fit to lay on us. The use, I 
 think, we should make of this correction is, that our 
 chiefest time should be spent in reconciling ourselves 
 to him, and having in our minds always, that we 
 may not have long to live in this world. I do not
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 65 
 
 mean by this, that we should live retired from the 
 world; for I am persuaded that by living in the 
 world, one may do much more good than by being 
 out of it ; but at the same time to live so as that one 
 should cheerfully die, when it shall be his pleasure 
 to call us." 
 
 All military operations had been suspended during 
 the winter. Rheinberg had been reduced, and Guel- 
 der blockaded. The capture of this place would 
 clear Spanish Guelderland from the enemy ; but the 
 French had concerted their plans with a decision, 
 which Marlborough vainly endeavoured to infuse 
 into the allies. Villeroy, who commanded in Flan- 
 ders, was to open the campaign early in the spring, 
 by reducing the places on the Meuse, and again 
 threatening the Dutch frontiers. While the attention 
 of the maritime powers was engaged by this aggression, 
 a great and decisive attempt was to be made against 
 the emperor. The united troops of France and Savoy 
 were to penetrate from Italy into Germany through 
 the Tyrol, and another army was to make its way 
 from the Upper Rhine through the Black Forest, 
 meet the Italian force, and form a junction with the 
 Bavarians. These combined forces, collecting be- 
 tween the Iser and the Danube, were to direct their 
 march to Vienna ; and, being supported by the Hun- 
 garian insurgents, to obliterate, by a single effort, 
 " the glory of the Austrian name." Truly has it 
 been said, that at no previous period had the liber- 
 ties of Europe been in greater danger. 
 
 At the time when the operations on the Upper 
 Rhine announced the development of this vast and 
 perilous design, Marlborough reached the Hague, 
 March 17, 1703. From the contentions of two 
 rivals, which had so greatly annoyed and thwarted
 
 66 LIFE OF 
 
 him in the last campaign, he was happily freed ; the 
 Prince of Saarbriick and the Earl of Athlone having 
 died a short time before. Other competitors, however, 
 arose, though of inferior rank and influence. These 
 were Overkirk, Opdam, and Slangenberg, the cha- 
 racter of whom may be fully understood by the short 
 sketches that have been given of them. In Overkirk, 
 age had tempered, but not extinguished, the fire of 
 youth ; Opdam was distinguished neither by talents 
 nor activity ; Slangenberg was brave and skilful, but 
 of so captious and overbearing a spirit, that he had 
 remained unemployed during the latter part of the 
 late king's reign. To prevent the effects of rivalry, 
 they were appointed to separate commands ; Slan- 
 genberg was to be left on the side of the Scheldt ; 
 Overkirk to act with the main army ; and Opdam 
 to be employed in the siege of Bonn. 
 
 Marlborough, in the mean time, had formed an 
 extensive plan for the invasion of French Flanders 
 and Brabant : but in this he was again shackled by 
 the States. They insisted upon besieging Bonn ; in 
 the vain opinion, that the elector of Cologne would 
 capitulate, ratherthan expose that fine town to destruc- 
 tion. " I wish it may prove so," said the duke, in a 
 letter to Godolphin ; " for otherwise it will cost us 
 a great many men, and a good deal of time, which we 
 might spend more usefully in Brabant, now that a 
 great many of their troops are gone towards Ger- 
 many." To invest Bonn, therefore, was against his 
 judgment : but when preparations had been made, 
 and the intention of doing so had become so public, 
 that to refrain from it would have been adding loss 
 of reputation to loss of time, the duke gave orders 
 for its being invested : contrary, however, to the 
 opinion of Cohorn, who now wished the siege to be 
 delayed to the end of the year.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 67 
 
 When the governor of Bonn saw the preparations 
 that were making against him by the allies, he sent 
 a letter to the duke, importing that an agreement 
 had been made, the last year, between the electors 
 palatine and of Cologne, that the cities of Dusseldorf 
 and Bonn should not be bombarded, in order to pre- 
 serve the churches, palaces, and other public build- 
 ings ; the performance of which he was ordered to 
 request from his grace, and to declare, at the same 
 time, that unless this was complied with, the elector 
 of Bavaria would destroy the city of Nieuburg, be- 
 longing to the elector palatine. 
 
 This letter the duke conimunicated to the elector 
 palatine and the associate generals ; and, having 
 taken their opinions upon it, returned for answer, 
 that it was not his custom or inclination " to destroy 
 cities or public buildings, out of malice or design, 
 provided the enemy's conduct did not put him upon 
 such a necessity." 
 
 The siege was now carried on with great vigour, 
 the fort was taken, and such " an astonishing tempest 
 of artificial fire," as the Gazette states, was poured 
 in upon the besiegers, that, rather than stand another 
 such attack, they surrendered the place. A medal 
 was struck on this occasion, with the head of the 
 queen, and, on the reverse, an inscription, importing 
 that on the 15th of May, 1703, Bonn had been 
 taken from " the wicked," by the arms of the 
 allies. 
 
 Bonn being reduced, the duke resumed, with 
 redoubled zeal, the plan he had formed, of trans- 
 ferring the seat of war into the heart of Brabant and 
 West Flanders. With this view he urged an attack 
 upon Antwerp and Ostend : and here it may be right 
 to let him confess the true state of his mind. " If 
 P 2
 
 68 LIFE OP 
 
 we meet with no obstruction," said he, in a letter to 
 Lord Godolphin, " in our march to-morrow, I hope 
 to make the French decamp, or retire behind their 
 lines. I think their interest is not to venture a 
 battle ; but they having made no detachment, most 
 of our generals think they intend it. I am now by 
 my temper so inclined to quietness, that you will 
 believe me, when I assure you, that no ambition of 
 my own inclines me to wish a battle ; but, with the 
 blessing of God, I think it would be of far greater 
 advantage to the common cause, than the taking of 
 twenty towns ; so that, as far as I can influence, I 
 shall be far from avoiding it." 
 
 The French lines extended from Antwerp to the 
 Mehaigne, a small river, which falls into the Meuse 
 a little above Huy ; and they had another series of 
 fortifications, stretching from Antwerp towards Os- 
 tend. For the protection of these lines there were 
 two flying camps ; one near Bruges, under Count de 
 la Motte ; the other near Antwerp, under the Mar- 
 quis of Bedmar. Marlborough's design was to force 
 the enemy, by a combined operation, either to fight 
 or to retire behind their lines, and get possession of 
 Antwerp and Ostend. But here he was thwarted by 
 the misconduct of the Dutch general. 
 
 The motions of the Dutch army made it be believed 
 that there was a design upon Antwerp. Cohorn 
 was making advances in the Dutch Flanders; and 
 Opdam commanded a small army on the other side 
 of the Scheldt ; while the duke lay with the body 
 of the army under the lines in Brabant. Such being 
 their relative positions, BoufHers was detained from 
 Villeroy's army with a body double in number to 
 Opdam's, to fall upon him ; and he marched with 
 such expedition, that the Dutch were surprised at
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOBOUGH. 69 
 
 Eckeren, a village about four miles north of Antwerp ; 
 where they were thrown into such confusion, that 
 Opdam, finding all the avenues occupied, left his 
 troops to their fate ; and, after wandering the whole 
 day through remote and solitary paths, reached 
 Breda, (a distance of twenty -three miles,) conveying 
 the disastrous intelligence, that his whole force had 
 been cut off, and that he himself and his companions 
 had escaped only by accident. 
 
 When this news arrived at the Hague, the greatest 
 consternation was the result. An extraordinary 
 meeting of the States was convened at midnight, in 
 order to concert measures for securing the frontier. 
 They had not sat above an hour, however, before 
 intelligence arrived, that, after the flight of Opdam, 
 Slangenberg had taken the command ; and that, by 
 availing himself of the dykes and natural defences 
 of the country, he had repulsed the enemy, and 
 effected his retreat to Lillo. For this conduct Slan- 
 genberg and his army received the thanks of the 
 States ; and the French, though repulsed, were re- 
 warded with a Te Deum, as if the encounter had 
 been followed by a victory. 
 
 Marlborough now resumed, with new zeal, his- 
 design of attacking the French lines, and reducing 
 Antwerp. At a conference with Cohorn it was 
 therefore settled, that an attack should be made on 
 the lines, and a hundred pieces of artillery furnished 
 from the neighbouring fortresses. Before we proceed 
 farther, however, it is proper to state what ensued 
 in regard to the Dutch generals. Opdam justified 
 himself upon the ground, that he had made too hasty 
 a judgment in respect to the danger the whole army 
 was in. As to Slangenberg, he basely accused the 
 duke of having designedly exposed the Dutch troops
 
 70 LIFE OP 
 
 to defeat, because he was jealous of them ; and this 
 accusation being reported to Maryborough, the States 
 felt obliged to dispense with Slangenberg's services. 
 Thus, as it has been said, this brave officer, who had 
 been laid aside during the last years of King William, 
 for his impracticable temper, lost by his tongne all 
 the advantage he had gained by his sword. His 
 disgrace, however, did not last long ; for a quarrel 
 having ensued between Slangenberg and Cohorn, 
 Cohorn, in a fit of resentment, quitted the army, 
 and the command therefore again devolved upon 
 Slangenberg. So many different interests and opi- 
 nions, in fact, prevailed at the Hague, that the 
 Pensionary did not hesitate to declare to Marlbo- 
 rough, that he dared not take anything upon himself; 
 and that he even feared that all things would go on 
 wrong from the want of a government. 
 
 We must now say a few words in regard to what 
 was passing in England ; the feuds in the cabinet ; 
 the struggles between the two great parties of the 
 whigs and tories ; and the parts taken by the queen, 
 the duke, and the duchess. 
 
 No general was ever more harassed by those, who 
 ought to have been considered friends, than Marl- 
 borough. For while his friends, the Dutch, ha- 
 rassed him in councils of war, the various political 
 parties annoyed him at home. Indeed, he had become, 
 from various circumstances, the common mark of 
 obloquy of both parties; and while his measures 
 were arraigned, and even his exploits denied, by 
 that portion of the tories to whom he was opposed, 
 his name became associated with that of Harley in 
 the satires and lampoons issued by the whigs. The 
 queen herself was, in principle, a tory ; she seldom 
 failed, therefore, to assail Godolphin with reproaches
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 71 
 
 whenever he ventured to recommend, as he often 
 did, on the plea of necessity, the conciliating the 
 whigs : so often was this done, that his situation at 
 length became so irksome, that he signified a wish 
 to resign. He could, he wrote to Marlborough, not 
 only not obtain the support, but not even the indul- 
 
 fence, of either party. The positions, in fact, of 
 oth were exceedingly trying ; and how deeply the 
 duke felt his share may be seen from a passage in 
 one of his letters to his friend : "I hear so much of 
 the unreasonable animosities of the parties, that I 
 pity you with all my heart. I have very little rest 
 here myself; but I should have less quiet of mind if 
 I were obliged to be in your station." 
 
 Such being the state of parties, the duchess, with 
 her ardent and imperious temperament, could not be 
 expected to remain indifferent. She, therefore, re- 
 newed her efforts to engage Marlborough in a more 
 cordial union with the whigs. She went even farther : 
 she urged the queen to admit the whigs to power ; 
 and insinuated, by showing detached parts of the 
 duke's letters, particularly those which contained 
 allusions to his own wish to retire, as well as 
 Godolphin, that such would soon be inevitably the 
 case. On this the queen wrote her the following 
 affectionate letter : 
 
 " The thoughts, that my dear Mrs. Freeman and Mr.- 
 Freeman seem to have of retiring, give me no small un- 
 easiness, and therefore I must say something on that sub- 
 ject. It is no wonder at all, that people in your posts 
 should be weary of the world, who are so continually trou- 
 bled with all the hurry and impertinences of it; but, give 
 me leave to say, you should consider your faithful friends, 
 and poor country, which must be ruined, should you ever 
 put your melancholy thoughts into execution. As for 
 your poor unfortunate, faithful Morley, she could not bear
 
 7:2 LIFE OF 
 
 it ; for if ever you should forsake me, I would have no- 
 thing more to do with the world, but make another abdi- 
 cation ; for what is a crown when the support of it is 
 gone ? I never will forsake your dear self, Mr. Freeman, 
 nor Mr. Montgomery *, but always be your faithful and 
 constant friend ; and we four must never part till death 
 mows us down with his impartial hand." 
 
 This letter the duchess sent to the duke ; and his 
 grace, moved by the kind expressions it contained, 
 assured the duchess, desiring her to communicate 
 his resolution to the queen, that he would consent to 
 endure the vexations of public life, as long as her 
 Majesty should be pleased to think his services 
 necessary. 
 
 The queen's letter raised the duchess's hopes so 
 high, that she even ventured to hope, that her majesty 
 would not be long before she consented to admit the 
 whigs; she therefore renewed her entreaties to the 
 duke, that he would consent to attach himself to 
 that party. On these hopes, however, her grace 
 soon found that she had little cause to rely. The 
 queen still kept to the opinion, that the whigs held 
 doctrines dangerous to the monarchy as well as to 
 the church; while the duke testified a strong reso- 
 lution to side strictly with no party, but to preserve 
 the independent principle on which he had for some 
 time acted. His opinion of both, indeed, he stated to 
 the duchess, in a manner sufficiently strong : " I think 
 the two parties are so angry that, to ruin each other, 
 they will make no scruple of venturing the whole." 
 
 The misunderstandings and party quarrels in 
 
 England, being known to the confederation abroad, 
 
 produced, especially among the Dutch, great jealousy 
 
 and alarm. After the capture of Sluys, Marlborough 
 
 * Lord Godolphin.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 73 
 
 again resumed his plan of forcing the French lines. 
 This was supported warmly by the English generals 
 and those commanding the auxiliary troops of Den- 
 mark, Liineburg and Hesse. But the Dutch depu- 
 ties and generals were unanimous in opinion, that 
 such an enterprise would be of great risk and danger, 
 and that little advantage could be gained even from 
 success. Dwelling, too, with great emphasis on the 
 utility that would arise from the possession of Lim- 
 burg, the matter was ultimately referred to the 
 States ; and they decided, as they had often done 
 before, in favour of their own generals. This being 
 the result, the duke consented to invest Limburg. 
 " I cannot say I am yet well," said he in a letter to 
 the duchess ; " for my head aches violently ; and I 
 am afraid you will think me light-headed, when I 
 tell you that I go to-morrow to the siege of Limburg 
 in hopes to recover my health. But it is certainly 
 true that I shall have more quiet there than I have 
 here ; for I have been these last six days in a per- 
 petual dispute; and there I shall have nobody but such 
 as will willingly obey me. I call God to witness, that 
 the attack of the lines, which I have been pressing 
 them to do, was out of no other thoughts but for their 
 own good." 
 
 Limburg was invested on the 10th of September ; 
 and the garrison surrendered at discretion on the 
 27th. Guelder, w r hich had sustained a blockade since 
 the spring, soon followed the example; and with 
 these enterprises the active operations of the year 
 terminated. The campaign, though of less eclat than 
 the last, and less brilliant than the duke had expected 
 from the spirit and condition of his army, and the 
 great designs he had formed, was not without lasting 
 advantages ; for the territories of Cologne and Liege
 
 74 LIFE OF 
 
 being secured, and all Spanish Guelderland reduced, 
 the States were relieved from that dread of invasion, 
 Avhich had long held them in a state of anxiety and 
 suspense. The way was now opened, also, for enter- 
 prises more extensive and important. 
 
 The duke, however, was not yet able to return to 
 England, as he had hoped. The emperor was in a 
 situation of great danger. The French, having taken 
 Brisca and recovered Landau, had opened themselves 
 a way into the heart of Germany ; and the Elector 
 of Bavaria had become enabled to communicate with 
 the armies of France on one side, and with the 
 insurgents in Hungary on the other. The emperor, 
 in that quarter, was scarcely able to maintain more 
 than twenty thousand men ; while that of the 
 elector was not less than forty-five thousand. The 
 former even prepared his capital for a siege. On all 
 sides the means of defence were lamentably inade- 
 quate ; and the French indulged hopes that the next 
 campaign would place ihem in actual possession of 
 Vienna. 
 
 These hopes, however, were frustrated by the 
 disputes between Villars and the Elector of Bavaria; 
 the patriotic resistance of the Tyrolese ; and, finally, 
 by the sudden defection of the Duke of Savoy. 
 That prince had embraced the Bourbon cause in the 
 first instance with great sincerity and zeal. But he 
 soon after discovered that, in contributing to the 
 ruin of Austria, he was facilitating his own liability 
 to a servile dependence on France. Though, there- 
 fore, he had been bribed by the marriage of his two 
 daughters, the one with the Duke of Burgundy, heir 
 presumptive to the crown of France ; and the other 
 with the Duke of Anjou, the successful aspirant to 
 that of Spain ; he made several overtures to the court
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MABLBOROUGH. 75 
 
 of Vienna. Many obstacles intervened to prevent 
 these overtures from coming to a successful result 
 in the first instance ; when, fortunately for the allies, 
 the Duke of Savoy's defection was rendered absolute 
 by an impolitic act of severity on the part of France. 
 Having, not only by the activity of their own agents, 
 but by the artful diclosure of the emperor's court, 
 become acquainted with what was going on, the 
 French court determined on terrifying the Duke of 
 Savoy by a sudden and decisive blow. This con- 
 sisted in Yendome's arresting and disarming five 
 thousand Piedmontese that formed part of his. army. 
 When the Duke of Savoy heard of this affront, he 
 threw off the mask, rejected the offer of France 
 to receive the Milanese in exchange for Savoy 
 and Nice, concluded subsidiary treaties with the 
 maritime powers, and acceded at once to the grand 
 alliance. 
 
 This event, combined with that of the accession of 
 Portugal to the allied cause, opened new scenes of 
 action ; and this led to a change of system on the 
 part of the allies. The Archduke Charles being pro- 
 claimed King of Spain at Vienna, he was formally 
 acknowledged by all the powers of the alliance ; and, 
 on his way to England, where he was to join an arma- 
 ment prepared to realise his pretensions, he arrived 
 at Dusseldorf at the time in which Marlborough was 
 employed in arranging for his troops their winter 
 quarters. On the arrival of the king, the duke 
 hastened to pay him his respects, as well as to con- 
 vey the queen's congratulations on his accession to 
 his new dignity. This visit was exceedingly agree- 
 able to the king, who did not fail to treat the British 
 general with great regard, and on his departure, 
 took his sword from his side and gave it to him. " I
 
 76 LIFE OF 
 
 am not ashamed," said his Majesty, " to own that I 
 am a poor prince, having no other inheritance than 
 my cloak and my sword. My sword may be useful 
 to your grace ; and I hope you will not esteem it the 
 less because I have worn it a day. I hoped to pre- 
 sent it to you at the head of that gallant army with 
 which you have performed such gallant actions." 
 On this the duke took the sword, and, kissing the 
 hilt, answered with his usual grace and elegance, 
 " It acquires an additional value in my eyes, because 
 your majesty has condescended to wear it ; for it will 
 always remind me of your just right to the Spanish 
 crown, and of my obligation to hazard my life and 
 all that is dear to me, in rendering you the greatest 
 prince in Christendom." On arriving at the Hague, 
 whither they journeyed together, and where Marl- 
 borough, as well as the king, was received with 
 great consideration, his majesty carried his respect 
 still further ; for he presented him with his portrait 
 richly set in diamonds, and accompanied the gift with 
 expressions of great kindness. 
 
 Though the Dutch were pleased to show all man- 
 ner of respect to Marlborough, they nevertheless 
 treated him in some respects with great indifference ; 
 for they not only reinstated Opdam in his command, 
 but even seconded Slangenberg in his accusations 
 against him. Parties at home, too, greatly augmented 
 his chagrin. For, independent of other annoyances, 
 they drew two thousand men from his army to act 
 in Portugal ; a circumstance likely to give great 
 umbrage to the Dutch. In fact it did so ; and 
 Marlborough therefore communicated their dislike to 
 Lord Godolphin : " I cannot but say that" the Dutch 
 argue very justly. If the queen can, without their 
 consent, take these men, she may, by the same
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MAHLBOROUGU. 77 
 
 reason, recall the rest : and, by the same reasoning, 
 they are at liberty to reduce as many as they please 
 of their army." This, and the circumstance of his 
 friend Godolphin's having become an advocate for 
 defensive operations, confirmed his desire of retiring 
 altogether from the command, in , which he found 
 such complicated opposition and disquietude. With 
 this intention he landed in England, Nov. 10, N. S., 
 1703 ; and he had no sooner done so, than the 
 discontented portion of the tories revived the bill 
 against occasional conformity : and that, not out 
 of any wish to further the interests of religion, 
 but to sow dissension in the court, and shackle 
 the operations of government. It ought, how- 
 ever, to have been stated, that Marlborough had 
 scarcely time to receive the welcome of his family, 
 when he was dispatched to Portsmouth to compli- 
 ment the King of Spain, who had arrived there, and 
 to conduct him to Windsor. There the king paid 
 great respect to the duchess, and presented her with 
 a ring of great value from his own finger ; and when 
 she presented him with the basin and ewer, his 
 majesty took it from her grace's hand, and held it 
 for the queen. 
 
 In regard to the bill against occasional conformity, 
 her Majesty took great interest in its success. The 
 duchess was a whig ; it was, therefore, hoped by the 
 party which proposed it, that its revival might 
 create a division of friendship between the queen and 
 the duchess. The duchess, however, limited her 
 opposition to this bill, so far as the queen was con- 
 cerned, to a few unfavourable expressions : but with 
 the duke, she was so far from sharing his feelings 
 and wishes, that she earnestly importuned him to 
 oppose it in the most open and decided manner
 
 78 LIFE OP 
 
 possible. His grace, however, thinking it best to 
 respect the prejudices of the queen, as well as to 
 preserve his own consistency, did not follow the 
 duchess's advice. He let the bill take its own course. 
 It was, therefore, after a long and warm debate, lost 
 by a majority of twelve voices. 
 
 "We must now return to the Continent. Marl- 
 borough, as we have stated, had returned to Eng- 
 land with an evident wish to resign the command ; 
 but, on consideration, he resolved to sacrifice all 
 personal interests to the public cause. The change 
 occasioned by the accession of Portugal and Savoy 
 had not averted the peril ; it had only suspended it. 
 The French king still indulged hopes, that, in a single 
 campaign, he could reduce the emperor to submission, 
 and, by one stroke, break the bonds of that confe- 
 deracy, which had presumed to set bounds to his 
 dominions and wishes. 
 
 There was one decided misfortune on the part of 
 the emperor. He had only one general, on whose 
 genius and devotion he could rely. This was Prince 
 Eugene ; and it appears certain, that, had Marl- 
 borough acted upon his resolution of retiring, the 
 subversion of public and private liberty had been the 
 inevitable consequence. The fate of Europe, indeed 4 
 seemed to depend on one movement of the combined 
 armies ; and that the first. Marlborough compre- 
 hended the full extent of the danger. He perceived, 
 too, that the only safe means of meeting it was to 
 remove the scene of action to the Danube. With this 
 view he opened a correspondence with Prince Eugene, 
 who had recently been made president of the council 
 of war at Vienna, and with him concerted a plan of 
 operations so bold, and so unlike anything the Eng- 
 lish had ever been accustomed to, that he did not
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 79 
 
 esteem it prudent to communicate it to the cabinet ; 
 not even to Lord Godolpliin himself. He contented 
 himself with obtaining an augmentation of force, to 
 the amount of ten thousand men ; and these, with 
 what he had before, enlarged his army to fifty thou- 
 sand. With this comparatively small force he formed 
 the design of trusting the protection of Holland and 
 Flanders to the Dutch army ; and, leaving the 
 numerous fortresses and troops of the enemy to 
 march, with all the forces he could collect, and all 
 the expedition he could use, to that part of the 
 contending scene, where the danger was most press- 
 ing and the probability of meeting it with success 
 the most commanding. 
 
 Having arranged all things with Prince Eugene, 
 he formed the determination of incurring the whole 
 responsibility himself; trusting for the acquiescence 
 of the cabinet to events. Having arrived at the 
 Hague, after a tempestuous voyage, he communi- 
 cated his plan to the pensionary, Heinsius ; and, 
 after some struggle, the States, who thought the plan 
 too bold, gave an assent. He succeeded also in other 
 matters with the other powers ; especially the King 
 of Prussia, who had seized every opportunity to 
 enhance the price of his assistance. " He com- 
 mended the zeal his majesty had displayed for the 
 common cause,' says Mr. Coxe ; " flattered him 
 with the title of deliverer of the empire, obtained an 
 increase of his troops, and adroitly engaged him in a 
 negotiation to detach the Elector of Bavaria." He 
 made a confidential communication, also, relating to a 
 disposition on the Meuse and the Moselle ; a plan, 
 however, having no other object than to conceal and 
 promote his grand design. This was to open a cam- 
 paign with the British troops and part of the foreign
 
 80 LIFE OF 
 
 auxiliaries ; while a defensive system was to be 
 adopted by Overkirk, who, with the Dutch and the 
 other auxiliaries, were to maintain a defensive sys- 
 tem in the Netherlands. His hopes, nevertheless, still 
 seem to have been not of the most promising kind ; 
 for he writes to the duchess " I hope to be with 
 you as soon as this letter, which makes me write to 
 nobody but my dearest soul, in whom is all the 
 pleasure of my life ; for when I am from you, I see 
 I cannot have any quiet. For this campaign I see 
 so very ill a prospect, that I am extremely out of 
 heart. But God's will be done ; and I must be for 
 this year very uneasy ; for in all the other campaigns 
 I had an opinion of being able to do something for 
 the common cause ; but in this I have no other 
 hope, than that some lucky accident may enable me 
 to do good." 
 
 Before his plans, however, could be put in action, 
 he had to return to England to communicate part of 
 his arrangements, and to obtain a sanction of them. 
 This having been effected, we shall not interrupt the 
 course of the important affairs we are about to detail, 
 by any allusion to minuter ones ; and shall merely 
 state, that he returned to the Continent after a 
 short stay. We cannot, however, abstain from 
 relating that, during this short visit, having been 
 actively instrumental in the promotion of Har- 
 ley and Bolingbroke, he by that assistance paved 
 the road to his own subsequent mortification and 
 disgrace. 
 
 The reader is now requested particularly to re- 
 member, that Marlborough, when he stated his plans- 
 to the queen and the ministry, did not communicate 
 the whole ; but, knowing how much his success 
 depended on secrecy, he merely stated, as he had
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MABLBOROUGH. 81 
 
 done in Holland, that his design was to act on the 
 Moselle. 
 
 On returning to the Hague, he had again many 
 difficulties to encounter from the Dutch ; insomuch 
 that, in a letter to Godolphin, he says, " The mea- 
 sures they are willing to take in the campaign are, in 
 my opinion, very wrong. I am sure, if I cannot pre- 
 vail with them to change, I shall have very little 
 heart to serve." At length, weary of their selfishness, 
 he declared he would undertake leading the English 
 troops by themselves, and cease to consult so insig- 
 nificant a government any longer. This declaration 
 had the desired effect. The same timidity, which 
 had led them to refuse, now urged them to consent. 
 They invested him, therefore, with full powers. 
 
 Having succeeded in this, he imparted part of his 
 plan to Godolphin ; desiring him, at the same time, 
 to make it known to no one hut the queen and 
 Prince George. " Since I have no thought in this 
 matter," said he, " but what is for the queen's ser- 
 vice and the public good, I do no ways doubt but 
 her majesty will approve it ; for I am very sensible 
 that I take a great deal upon me. But should I act 
 otherwise, the empire would be undone, and conse- 
 quently the confederacy. * * If I find, when I 
 get to Philipsberg, the French shall have joined 
 more troops to the Elector of Bavaria, I shall make 
 no difficulty of marching (instantly) to the Danube." 
 
 Having completed all his preparations, Marlborough 
 quitted the Hague, and on the 19th of May, 1704, 
 commenced that celebrated expedition, which has 
 been found to have been pregnant with such awful 
 events. It had not been possible for the enemy to 
 perceive what the intentions for this campaign were. 
 The secret had been confined to Prince Eugene and
 
 82 LIFE OF 
 
 himself till the latest moment ; and the plan was so 
 much beyond the policy of the English cabinet, and 
 its vacillating allies, that the French were as little 
 able to divine it as to discover it. " When they 
 heard," says an elegant writer, " that Marlborough 
 was at Coblentz, they apprehended an attack upon 
 the Moselle ; when he advanced to Mentz, they feared 
 for Alsace ; lastly, they suspected that Landau was 
 to be besieged." The consequence of all this was, 
 that when they became acquainted with his inarch 
 towards the Danube, they found it too late to take 
 any measures to oppose him on the way. 
 
 We must pass over all minor details. On arriving 
 near Mentz, the elector was so struck with the 
 appearance of Marlborough's troops, that, alluding 
 to an entertainment, to which he had invited the 
 officers, he observed to their general " These gentle- 
 men seem to be all dressed for the balL" And this 
 remark leads us to remember what has been written 
 in respect to the discipline, Marlborough had been 
 so fortunate, as to establish. Colonel Blackader, in 
 his journal, says of Marlborough's troops, that when 
 he first joined them, they were " the very scum 
 and dregs of mankind." We are told, that wherever 
 the French carried their arms, their soldiers lived at 
 free quarters; and that the Germans followed the 
 example. In regard to the troops of Marlborough, 
 however, it was different. He was strictly careful 
 in sparing the people he was called upon to defend. 
 His men, therefore, were regularly paid, and duly 
 provided with everything necessary for their comfort 
 and well-being. 
 
 He was now at Mentz, where he had great satis- 
 faction in learning that the States-General had con- 
 sented to reinforce his army with twenty squadrons
 
 JOHN, D1TKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 83 
 
 and eight battalions of Danish auxiliaries. But this 
 satisfaction was, in a great measure, neutralised by 
 the intelligence, he at this time received, that the 
 Margrave of Baden had not only permitted French 
 succours to join the Elector of Bavaria, but that he 
 had, also, by his indolence, neglected a favourable 
 opportunity of cutting them off after the junction ; 
 they having been without bread, and with no other 
 resource than that of surrendering at discretion. 
 
 Marlborough, after a short stay, proceeded on his 
 march, and on the 3rd of June arrived at Ladenburg, 
 where he had previously sent orders for three bridges 
 to be built for his passage over the Neckar. From 
 this place he wrote a very affectionate letter to the 
 duchess, who having, sometime before, expressed her 
 wish to accompany him in the campaign, had now 
 repeated the desire. " I take it extremely kind," 
 said the duke, " that you persist in desiring to come 
 to me ; but I am sure, when you consider that three 
 days hence will be a month, that the troops have 
 been in continual march to get hither ; and we shall 
 be a fortnight longer before we shall be able to get to 
 the Danube ; so that you would hardly get to me 
 and back again to Holland before it would be time 
 to return into England. Besides, my dear soul, how 
 could I be at my ease ? For if we should not have 
 good success, I could not put you into any place 
 where you would be safe." 
 
 Having passed the Neckar, Marlborough again 
 moved forward ; and having been joined by several 
 bodies of auxiliaries, he encamped on the 7th of June 
 at Erpingen ; where he received intelligence that the 
 duke of Villeroy, with his army, would soon join 
 that of Tallard above Landau, in order to force the 
 passage of the Rhine. Learning this, he dispatched
 
 84 LIFE OP 
 
 Count Wretislaw to Prince Louis of Baden's army, 
 to make him sensible of the great consequence it was 
 to prevent the French from passing that river. In 
 the meantime, crossing the Neckar a second time at 
 Lauffen, he came on the 9th to Mondelsheim, where 
 he had the pleasure of finding that Prince Eugene 
 was on his way to pay him a visit. 
 
 Now it was that these two generals met for the 
 first time, and conceived for each other that esteem 
 and confidence which afterwards rendered them 
 partners in the same glory. When the prince beheld 
 Marlborough's troops, he was charmed to see them 
 in such excellent condition, after so long and harass- 
 ing a march. " Much have I heard," said he, " of 
 English cavalry ; and find it to be the best appointed 
 and finest I have ever seen. Money you have in 
 plenty in England. You can easily procure clothes 
 and accoutrements ; but nothing can purchase the 
 spirit which I see in the looks of these men. It is 
 an earnest of victory ! " 
 
 Charmed with this compliment, although Marl- 
 borough could not but think it was amply merited, 
 he made to the prince a still more flattering reply: 
 " My troops are always animated with zeal for the 
 common cause ; but they are now inspired witli your 
 highness's presence ; and this it is that awakens the 
 spirit that excites your highness's admiration." 
 
 Three days after this, the two heroes were joined 
 by the Margrave of Baden, who had, at Marlbo- 
 rough's suggestion, despatched nine thousand Prus- 
 sians and three regiments of cavalry, to secure the 
 passage of the Rhine. On seeing Marlborough, the 
 margrave exclaimed " I am come to meet the 
 deliverer of the empire !" Then alluding to his 
 having, by his supineness, permitted the French to
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MAKLBOROUGII. 85 
 
 join the Elector of Bavaria, he added, " Your grace 
 will not fail to assist me in Abdicating my honour, 
 which, I am well aware, has been lowered in public 
 estimation." " I am come," answered Marlborough, 
 in the spirit of an accomplished courtier, " to learn 
 of your highness how to save the empire. None 
 but those who are deficient in judgment can depre- 
 ciate the merits of the Prince of Baden, who has not 
 only preserved the empire, but extended its bounda- 
 ries." 
 
 It was Marlborough's wish that the margrave 
 should remain with the army on the Rhine ; and that 
 Prince Eugene should be his colleague on the Danube ; 
 but this the margrave would not consent to : unwil- 
 ling to be removed from that scene of action, which, 
 he foresaw, would be the most brilliant, he insisted 
 on the privilege of choice, as elder in rank ; and 
 it was not without considerable difficulty that he 
 was prevailed upon to share the command, alternate 
 days, with Marlborough himself. Eugene, therefore, 
 to the mortification of Marlborough, as well as of 
 himself, was constrained to submit to this arrange- 
 ment, and take command upon the Rhine. Marl- 
 borough, at the same time, was fully sensible of the 
 evils that might result from an alternate command ; 
 especially when the moment for action was to be 
 seized and taken advantage of. His being elected to 
 serve alternately with Prince Louis in the heart of 
 Germany was, however, considered by most persons 
 a very high honour ; since, till then, precedence had 
 always been given to the forces of the empire. 
 
 At this time Marlborough received intelligence, 
 that the States, alarmed at a report that the Nether- 
 lands were about to be attacked, would reclaim a 
 part of the auxiliary force ; and that Villeroy and
 
 86 LIFE OF 
 
 Tallard, having had a meeting at Landau, had con- 
 certed some important enterprise. He was, however, 
 of a nature neither to be daunted nor subdued. He 
 derived consolation, too, from the reflection that he 
 was no longer as he had been in the last campaign 
 shackled by the opinions and control of Dutch 
 deputies, and the jealousies of Dutch generals. He, 
 therefore, gave way to hope. 
 
 After the necessary resolutions had been projected 
 against the Elector of Bavaria, Prince Eugene went 
 to the army on the Rhine; Prince Louis to his 
 army; and Maryborough to his station. In the 
 meantime, before any blow could be struck, Marl- 
 borough received a message from the emperor, 
 through Count Wretislaw, importing that it was 
 his wish to make him a prince of the empire, with a 
 sufficient quantity of land for a principality; with 
 the privilege, attached to it, of sitting in the diet 
 with the sovereign princes of the empire. " You 
 know," said Marlborough, in communicating this 
 intelligence to the duchess, " that I am not good at 
 compliments. However, I did assure him, that I 
 was very sensible of the honour his master intended 
 me ; but in my opinion nothing of this ought to be 
 done till we saw what would be the fate of the war." 
 To this Wretislaw replied, that what the duke had 
 already done had laid the emperor under greater obli- 
 gation than he could express ; and that if her majesty, 
 the queen, would not allow it to be done, the emperor 
 would appear exceedingly ungrateful to the whole 
 world. The duke communicated this offer to Godol- 
 phin, charging him to let no one but the queen and the 
 prince know of it : stating, at the same time, that he 
 should do nothing toward acceptance, till he had 
 received the queen's commands.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 87 
 
 The most critical point was now readied, as well 
 as the most anxious period of his march. On the 
 24th of June the confederates advancing to Elchingen 
 and Langenau, in the neighbourhood of the Danube, 
 the elector of Bavaria withdrew from the post he 
 had established at Ulm, and retired to a strongly 
 intrenched camp between Lawingen and Dillingen. 
 The next day Maryborough established himself at 
 Langenau ; and on the 26th the confederates took 
 post about two leagues from the enemy. Here the 
 duke, in reviewing his troops, was happy to find 
 that the rains, which had been lately very heavy, 
 had by no means affected their gallant air and 
 healthy appearance : and the force now amounted to 
 ninety-six battalions and two hundred and two 
 squadrons, with twenty-four pontons, and forty-eight 
 pieces of cannon. The Danish horse had not yet 
 arrived. 
 
 We have no room to state at large the previous 
 dispositions of the Elector of Bavaria. Suffice to say, 
 that he now occupied a strong position between 
 Lawingen and Dillingen, and was waiting for re- 
 inforcements from France ; in which hope he had 
 detached General D'Arco with 10,000 foot and 2500 
 horse, to protect Donawerth, a city on the frontiers 
 of Bavaria and Swabia ; and situate at the point 
 where the Wernitz flows into the Danube. He had 
 orders, also, to occupy a height, called Schellenberg, 
 on the left bank of the river, near the town, from 
 which the course of the Danube could be seen even 
 to Ingoldstadt. The ascent of this height is gradual. 
 Its summit is not above half a mile wide ; and there 
 the Bavarian troops had encamped and fortified them - 
 selves with great skill. In occupying this positio n, 
 the elector hoped to cover his own dominions, and to
 
 88 LIFE OF 
 
 hold the confederation in check, till he could receive 
 the reinforcements he expected everyday from France. 
 We must now revert, for a moment, to the condi- 
 tion of Maryborough, in respect to reputation; that 
 ticklish point which is sometimes " gained without 
 merit, and lost without deserving." As a general, he 
 stood at the head of Europe, and as a negociator, per- 
 haps, still higher. But how long he was to maintain 
 this rank was not so certain : and this we may learn 
 from a letter written at that time by a gentleman of 
 Hanover to another occupying a station in one of the 
 German courts. " I am sure there is a greater party 
 forming against my Lord Treasurer and my Lord 
 Marlborough than ever there was against King 
 William's ministers ; and what the consequences may 
 be, I cannot tell. Affairs will yet go worse, if their 
 enemies prevail ; but much w r ill depend upon my 
 lord's success in Germany; and no king could wish 
 for a more noble opportunity to relieve, not only 
 Germany, but Europe, than this that he is employed 
 upon, or that could be more glorious for himself. If 
 the Elector of Bavaria is reduced, it will stop the 
 mouths of his enemies, and they will not be able to 
 hurt him in England ; but if he fails, he will be railed 
 at in Holland, and accused in England for the loss 
 he must suffer in such an expedition ; and I much 
 apprehend the consequence everywhere." In another 
 letter, he says, " My Lord Marlborough has joined 
 the troops under Prince Lewis of Baden, not far from 
 Ulm ; and the success of this affair will either gain 
 him a great reputation, and very much shelter him 
 from his enemies (which are not few), or be his 
 ruin." 
 
 Maryborough's expedition into the heart of Germany 
 was, indeed, a very daring and perilous undertaking.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGII. 89 
 
 He knew, however, the propriety of it, and failed, 
 therefore, in nothing to ensure its success. Conscious 
 that if the army arrived before Donawerth on the 
 day of the margrave's authority, it would be wasted 
 in deliberation ; he seized his own time of command, 
 marched fourteen milos, though a heavy train of 
 artillery was to be conducted over roads that had 
 been rendered almost impassable by incessant rains, 
 and resolved upon immediately making an attack. 
 He had to force a position of great strength, defended 
 by an ample power. Every thing seemed to depend 
 upon it; and so bold an enterprise might have 
 daunted a spirit less persevering and determined ; for 
 some of his officers thought the proper time had not 
 yet arrived. To these he shortly answered, " Either 
 the enemy will escape, or have time to finish their 
 works. Should they be able to effect the last, the 
 delay of every single hour will cost the loss of a 
 thousand men." He was the more impelled, too, 
 by having received intelligence, that Villeroy and 
 Tallard were preparing a powerful reinforcement for 
 the Elector, at Strasburgh. 
 
 The Bavarians, on the other hand, knowing the 
 extreme difficulty of the march, Marlborough's troops 
 had encountered, naturally feared no assault on the 
 close of the day on which it had taken place. In 
 this, however, they were woefully disappointed. 
 Maryborough began the attack. The Bavarians 
 made a gallant and skilful resistance ; the works, 
 though unfinished, gave them great assistance, and 
 having broken the assailants by a heavy fire, they 
 boldly rushed out and charged them with the bayonet. 
 They were, nevertheless, repulsed ; and that chiefly by 
 a battalion of English guards, who maintained their 
 ground singly, while most of their officers were either
 
 90 LIFE OP 
 
 killed or wounded. At this moment there was an 
 accidental explosion of some powder, which had 
 been brought among the Bavarians for distribution. 
 This produced a panic. The margrave came up 
 with a reinforcement ; and Marlborough entered 
 the works at the head of the first squadrons. The 
 victory became complete. The rout and carnage 
 which ensued may be more easily conceived than 
 described. D'Arco escaped with difficulty, and his 
 son was amongst those who perished in the river. 
 Sixteen pieces of cannon were taken ; thirteen colours, 
 with all the tents, baggage, and ammunition. The 
 equipage and plate of the commander, and other rich 
 booty, fell into the hands of the soldiery, and were 
 divided amongst them. The carnage was very 
 great. The fugitives broke down the bridge by their 
 numbers ; many perished in the Danube ; and only 
 three thousand escaped to rejoin the elector. The 
 victory, however, was not gained without a heavy 
 loss. Fifteen hundred men were killed, four thou- 
 sand wounded ; and no less than eight generals, 
 eleven colonels, and twenty-six captains, fell in the 
 battle. The time of action was, nevertheless, only 
 two hours. 
 
 Scarcely was the conflict terminated, before night 
 set in with a heavy rain. This greatly aggra- 
 vated the sufferings of the wounded ^ to the care of 
 whom Marlborough paid a strict and careful attend- 
 ance. He then left a considerable body of troops 
 to maintain possession of the intrenchments, and, 
 withdrawing with the remainder to the camp on the 
 Wernitz, took up his quarters at Obermorgen. The 
 next day he wrote home, giving an account of the 
 victory he had gained ; and, in announcing his suc- 
 cess to the queen, ascribed it to the especial blessing
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 91 
 
 of God, and the unparalleled bravery of the troops ; 
 concluding his letter with, " I shall endeavour to 
 improve the happy beginning to your majesty's 
 glory and the benefit of your allies." " I think my- 
 self so happy in my dearest soul's love," said he in a 
 letter to the duchess, " that I know she will be better 
 pleased with two lines, that I am well after the action 
 of yesterday, than with whole volumes on another 
 occasion. * * * Let my children know I am 
 well : and let my lord treasurer know that I think 
 the English have done so well, that the cannon 
 ought to fire for this victory." 
 
 Donawerth was immediately evacuated by the 
 enemy ; and the emperor, who knew that, had it not 
 been for this expedition, so fortunately planned and 
 executed by Marlborough, the elector would then 
 have been in Vienna, dictating his own terms, wrote 
 with his own hand to congratulate the victorious 
 commander. The successful result of this action, 
 however, had the effect of aggravating the misunder- 
 standing which had already taken place between the 
 two commanders ; and many were the persons, not 
 only in the army, but even in Holland afterwards, 
 who were willing to throw all the honour of victory 
 over the margrave, rather than over Marlborough ; 
 but the latter wisely consoled himself for those little 
 efforts of malice by receiving with due humility the 
 applause of the public ; and his fame became so 
 general, that the Duke of Shrewsbury, waiting to 
 him from Home, expressed himself in the following 
 flattering manner. " I will not suspend your time 
 with politic reflections, which you can make much 
 better than I ; but must tell you, that in this holy, 
 ignorant city, they have an idea of you as of a 
 Tamerlane : and had I a picture of old Colonel Birch
 
 92 LIFE OP 
 
 with his whiskers, I could put it off for yours, and 
 change it for one done by Raphael." At Vienna 
 every tongue was lavish in praise of the English 
 troops and the zeal and conduct of their commander. 
 The young king of the Romans, on his way to chapel, 
 " broke through the severe rules of Austrian eti- 
 quette," wrote Mr. Stepney to Mr. Secretary Harley, 
 " to testify his exultation ;" and the cold, phleg- 
 matic Leopold, in a letter to his grace, told him, 
 with many other flattering expressions, that " the 
 victory, he had gained, would be an eternal trophy to 
 the queen, in Upper Germany; whither," continued 
 his imperial majesty, " the victorious arms of the 
 English nation have never penetrated since the 
 memory of man." Perhaps, however, the reader 
 may be better pleased to have a translation of the 
 real letter placed before him. 
 
 " Illustrious, sincerely beloved ; Your deserts towards 
 me, my house, and the common cause, are great and many; 
 and the singular application, care, and diligence which you 
 have expressed, in bringing up and hastening the power- 
 ful succours which the most serene and potent Queen of 
 Great Britain, and the States General of the United Nether- 
 lands, have sent me to the Danube, are not to be ranked in 
 the last place ; but nothing can be more glorious than what 
 you have done, after the conjunction of the army with 
 mine, in the most speedy and vigorous attack, and forcing 
 of the enemy's camp near Donawerth, the second of this 
 month ; since my generals themselves, and ministers 
 declare, that the success of that enterprise (which is more 
 acceptable and advantageous to me, in this present time, 
 than almost any thing else that could befal me) is chiefly 
 owing to your counsels, prudence and execution, and the 
 wonderful bravery and constancy of the troops who have 
 fought under your command." 
 
 On delivering this letter to the duke, the bearer of 
 it, Count Wretislaw, told his grace that the emperor
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 93 
 
 had again desired him to express his imperial pleasure, 
 that he should accept the title and dignity of a prince 
 of the empire, as he had before urged. Upon this, 
 the duke prayed the count to represent to the 
 emperor, that he was extremely sensible of his good- 
 ness towards him, beyond any thing he could deserve ; 
 but that his ambition was entirely bounded in the 
 queen's grace and favour, whose kindness had been 
 already extended towards him, beyond whatever he 
 could have aimed at ; and that he must, therefore, 
 refer himself wholly to her majesty's pleasure. Upon 
 this, the emperor wrote to the queen with his own 
 hand ; but before the queen's answer could arrive, 
 the duke had acquired a higher title to this honourable 
 distinction. His own sense of it, however, may be 
 learnt from what he wrote to the duchess. " In 
 regard to what is proposed by the emperor, I should 
 be glad the lord treasurer and you should be informed 
 of my intention in this matter ; which is, that I have 
 no tliought that this should change my name or rank 
 in England. But as none of my nation ever had 
 the like, I think it may, in after times, remain as an 
 honour to the queen and me." 
 
 The Elector of Bavaria was no sooner informed 
 that his troops had been defeated at Schellenberg, 
 than he quitted his camp, between Dillingen and 
 Lawingen, and came to the other side of the Danube, 
 over against Donawerth. At the same time he sent 
 orders to his garrison at Donawerth, to set fire to the 
 town, to burn their bridges and magazines, and then 
 to retire. To this end, the garrison placed straw in 
 every house. They were, however, not sufficiently 
 prompt ; for the confederates entered the town at the 
 moment of their retreat, without opposition ; and not 
 only extinguished the conflagration, but found two
 
 94 LIFE OF 
 
 thousand sacks of wheat, great store of oats, and all 
 sorts of provision and ammunition, which the enemy 
 had not time to destroy. 
 
 In consequence of this victory, the Gallo-Bavarians 
 commenced a retreat to Augsburgh, where they took 
 post ; while the allies passed the Danube and the 
 Lech ; and soon after captured Rain, Aicha, and 
 Friedburgh. 
 
 By halting and intrenching himself under the 
 cannon of Augsburgh, the elector evidently indicated 
 that he designed sacrificing all other considerations 
 for the sake of the reinforcements he expected from 
 France. The allies, therefore, determined on turning 
 the tide of the war into the heart of his unfortunate- 
 country, before his troops had recovered their con- 
 sternation. They took provision to that effect. 
 There now, therefore, appeared to be a favourable 
 opportunity of endeavouring to detach Bavaria from 
 its fatal alliance with France : for the elector, by 
 the skill of Marlborough, was now cut off from all 
 communication. He had, nevertheless, so fortified 
 himself before Augsburgh, that it seemed impossible 
 to attack or force him out of his shelter. 
 
 The elector, by the losses he had sustained, had 
 now become an altered man. Though, in reality, a 
 prince of great spirit and gallantry, he had lost, all the 
 gaiety, animation, and affability, which had before so 
 eminently distinguished him, and had given way to 
 such depression, that, when he discoursed on the late 
 lamentable catastrophe, he shed tears. It was there- 
 fore hoped that he might be disposed to submit to 
 such terms as might save his country from the 
 
 
 
 horrors of military execution. 
 
 Previous to the late engagement, a negociation had 
 been entered into with the elector ; but it was broken
 
 95 
 
 off in consequence of the exorbitant demands he had 
 made. These were, to be put in possession of the 
 Duchy of Nieuburgh, and the Marquisate of Bourgue; 
 the Upper Austria ; Nieuburgh on the Inn ; Fort 
 Kofstein with its dependencies ; the four imperial 
 cities of Ulm, Augsburgh, Memmingen and Ratis- 
 bon ; the restoration of the Elector of Cologne, with 
 a subsidy, from England and Holland, of one hun- 
 dred thousand crowns per month. All the above 
 he desired to possess, with a sovereign power, and the 
 title of king. 
 
 These proposals were made June 21. It was now 
 the latter end of July; and, what a reverse ! A 
 treaty was entered into; and though the terms were 
 not equal to what would have been before granted, 
 they were far from being insulting to his feelings or 
 dishonourable to his character. These were, the 
 restoration of his dominions ; a subsidy of two hun- 
 dred thousand crowns ; and to furnish twelve thou- 
 sand men for the service of the emperor. During 
 this treaty, however, the elector was merely tempo- 
 rizing. He was far from being in earnest ; and only 
 made this show of compliance to gain time ; while 
 he sent courier after courier, with the most pressing 
 exhortations, to hasten the advance of the French army 
 under the command of Marshal Tallard. Terms, 
 however, were agreed upon at last ; and a day ap- 
 pointed for the elector to meet the Austrian plenipo- 
 tentiary, and ratify the treaty. Before the time 
 arrived, however, having received an assurance that 
 Tallard was on the way to his assistance with 
 thirty-five thousand men, and those the best troops 
 of France, the elector broke off the treaty at once ; and, 
 instead of meeting the Austrian plenipotentiary, he 
 sent his secretary to announce that, since the French
 
 96 LIFE OP 
 
 general was approaching to his succour, it was 
 neither in his power, nor was it consistent with his 
 honour, to desert an ally who had made such efforts 
 in his behalf. He must remain firm to his alliance. 
 
 The dreadful consequence of this failure on the part 
 of the elector was, that, by the severe laws of war, 
 his country was ordered to be given up to military 
 execution ! When the Bavarians heard of this ter- 
 rible decree, the whole country was in the utmost 
 consternation ; and several places sent deputies to 
 the duke, offering to pay large contributions to pre- 
 vent military execution ; but Marlborough, consulting 
 the general good, in preference to his own private 
 advantage, told the deputies, that the forces of 
 England had not come into Bavaria to extort money ; 
 but to bring its prince to some share of reason and 
 moderation. 
 
 The command having been issued, the execution 
 began ; and, before the whole terminated, more than 
 three hundred towns, villages, and castles, were 
 burnt ! The matter, however, was far from being 
 agreeable to the duke. " It is so contrary to my 
 nature," said he, in a letter to the duchess, " that 
 nothing but absolute necessity could have obliged me 
 to consent to it ; for these poor people suffer from 
 their master's ambition. There have been no wars in 
 this country for above sixty years ; and these towns 
 and villages are so clean, that you would be pleased 
 with them." 
 
 When the elector found what had been the con- 
 sequences of his conduct, he was greatly affected. 
 He was, nevertheless, not redeemed. He could not 
 believe, he said, in a letter to the duke, that such 
 violences, so opposite to true glory, had been 
 committed by his grace's orders, or by those of Prince
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 97 
 
 Lewis of Baden ; tlierefore, if they were continued, 
 he should feel impelled by necessity to make re- 
 prisals. " It is in the power of the elector," was 
 Marlborough's reply, " to end it at .once ; and that 
 is by a speedy accommodation." On hearing this, 
 buoyed up by the approach of Tallard, the elector 
 was pleased to reply, " that since they had obliged 
 him to draw the sword, he had thrown away the 
 scabbard." 
 
 Tallard was now at no considerable distance ; he 
 made a rapid march to Biberbach, where he came 
 in communication with the Bavarian army. Anti- 
 cipating this, the confederates had resolved to at- 
 tempt the reducing all the strong places in Bavaria ; 
 and Ingoldstadt being the elector's most important 
 city, since a great magazine was there established, 
 they began with it. Prince Lewis took upon himself 
 to command and carry on the siege with the impe- 
 rial forces, and the duke to cover it, with the 
 auxiliary forces, which, in case of need, might be 
 joined by those under Prince Eugene. 
 
 That general, who had made a parallel march 
 with Tallard from the Rhine, with a force of eighteen 
 thousand men, reached the plains of Hochstadt about 
 the same time that Tallard had joined the elector, 
 He soon after repaired to the duke's quarters to 
 concert future operations. The margrave departed 
 with a considerable force to invest Ingoldstadt ; and 
 reports that the Oallo-Bavarians had united and 
 were marching towards the Danube, induced Marl- 
 borough to advance to Exheim, where Eugene took 
 his leave. Some time after, on again meeting, it 
 was their intention to take up a position beyond the 
 Nebel, near Hochstadt ; but as they were proceed- 
 ing to survey the ground, some squadrons of the
 
 98 LIFE OP 
 
 enemy were perceived at a distance, and the two 
 generals, mounting the steeple of Dampfeim church, 
 discovered the quarter-masters of the enemy mark- 
 ing out a camp between Blenheim and Lutzingen. 
 This discovery charmed the two generals beyond 
 measure. They resolved immediately to give battle 
 before the enemy could strengthen themselves in 
 their new position. Several officers knew the 
 strength of the ground selected by the adversary, and 
 earnestly advised that no action should be hazarded. 
 They even ventured to remonstrate. Marlborough, 
 however, had not made up his mind without due 
 consideration. He knew that the post possessed by 
 the enemy was capable of being put, in a very short 
 time, out of all danger of attack. He was even of 
 opinion, that a defeat itself would be scarcely more 
 fatal than lying still and doing nothing. " I know 
 the dangers of the case," said he, " but a battle is 
 absolutely necessary ; and as for success, I rely on 
 the hope that the discipline and courage of the 
 troops will make amends for all disadvantages." 
 Orders were instantly given for a general engage- 
 ment ; and these were received with such cheerfulness 
 and alacrity by the whole army, that all, who saw 
 the joy they diffused, did not fail to regard it as a 
 happy presage of the glorious success, that followed. 
 
 Every movement on the part of Marlborough 
 showed, that he was resolved to conquer, or to die in 
 his attempt. He passed part of the night in prayer, 
 and, towards the morning, received the sacrament. 
 Then, having taken a little rest, he concerted with 
 Prince Eugene the arrangements for the action. 
 His next act was to point out to the surgeons the 
 proper posts for the wounded. 
 
 It is impossible, in a space so limited as that to
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 99 
 
 which we are confined, to give any description of the 
 ensuing celebrated battle, that can in any way be 
 satisfactory to military men. They will, doubtless, 
 seek it in publications where matters of detail are 
 considered of great importance. We shall only pre- 
 sent our readers with Marlborough's own account of 
 it, as published in the London Gazette : stating, how- 
 ever, from other sources, the relative force of the two 
 armies. That of Marlborough consisted of forty- 
 eight battalions and eighty-six squadrons ; that of 
 Eugene, of eighteen battalions and seventy-four 
 squadrons ; in all thirty-three thousand five hundred 
 infantry, and eighteen thousand four hundred and 
 twenty cavalry ; total, fifty-one thousand nine hun- 
 dred and twenty. The Gallo-Bavarian force con- 
 sisted of fifty-six thousand ; thus giving rather more 
 than four thousand superiority to Marshal Tallard 
 over Marlborough and Eugene. The French, how- 
 ever, in order to palliate their defeat, insist that 
 Marlborough's army consisted of sixty-four thousand 
 five hundred and sixty men. 
 
 . About six in the morning of this celebrated 
 day, the duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene 
 posted themselves on a rising ground, and called all 
 the generals to give them the necessary directions 
 for the attack. The army then advanced to the 
 plain, and, having formed in order of battle, the 
 chaplains performed service at the heads of all the 
 regiments. The morning being hazy, the Gallo- 
 Bavarians did not even suspect the approach of the 
 enemy. They were taken completely by surprise. 
 A gun sounded ; and such a battle was fought as 
 had not been heard of in the memory of man. The 
 enemy, after a long contest, was entirely defeated. 
 " And here," says Lidiard, '' it may not be an impro-
 
 100 LIFE OF 
 
 per digression, to observe what a power fear and 
 consternation can have over a body of troops, when 
 they are once possessed with it, of which we have 
 a flagrant instance before us. Those troops, which 
 composed the right of the French army, not only 
 fled before the victorious English, but did it in the 
 utmost confusion and disorder, without any regard 
 to the command of their superiors, or observing 
 whither or which way they fled. They looked upon 
 themselves as lost beyond hope of recovery, and, 
 giving way to despair, suffered themselves to be 
 driven to perdition like a flock of sheep to the 
 slaughter. A whole body of their cavalry, the best 
 and most renowned of their whole army, seized with 
 the same panic, hurried away the Marshal de Tallard 
 with them in their flight ; and, void of all thought, 
 threw themselves, by whole squadrons, into the 
 Danube, men and horses, officers and troopers. 
 Some few had the good fortune to escape ; but the 
 greater part, to avoid an uncertain death, which at 
 most could but have overtaken them in the field of 
 battle and laid them down in the bed of honour, 
 rushed upon a certain and ignominious death in the 
 river. The impotent marshal, not capable of stem- 
 ming this torrent of despair, was obliged to surrender 
 prisoner of war, with several other general officers 
 who were in his company." 
 
 Of all the infantry that Marshal de Tallard had 
 brought to the assistance of the elector, only two 
 battalions escaped; eight-and-twenty of the forty 
 battalions he had brought were taken prisoners, and 
 ten were entirely destroyed ! 
 
 The fate of this celebrated day was no sooner 
 decided, than the duke, still on horseback, took a slip 
 of paper, on the back of which was a bill of tavern
 
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 101 
 
 expenses, out of his pocket, and while the cannon 
 was still sounding- in his ears, wrote with a black- 
 lead pencil the following note to the duchess. 
 
 "August 13, 1704. 
 
 " I have not time to say more, but to beg you will give 
 my duty to the queen, and let her know her army has had 
 a glorious victory. M. Tallard and two other generals are 
 in my coach, and I am following the rest. The bearer, 
 my aide-de camp, Colonel Parker, will give her an account 
 of what passed. I shall do it in a day or two, by another 
 more at large. MARLBOROUGH." 
 
 Thus terminated this great battle, which will ever 
 be memorable in the history of Europe. The total 
 loss of the enemy is stated to have been no less than 
 forty thousand men, including deserters and those 
 who were killed in the retreat. There were fifteen 
 thousand men taken prisoners, and one thousand 
 two hundred officers, exclusive of generals. The 
 los?, on the confederate side, was also very con- 
 siderable ; there being four thousand five hundred 
 killed, and seven thousand five hundred wounded. 
 These losses, however, were in some degree made 
 up to the allied force by the number of deserters 
 and prisoners who enlisted under the banners of 
 victory ; among which were two German regiments, 
 amounting to three thousand men. The loss of 
 the enemy, in other respects, was also very great : 
 viz., one hundred pieces of cannon, twenty-four 
 mortars, one hundred and twenty-nine colours, one 
 hundred and seventy-one standards, three thousand 
 six hundred tents, three hundred laden mules, 
 thirty-four coaches, filled with ladies of the French 
 officers, two bridges of boats, fifteen pontoons, 
 twenty-four barrels and eight casks of silver. 
 Hitherto France coiild always palliate the victories
 
 102 LIFE OF 
 
 of her enemies ; but there could be no equivocation 
 in this. Their loss was equal to that of the Romans 
 at Canna?. 
 
 Had the battle of Blenheim been lost, Germany 
 would immediately have been at the mercy of 
 France ; and perhaps the Protestant succession had 
 been endangered in England. And here it will be 
 proper to introduce the duke's letter, giving an 
 account of this engagement, to Mr. Secretary Harley. 
 
 "Camp at Hocks tadt, Thursday morning, 
 
 August 14, 1704. 
 
 " Sir, I gave you an account, on Sunday, of the situ- 
 ation we were then in, and that we expected to hear the 
 enemy would pass the Danube at Lawingen, in order to 
 attack Prince Eugene. At eleven that night, we had an 
 express from him, that the enemy were come over, and 
 desiring that lie might be reinforced as soon as possible ; 
 whereupon I ordered my brother Churchill to advance, 
 at one o'clock in the morning, with his twenty battalions, 
 and, by three, the whole army was in motion. For the 
 greater expedition, I ordered part of the troops to pass 
 over the Danube, and follow the march of the twenty 
 battalions, and, with most of the horse, and the foot of the 
 first line. I passed the Lech at Rain, and came over the 
 Danube at Donawerth; so that we all joined the Prince 
 that night, intending to advance and take this camp at 
 Hochstadt. In order whereunto, we went out, on Tuesday 
 early in the morning, with forty squadrons, to view the 
 ground ; but found the enemy had already possessed them- 
 selves of it. Whereupon we resolved to attack them, and 
 accordingly, we marched between three and four yester- 
 day morning from the camp at Miinster, leaving all our 
 tents standing; about six, we came in view of the enemy, 
 who, we found, did not expect so early a visit. The 
 cannon began to play about half an hour after eight. 
 They formed themselves into two bodies ; the elector with 
 M. Marsin and their troops, on our right, and M. de 
 Tallard, with all his own on our left, which last fell to
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 103 
 
 my share. They had two little rivulets, besides a morass, 
 before them, which we were obliged to pass over in their 
 view, and Prince Eugene was forced to take a great com- 
 pass to come to the enemy ; so that it was one o'clock 
 before the battle began. It lasted with great vigour till 
 sunset, when the enemy were obliged to retire, and, with 
 the blessing of God, we obtained a complete victory : we 
 have cut off great numbers of them, as well in the action, 
 as in the retreat ; besides upwards of fifty squadrons of 
 the French, which I had pushed into the Danube, where 
 we saw the greatest part of them perish. M. de Tallard, 
 with several of his general officers, being taken prisoners 
 at the same time ; and, in the village of BLENHEIM, which 
 the enemy had intrenched and fortified, and where they 
 made the greatest opposition, I obliged twenty-six entire 
 battalions and twelve squadrons of dragoons, to surrender 
 themselves prisoners at discretion. We took, likewise, 
 all their tents standing, with their cannon and ammuni- 
 tion, as also a great number of standards, kettle-drums, 
 and colours in the action. So that I reckon the greater 
 part of M. Tallard's army is taken or destroyed. The 
 bravery of our troops on this occasion cannot be expressed ; 
 the generals, as well as the officers and soldiers, behaving 
 themselves with the greatest courage and resolution ; the 
 horse and dragoons having been obliged to charge several 
 times. The elector and M. Marsin were so advantageously 
 posted, that Prince Eugene could make no impression on 
 them, till the third attack, at near seven at night, when he 
 made a great slaughter of them ; but being near a wood- 
 side, a good body of Bavarians retired into it, and the rest 
 of that army retreated towards Lawingen, it being too 
 late, and the troops too much tired, to pursue them far. I 
 cannot say too much in the praise of the prince's good 
 conduct, and the bravery of his troops on this occasion. 
 You will please to lay this before her majesty and his royal 
 highness, to whom 1 send my Lord Tunbridge with the 
 good news. I pray you will likewise inform yourself, and 
 let me know her majesty's pleasure, as well relating to 
 M. Tallard and the other general officers, as for the dis- 
 posal of near twelve hundred other officers, and between
 
 104 LIFE OF 
 
 eight ornine thousand common soldiers, who being all made 
 prisoners by her majesty's troopF r are entirely at her disposal; 
 but as the cha> ge of subsisting these officers and men must 
 be very great, I presume her majesty will be inclined that 
 they be changed for any other prisoners that offer. I 
 should likewise be glad to receive her majesty's directions 
 for the despatch of the standards and colours, whereof I 
 have not yet the number, but guess there cannot be less 
 than one hundred, which is more than has been taken in 
 any battle these many years. You will easily believe, that 
 in so long and vigorous an action, the English, who had 
 so great a share in it, must have suffered as well in officers 
 as men, but I have not yet the particulars. 
 
 " I am your most obedient, humble servant. 
 
 " MAHLBOROUGB." 
 
 In this battle Prince Eugene distinguished himself 
 so highly, that he was, ever after, regarded as second 
 only to Marlborough*. There was, however, no 
 contention for pre-eminence between them. Con- 
 temporary writers justly describe them as two bodies 
 animated by one soul. This concord was equally 
 conspicuous throughout all the trying and perilous 
 events of the war ; and may be regarded as one of 
 the principal causes which produced such extra- 
 ordinary success. Marlborough was, however, far 
 
 * The following account is from the text of Baron de Bock : 
 " Le jour de 1'audience arriva, et M. de London fut presente au 
 roi. Mais Frederic II. apres 1'avoir considere tr^s-attentivement, 
 lui tourna le dos, et dit aux officiers de sa suite : ' La physionornie 
 de cet homme ne me revient pas.' 
 
 " Alors s'eloigna des 6tata de ce prince un homme qui a n'en 
 juger que par les apparences, toit peu important, mais qui, dans 
 la suite, devint le plus redoulable adversaire de ce puissant 
 monarque." 
 
 " It is not a little remarkable, that Louis XIV. conceiving a 
 similar disgust to Prince Eugene of Savoy, who was originally an 
 abbe, first refused him a prebend, and then a company of dragoons ; 
 on which he repaired to Vienna, and at length made the court of 
 France repent of its conduct towards him at the battle of Hochstadt."
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 105 
 
 from being satisfied with the conduct of the imperial 
 cavalry, for their want of spirit had not only 
 rendered the victory less decisive, but might have 
 occasioned the loss of the whole army ; and it cer- 
 tainly would have done so, had not Marlborough's 
 own attack been so eminently fortunate. He, how- 
 ever, carefully discriminated between the deficiencies 
 of the troops and the merits of the general : and so 
 far did lie carry this distinction, that when he received 
 letters of compliment from the emperor and the 
 King of the Romans, he studiously refrained from 
 making any reply ; for he would not convey censure, 
 in compliment to Prince Eugene ; nor could he pass 
 undeserved praise upon them, out of respect to him- 
 self. 
 
 The day after the battle, Marlborough established 
 himself in camp at Sefelingen, in the vicinity of Ulna. 
 There he wrote many letters, amongst which one to 
 the duchess ; in which he says, " I am so pleased 
 with this action, that I cannot end my letter without 
 being so vain as to tell my dearest soul, that within 
 the memory of man there has been no victory so great 
 as this ; and as I am sure you love me entirely well, 
 you will be infinitely pleased with what has been 
 done, upon my account as well as the great benefit 
 the public will have. For had the success of Prince 
 Eugene been equal to his merit, we should in that 
 day's action have made an end of the war." In 
 another letter he says, " We flatter ourselves that 
 we have done all that could have been expected from 
 us. This day the whole army returned their thanks 
 to Almighty God for the late success, and I have 
 done it with all my heart ; for never was victory so 
 complete, notwithstanding that they were stronger 
 than we, and very advantageously posted. But
 
 believe me, my dear soul, there was an absolute 
 necessity for tlie good of the common cause to make 
 this venture, which God has so blessed." 
 
 The Dutch, on receiving news of the victory, sent 
 the duke congratulations couched in a very compli- 
 mentary manner ; and the emperor, having received 
 permission from the queen, created him a prince of 
 the empire. This honour his majesty announced to 
 the duke in the following terms : 
 
 " MOST ir,Lu>Tnious COUSIN AND MOST DEAR PRINCE, 
 I do gladly call by these names your grace, (or rather 
 dilection, a style by which princes of the empire go,) whom 
 I have freely, and of my own accord, admitted among the 
 princes of the Holy Roman Empire, not so much in con- 
 sideration of your noble family as upon account of your 
 personal merit, and your great deserts towards me, my 
 august house, and the Holy Roman Empire. I have been 
 willing that this public monument of the supreme honour 
 in Germany, which I have so deservedly conferred upon 
 you, should remain, that it may more and more appear 
 to all the world how much, as f freely own it, I and all 
 the empire owe to the most serene Queen of Great Britain, 
 for having sent her powerful assistance as far as Augsburg, 
 and Bavaria itself, under \our conduct, when my own 
 affaiis, and those of the empire, were so much shaken and 
 dissolved by the perfidious defection of the Bavarians to 
 the French ; and to your grace, upon account that things 
 have been so prudently, so vigorously, and successfully 
 transacted ; for not only fame, but likewise the generals 
 of my forces, the companions and sharers of your labours 
 and victories, attribute the same chiefly to your counsel 
 and the valour and bravery of the English, and other 
 forces, who fought under your conduct. These actions 
 are so great, and particularly that of Hochstadt, past ages 
 having never seen the like victories obtained over the 
 French, that we may rejoice to see not only the most 
 pernicious efforts of the enemy repulsed, and the affairs of 
 Germany, which were somewhat tottering, or rather those 
 of all Europe, secured and settled again ; but likewise
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 107 
 
 that it may be reasonably hoped that the full and perfect 
 liberty of the Christian world shall be rescued from the 
 power of France, which was so imminently impending ove^ 
 it. Being entirely persuaded and sure that your grace 
 will, without intermission, apply all your care and indus- 
 try towards that end, there remains nothing- else for me 
 but to wish you a prosperous success, and that I assure 
 you of farther marks of my gratitude, upon all occasions, 
 which I shall be ready to express." 
 
 The duke, however, thought proper to decline a 
 mere empty title, and the grant was suspended at his 
 own request. 
 
 The good effects of Marlborough's victory were 
 not confined to the present scene. The French had, 
 for many years, not sustained any considerable de- 
 feat. They looked upon themselves, therefore, almost 
 as invincible,* and other countries had regarded them 
 much in the same manner. This victory, however, 
 broke the charm, and transferred the wreath which 
 fame had wrought for their standard to that of the 
 allies. In France despondency succeeded to presump- 
 tion ; while the other nations of Europe reflected on 
 their former alarms witli indignation and shame ? 
 and the King of the Romans became so willing now 
 to share the dangers and honours of the war, that he 
 resorted to Marlborough's camp before Landau, and, 
 assuming the nominal 'command, told the duke and 
 Prince Eugene how happy he was to serve under 
 
 * After the battle, and when Tallard was in the duke's tent, the 
 marshal is reported to have said, " Your grace has beaten the best 
 troops in the world." " I hope," answered the duke, " you except 
 the troops that defeated them ?" This anecdote reminds us of 
 another. The duke, being at the Duke of Montague's many years 
 after, expressed great admiration of the fire-works there ; " They 
 arc equal," said his grace, " to those of Louis XlVth at Versailles." 
 " No, my lord duke, my water-works are not equal to his ; but 
 your grace's fire- works are greatly superior.''
 
 108 LIFE OF 
 
 their auspices. The joy in the emperor's dominions 
 was indeed excessive; all the ambassadors at the 
 imperial court congratulated his imperial majesty on 
 the great event ; and it is reported that Mehemet 
 Effendi, envoy from the Porte, broke out into this 
 exclamation, " The emperor of the Christians is a 
 man of God ; God is with him, and his enemies can 
 never resist him !" The emperor himself was so 
 transported, that he erected a pyramid in the place 
 where the battle was won, with an inscription, in 
 letters of gold, relating all the principal circumstances 
 of the action. 
 
 When the battle was over the Elector of Bavaria 
 marched with such expedition, that before the allies 
 decamped from Hochstadt he was within a day's 
 march of Uffingen, whither Marshal Villeroy had 
 advanced to favour his retreat. The household 
 troops, and all the cavalry, met him in the defiles. 
 He received M. de Villeroy with great politeness. 
 " Sir," said he, " things have turned out otherwise 
 than we expected ; but this crisis, violent as it is, 
 makes no change in me, who am still equally de- 
 voted to his majesty. I have now sacrificed my 
 dominions and family for his service, and, if need be, 
 will next sacrifice my life." 
 
 The subjugation of Bavaria was the immediate 
 consequence of this battle, and this circumstance in- 
 duced many officers to hope that the operations of 
 the year would have closed ; but Marlborough and 
 Eugene were too enterprising to confine their views 
 to mere present advantages. The duke, however, 
 having arrived in the low marshy country bordering 
 the Rhine, became afflicted with violent ague, which 
 for several days suspended all attention to military 
 duties. The complaint yielded to the remedies
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 109 
 
 applied, but it left him for some time in a state of 
 great languor and weakness. 
 
 At this period he was before Landau, the siege of 
 which having lasted for more than a month, he 
 became weary of it, and, therefore, meditated the 
 design of opening the next campaign on the Moselle, 
 the most vulnerable part of the French frontier. 
 This design he put in execution. He made a thousand 
 masterly movements through a very difficult country, 
 but our limits will only allow us to give results. 
 His object was to get possession of Treves, and thus 
 secure winter quarters, for the purpose, as we have 
 already stated, of opening in that part of the country 
 the next campaign. This expedition was successful. 
 By the celerity of his movements he just arrived in 
 time to prevent the enemy from pre-occupying 
 Treves. Possessed of so important a place, he 
 employed 6,000 of the neighbouring peasantry to 
 repair the fortifications ; and having settled the distri- 
 bution of winter quarters, he returned to the camp 
 before Landau. " The campaign," said he in a 
 letter to Lord Godolphin, " I reckon is now over, 
 since the winter-quarters are settled on the Moselle ; 
 which, I think, will give France as much uneasiness 
 as any thing that has been done this summer." 
 
 When it became known in England that Marl- 
 borough had marched into Germany, the whole 
 faction, that was hostile to him and his supporters, 
 opened upon him in full cry. " They exclaimed," 
 we are told, " against the rashness of the expedition; 
 they censured him for leaving the Dutch exposed ; 
 and they accused him of having gone beyond his 
 instructions, and exceeded any power of a subject, 
 for the sake of his own private interest. He was 
 even menaced with being brought to the block if the
 
 110 LIFE OP 
 
 event should be as disastrous as these base enemies 
 predicted and hoped ; and one of the leading mem- 
 bers of the opposition went even so far as to declare, 
 that when the general should return he would pounce 
 upon him as hounds pounce upon a hare." When 
 the news of the victory arrived in England these 
 persons were for a time overwhelmed, as it were, with 
 confusion. The country at large, on the contrary, was 
 thrown into a paroxysm of delight and admiration. 
 The queen repaired in state to St. Paul's, to offer up 
 a solemn thanksgiving for the success of her arms ; 
 addresses flowed in from all quarters : and what the 
 feelings of the populace were may in some measure 
 be imagined from what Mrs. Burnet (wife of the 
 Bishop of Salisbury) wrote to the duchess. " The 
 common people, who I feared had grown stupid, 
 have and do show greater signs of satisfaction and 
 triumph than I ever saw before on any good success 
 whatever." 
 
 There was a party, however, who strove, with all 
 the power of disappointed faction and frustrate 
 prophecy, to depreciate the conduct of Marlborough 
 and the consequences of his victory. This victory 
 they reprobated as " an useless waste of blood, and 
 the first of an endless series of conflicts with a power 
 which rose, like the hydra, with new vigour from 
 every defeat." " As to weakening the French king," 
 said they, " it is no more than taking a bucket of 
 water out of the river." When Marlborough heard of 
 this, he answered, " If they will allow me to draw one 
 or two such buckets more, we might then let the river 
 run quietly, and not much apprehend its overflowing 
 and destroying its neighbours." His sentiments in 
 regard to parties at this time may be guessed by 
 what he wrote to the duchess when in the camp of
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. Ill 
 
 St. Wendel : " I hope I shall never be desired to 
 recommend anybody in a place of trust, being what 
 I have resolved positively not to do. I shall serve 
 the queen with all my soul, even to the hazard of a 
 thousand lives if I had them. But while I live, I 
 will meddle with no business but what belongs to 
 the army. And this I shall beg of the queen on my 
 knees, if there be any occasion for it ; and from 
 henceforward shall never more use the expression of 
 being of no party ; but shall certainly not care what 
 any party thinks of me, being resolved to recommend 
 myself to the people of England by being, to the 
 best of my understanding, in the truest interests of 
 my country." 
 
 The affairs of Italy at this time wore a bad aspect. 
 On that side everything was in danger of being lost 
 unless a reinforcement of troops could be promptly 
 supplied. The Duke of Savoy, the emperor, and the 
 King of the Romans, sensible that no one could supply 
 this want but the King of Prussia, and having full 
 confidence that Marlborough might be able to per- 
 suade that monarch to furnish it, invited him to 
 undertake that negociation. To this the duke con- 
 sented, but very unwillingly, and less from any hope 
 of success than the resolve that no one should have 
 an opportunity of reproaching him for leaving any- 
 thing undone. He set off, therefore, on the 15th of 
 November, for Berlin, leaving the command of the 
 army to Prince Eugene. 
 
 He arrived at Berlin on the evening of the 22d of 
 November, having been received with extraordinary 
 respect in all the towns through which he passed. 
 The king and queen honoured him with many marks 
 of regard, giving a ball and supper in celebration of 
 his arrival ; and a few days after, his majesty had a
 
 112 LIFE OF 
 
 combat of wild beasts in his amphitheatre to enter- 
 tain him. The duke found some difficulty at first 
 in respect to Savoy, but he obtained at last the 
 king's promise that he would send 8,000 men to the 
 Duke of Savoy's assistance. 
 
 Having obtained the chief object of his mission, 
 Maryborough returned through Hanover, where he 
 paid his respects to the elector, and having learnt 
 that Landau had been taken, he concerted plans at 
 the Hague for the next campaign. He then em- 
 barked on board one of the queen's yachts, under 
 convoy of several ships of war, with Marshal Tal- 
 lard, and other distinguished prisoners of war, and 
 landed at the Tower, whence he went directly to 
 St. James's, where he was received with every mark 
 of grace and favour by the queen and his royal 
 highness, Prince George of Denmark. 
 
 On the following day, the duke took his seat in the 
 House of Peers, and was greeted by the lord-keeper 
 with a congratulatory address ; and the same day a 
 committee of the Commons attended him, to express 
 their thanks for his great and glorious services. The 
 lord-keeper's address being a very eloquent one, we 
 give it verbatim. 
 
 " The happy success, that hath attended her majesty's 
 armies under your grace's command in Germany the last 
 campaign, is so truly great, so truly glorious, in all its cir- 
 cumstances, that few instances in the history of former 
 ages can equal, much less excel the lustre of it. Your 
 grace has not overthrown young unskilful generals, raw 
 and undisciplined troops ; but your grace has conquered 
 the French and Bavarian armies ; armies that were fully 
 instructed in all the arts of war, select veteran troops, 
 flushed with former victories, and commanded by generals 
 of great experience and bravery. The glorious victories, 
 your grace has obtained at Schelleuberg and Hochstadt
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 113 
 
 are very great, very illustrious, in themselves, but they 
 are greater still in their consequences to her majesty and 
 her allies. The emperor is thereby relieved, the empire 
 itself freed from a very dangerous enemy in the very 
 bowels of it, the exorbitant power of France is checked, 
 and I hope a happy step made towards reducing that 
 monarch within his due bounds, and securing the liberties 
 of Europe. The honour of these glorious victories, great 
 as they are, (under the immediate blessing of Almighty 
 God,) is chiefly, if not alone, owing to your grace's con- 
 duct and valour. This is the unanimous voice of England 
 and all her majesty' s allies." 
 
 To this address, as well as that of the Commons, 
 the duke returned a very modest answer ; giving all 
 the glory, under Divine blessing, to the officers and 
 soldiers who had accompanied him in his expedition, 
 and acted with great courage and bravery. In the 
 meantime the French generals were sent to Notting- 
 ham and Lichfield, escorted by a detachment of the 
 Duke of Northumberland's royal regiment of horse. 
 The standards and colours taken at Blenheim were 
 put up in Westminster Hall, the city of London gave 
 the general a magnificent entertainment, and the 
 Commons voted an address to the queen, requesting 
 her majesty to consider of some proper means " with 
 which to perpetuate the memory of the great service, 
 performed by the duke." To this recommendation 
 her majesty answered, " Gentlemen, I am well 
 pleased with this address, and I will take it into 
 consideration as you desire, and send you my 
 thoughts upon it in a little time." In conformity 
 with this promise her majesty shortly after informed 
 the House that, in compliance with their wishes, she 
 purposed to convey to the duke and his heirs all the 
 interest, the crown had in the manor and honour of 
 Woodstock, with the hundred of Wootton. She
 
 114 LIFE OP 
 
 therefore requested supplies for clearing off the 
 incumbrances on that domain. A bill for the pur- 
 pose was immediately introduced, passed both houses 
 without opposition, and received the royal sanction 
 on the 14th of March (1704). By Ihis act the 
 manor and hundred were conveyed to the duke and 
 his heirs, all of whom were, by the same instrument, 
 enjoined to render to the queen and her successors a 
 standard, with three flower-de-luces, on the 2d of 
 August in every year, at "Windsor Castle. Nor was 
 this all. Not satisfied that the nation alone should 
 testify its gratitude, her majesty accompanied the 
 grant with an order to the board of works to erect a 
 splendid palace at her majesty's expense, which, as 
 a monument of the late splendid victory, she com- 
 manded to be called BLENHEIM CASTLE. 
 
 The supplies having been granted for the public 
 service, and all the military preparations matured, 
 nothing remained to keep Marlborough in England: 
 he embarked, therefore, a"t Harwich, on the 31st of 
 March, in one of the royal yachts, under the convoy 
 of a squadron, commanded by the Marquis of Car- 
 marthen, and, after a troublesome and dangerous 
 passage, reached the Hague. " I have been so sick 
 at sea," he wrote to the duchess, " that my blood is 
 as hot as if I were in a fever, which makes my head 
 ache extremely," (this was a complaint to which he 
 was greatly subject,) " so that I beg you to excuse 
 me to Lord Treasurer ; for I can write to nobodv 
 but my dear soul, whom I love above my life." 
 
 As soon as his health would permit, he communi- 
 cated to the States the plan for the ensuing campaign, 
 which had been secretly concerted with Prince 
 Eugene, and subsequently approved by the British 
 cabinet. But here he again experienced the same
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARYBOROUGH. 115 
 
 want of vigour, unanimity, resolution, and authority, 
 he had experienced before ; " all the vices, in fact, 
 absurdities, and evils inherent in a feeble and 
 many-headed government." Marlborough's design 
 was to make the Moselle the scene of action, and care 
 had been taken to lay up magazines in Treves for 
 that purpose. To effect this, however, two things 
 were necessary. First, to get the concurrence of the 
 Dutch, who were unwilling to let their troops go so 
 far from their frontiers, lest they should lose in one 
 campaign the barrier they had been forming in two 
 or three ; secondly, to stimulate the slowness of the 
 Germans, without whose active assistance the duke 
 could expect to do little. The Dutch, however, were 
 for some time reluctant : they could not be made to 
 understand the benefit the plan would be of to them ; 
 which was no other than that of depriving France of 
 the means either of enlarging her conquests in Pied- 
 mont or of protecting Spain, by putting her on the 
 necessity of defending herself at home. In fact, the 
 Dutch raised so many objections, that the duke was 
 constrained to say, in a letter to the Duke of Savoy, 
 " I am like a sick body, that turns from one part of 
 the bed to another ; for I would fain be gone from 
 hence, in hopes to find more quiet in the army. 
 God only kno.ws what ease I may find when I come 
 there." At length, however, the Dutch were made 
 to understand the wisdom of the duke's plan, and 
 consented to it; on which he set off for Maestricht, 
 where he arrived on the 8th of May. 
 
 There were still greater difficulties to surmount 
 before the campaign could be opened, and those con 
 sisted in combating the tardy and interested policy of 
 the court at Vienna. " With an aged monarch," 
 says Mr. Coxe, " the government itself was verging 
 I 2
 
 116 LIFE OF 
 
 to decrepitude : the business was principally con- 
 ducted by superannuated ministers, whose sole merit 
 was a mechanical acquaintance with the routine of 
 office, and whose combined efforts and chief attention 
 were employed in combating the interest and counter- 
 acting the grand schemes of Prince Eugene." " Too 
 limited in their ideas," continues the same authority, 
 " to comprehend the military policy which was con- 
 ceived by Marlborough and supported by Eugene, 
 their views were confined to the affairs of Hungary." 
 Eugene was so indignant at these puerile views, that 
 he refused to take any share either in civil or mili- 
 tary business, unless more vigorous councils were 
 adopted; and this determination so confounded the 
 emperor's ministers, that they one and all shrunk 
 from the responsibility of their own counsels, and 
 thus Eugene prevailed. This change, however, was 
 too late to be felt at the opening of the campaign. 
 The emperor, the German princes, and the States- 
 general, acting for once, as it were, alike, all dis- 
 appointed the British general. The Margrave of 
 Baden, too, was decidedly averse to acting in any 
 way with Marlborough, being indignant at the 
 confidence placed in Prince Eugene in preference to 
 himself, and mortified by the fame of Marlborough, 
 which so far eclipsed his own. Marlborough, how- 
 ever, having received an excuse from the mar- 
 grave for not visiting him, undertook a journey to 
 Rastadt to visit him, and there an understanding 
 took place between them. In the meantime the 
 aged emperor (Leopold) died, and Joseph, his suc- 
 cessor, adopted a more vigorous policy. " What- 
 ever your excellence," said the new sovereign in a 
 letter to the duke, " has lost by the death of my 
 father, you will find partly compensated by me; for
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 117 
 
 you have a double title to my regard : first, from 
 your services ; and secondly, I succeed by hereditary 
 right to his throne and his regard for you." " If my 
 affairs," continued his imperial majesty, " permitted 
 me, I would do myself the pleasure of joining you 
 at the army, to testify in person the sentiments of 
 my esteem and friendship. I have, nevertheless, 
 ordered the Prince of Baden to act in concert with 
 you on the Moselle, and I wish you a campaign as 
 glorious as that of last year." 
 
 Marlborough arrived on the Moselle on the 28th 
 of May ; but there, to his great chagrin and disap- 
 pointment, he found that, instead of 80,000 men, for 
 which the campaign had been planned, he found 
 himself at the head of little more than half that num- 
 ber, while Villars, who was opposed to him, had not 
 less than 55,000. The preparations, too, on the part 
 of the enemy were as mature and prompt as those of 
 the allies were imperfect and tardy. 
 
 After many marches, the allied army arrived 
 within a quarter of a league of Sirk. It being too 
 late to encamp, the troops lay on their arms all 
 night. The next morning they encamped at Elft, 
 within sight of the hostile army. This caused the 
 enemy to retreat and entrench themselves, and they 
 did it so skilfully that no possibility was left of 
 attacking them with success. This, however, was no 
 disappointment to the duke, for he had at present no 
 design of attacking them ; his advancing so far being 
 only to cover the intended siege of Saare-Louis, the 
 taking possession of which place being of such great 
 importance, that the success of the whole campaign 
 on that side depended upon it. 
 
 Villars was too wise, on the other hand, to attack 
 Marlborough ; he, therefore, took possession of Sirk,
 
 118 LIFE OP 
 
 a place well known in history, and arranged his 
 forces so as to protect Saare-Louis, Thionville, and 
 Luxemburg. These places it was the intention of 
 Marlborough to have besieged, and he would have 
 done so, had not the allies deceived him in not send- 
 ing the quantum of force they had engaged to send. 
 " Had I known beforehand," said the duke, " what 
 I must have endured by relying on the people of this 
 country, no reason should have persuaded me to 
 undertake this campaign. I will, however, by the 
 help of God, do my best, and then I must submit to 
 what may happen. But it is impossible to be quiet 
 and not complain, when there is all the probability 
 imaginable for a glorious campaign, to see it all put 
 in doubt by the negligence of princes whose interest it 
 is to help us with all they have." 
 
 While Marlborough was thus crippled by the 
 failure of his allies, the French army, under Villeroy, 
 made a sudden effort on the Meuse, captured Huy, 
 took Liege, and invested the citadel. So great a 
 panic spread through the United Provinces at learning 
 this, that they immediately sent to recal thirty bat- 
 talions from Marlborough' s army. This, with a 
 thousand other disappointments and vexations, made 
 him determine on calling a council of war. This was 
 immediately held, and the resolution come to at it 
 was, that Marlborough should march to the Meuse. 
 " My head and heart," said he at this time, in a 
 letter to the duchess, " are so full of the disappoint- 
 ments I have met with in this country, that I do 
 from my soul wish to be out of this troublesome 
 business ; for I see but too plainly that the jealousy 
 of Prince Louis and the backwardness of the Ger- 
 man princes will always hinder us from succeeding 
 here, which is the most sensible part in which we
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 119 
 
 might do the most hurt to France." " I think," said 
 he in another letter, " that if it were possible to vex 
 me so for a fortnight longer, it would make an end of 
 me." Shortly after he says " I am sure you are so 
 just and kind to me as to believe that, during this 
 campaign, I shall take all occasion of doing service 
 to the queen and prince, and after that you will not 
 blame me if I am desirous to live in quiet; for if I 
 shall be obliged to continue as I am, my days must 
 be very short. I am wasted to nothing, having per- 
 petual vexations, fearing the world may blame me 
 for other people's faults." The duke, however, had 
 no occasion to be so studiously anxious in regard to 
 what others might think ; for he received numerous 
 testimonies of condolence for his disappointments, 
 especially from the emperor and her majesty, the 
 queen. 
 
 According to the resolution come to at this council, 
 the duke marched to the Meuse. He used almost 
 incredible expedition ; and by this changed the face 
 of affairs ; for he thereby obliged the enemy to raise 
 the siege of the citadel of Liege. On arriving at 
 Maestricht, he compelled the French to retreat within 
 their lines. The castle of Huy was invested and 
 retaken ; and the disappointment on the Moselle 
 sitting very heavy upon him, his grace resolved to 
 recover what had been lost, by undertaking some- 
 thing worthy of himself on the Meuse ; and as no 
 enterprise appeared more difficult in itself, or more 
 advantageous in its consequences, he summoned a 
 council of war, and again proposed the forcing of the 
 French lines. This proposition was, as usual, op- 
 posed by the Dutch generals; but the majority of the 
 council being in its favour, the attack was made, and 
 the lines forced. The Dutch part of the army, how-
 
 120 LIFE OF 
 
 ever, did not come up till the action was over ; and 
 this excited Maryborough's men to speak to him and of 
 him in the very heat of the action with so much 
 enthusiasm and affection, that he owned that it gave 
 him great pleasure, insomuch that it had made him 
 resolve to endure any thing for their sakes. 
 
 In this action two lieutenant-generals and two 
 major-generals, and a great number of officers and 
 soldiers, more than a thousand in all, were taken 
 prisoners, and nine standards. In regard to the 
 conduct of his men, Marlborough spoke in the most 
 favourable terms : " It is impossible to say too much 
 of the troops that were with me, for never men 
 fought better. Having marched all night, and 
 taken a good deal of pains this day, my blood is so 
 hot, that I can scarcely hold my pen ; so that you 
 will, my dearest life, excuse me if I say no more, but 
 that I would not let you know my design of attack- 
 ing the lines by the last post, fearing it might give 
 you uneasiness ; and now, my dearest soul, my heart 
 is so full of joy for this good success, that, should I 
 write more, I should say a great many follies." 
 
 His grace also wrote an account of his victory to 
 the queen, and received a highly satisfactory letter in 
 reply, which the duke answered with the warmest 
 expressions of gratitude for her condescension and 
 kindness. He wrote an account of it also to the 
 States, in reply to which they were pleased, among 
 other things, to say, " Our generals allow that this 
 victory, under God, is entirely due to your excel- 
 lency's care, prudence, and valour, having sur- 
 mounted and conquered those difficulties and obsta- 
 cles which, for above two years, have appeared insur- 
 mountable and invincible." The emperor also sent 
 him a very flattering letter. Marlborough's messen-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 121 
 
 ger arrived at Vienna on the day on which his 
 imperial majesty was celebrating his 28th birth-day. 
 The officer was received in a very distinguished 
 manner, and the emperor was pleased to express his 
 gratitude in very ardent terms. " Your general," 
 said he, " has performed such services to the common 
 cause, and to our family in particular, that they can 
 never be forgotten by me or my posterity." 
 
 The duke exposed himself greatly in this battle. 
 The duchess had expressed an anxiety lest he should 
 do so on some occasion when it might not be prudent. 
 " My dearest soul," said he in reply, " I love you so 
 well, and have set my heart so entirely on ending 
 my days with you in quiet, that you may be so far 
 at ease as to be assured, that I never venture myself 
 but when I think the service of my queen and 
 country requires it. Besides, I am now at an age 
 when I find no heat in my blood, that gives me 
 temptation to expose myself out of vanity ; but as I 
 would deserve and keep the kindness of the army, I 
 must let them see that, when I expose them, I would 
 not exempt myself." Harley, however, thought pro- 
 per to write to him on this subject; for it is certain 
 that Marlborough, every now and then, exposed him- 
 self more than was prudent and becoming in a 
 general, on whom the whole interests of Europe at 
 that time depended. " Your friends and servants," 
 said Harley, " cannot be without concern on your 
 grace's account, when we hear how much you expose 
 that precious life of yours on all occasions, and that 
 you are not contented to do the part of a great 
 general, but you condescend to take your share as a 
 common soldier." It is very remarkable that this 
 letter proceeded from a person, who should afterwards 
 be so mean and unjust as to sanction those libellers
 
 122 LIFE OP 
 
 (Swift and Manley) who descended to so despicable 
 an insinuation, as that Marlborough was deficient in 
 personal courage. 
 
 The news of this victory excited, as usual, great 
 satisfaction in England. It was celebrated by a 
 public Te Deum, and the queen went to St. Paul's, 
 as she had done after the battle of Blenheim, to return 
 a thanksgiving. In the meantime the duke at- 
 tempted to force the passage of the Dyle. He soon 
 after formed a plan to march round the sources of 
 that river, and to force the position of the enemy on 
 the Ische ; but he was in both instances again thwarted 
 by the same factious opponents he had been before, 
 and the skilful manoeuvres he had executed were all 
 rendered of no avail from the malicious opposition of 
 Slangenberg and his Dutch adherents. In conse- 
 quence of this, Marlborough retreated to Lower 
 Wavre. He could have brought the French to 
 action near Waterloo a place so greatly distin- 
 guished since but these feeble Dutchmen again for- 
 bade him to engage, and that at a time when he 
 expected even a greater victory than that, which he 
 obtained at Blenheim; and at a moment also when the 
 French were so sure of defeat, if the English general 
 had been permitted to charge, that (as was afterwards 
 ascertained) they would not even have ventured 
 attempting to stand their ground. 
 
 As the army was proceeding towards Holberg, 
 Marlborough perceived that the opposite position was 
 very slenderly guarded. He immediately saw his 
 opportunity, and at mid-day rode along the front to 
 issue his final instructions. As he passed, he met the 
 Dutch deputies, and telling them how favourable the 
 moment was, earnestly pressed them to give orders 
 for their troops to advance. To this one of the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 123 
 
 deputies made answer, " Your highness will doubt- 
 less allow us to request the opinion of our generals." 
 This was done. " Gentlemen," said the duke, " I 
 have reconnoitred the ground, and made dispositions 
 for the attack. I am convinced that, conscienti- 
 ously and as men of honour, we cannot now retire 
 without an action. Should we neglect this oppor- 
 tunity, we must be responsible before God and man. 
 You see the confusion, which pervades the ranks of the 
 enemy, and their embarrassment at our manoeuvres. 
 I leave you to judge whether we should attack to- 
 day or wait till to-morrow." On hearing this, Slang- 
 enberg exclaimed, " Since I have been led to this 
 place without any previous communication of the 
 design, I will give no other opinion than that the 
 passage at Over Ische is impracticable. However, I 
 am ready to obey the orders I may receive." " I am 
 happy," answered the duke, without seeming to 
 recognise the insolence of this speech, " to have 
 under my command an officer of your courage and 
 skill ; and I flatter myself that in a situation which 
 requires instant decision you will start no difficulties." 
 He then proposed the attack, but Slangenberg an- 
 swered, " Murder and massacre !" So much time 
 was afterwards lost in what the Dutch called deli- 
 beration, that darkness at length compelled all 
 parties to return to their respective quarters ; on 
 which Marlborough was so stung with mortification 
 at losing what he considered so glorious an oppor- 
 tunity, that he exclaimed, in a tone which sufficiently 
 denoted the intensity of his feelings, " I am ten years 
 older than I was four days ago !" 
 
 On arriving at his tent he immediately wrote to 
 the States-general, pointing out to them the oppor- 
 tunity which had been lost, and stating that he was
 
 124 LIFE OF 
 
 disposed to throw up his command rather than per- 
 mit his character to be placed in situations in which 
 it must be compromised, not only in the eyes of the 
 enemy, but in those of the world at large. The de- 
 puties, too, sent their statements; but the letter of 
 Marlborough having been printed surreptitiously 
 before it was communicated to the States, a deep 
 sensation was produced, and the burghers held an 
 assembly to remonstrate against the misconduct of 
 their deputies and generals. In England, indigna- 
 tion governed all ranks. But the writer of the 
 London Gazette, for reasons, that have never been 
 satisfactorily explained, misrepresented the whole 
 matter in a very extraordinary manner. The minis- 
 try, however, would have sent some person of weight 
 and consideration to the States to complain of their 
 deputies and generals, but it was afterwards thought 
 better to refrain from it. In the meantime, the Dutch 
 government, alarmed lest Marlborough should resign 
 his command, made some reparation by removing 
 Slangenberg, the most culpable of their generals; 
 and Eugene, by writing him a friendly and con- 
 siderate letter, did something to allay the irritation 
 of Marlborough's mind. " It is extremely cruel," 
 said the prince, " that opinions so weak and dis- 
 cordant have obstructed the progress of your opera- 
 tions, when you had every reason to expect so 
 glorious a result. I speak to you as a sincere friend ; 
 you will never be able to perform anything consider- 
 ablejwith your army unless you are absolute ; and I 
 trust your highness will use your utmost efforts to 
 gain that power in future. I am no less desirous 
 than yourself to be once more united with you in 
 command." 
 
 Marlborough's army now retraced its steps by
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARYBOROUGH. 125 
 
 retrograde marches to Tirlemont, during his stay at 
 which place he took advantage of being so near Spa, 
 and drank the waters. At the close of the autumn 
 he turned from the toil of war to the no less urgent 
 affairs of negotiation, and repaired to Vienna and 
 Berlin. " No man," says the elegant but anonymous 
 writer to. whom we have now and then been obliged 
 in the course of this narrative, " possessed a greater 
 perfection in the art of bringing difficult negotiations 
 to the termination which he desired; and this was 
 owing not more to the clearness of his judgment and 
 the quickness of his comprehensive mind, than to his 
 native courtesy, and to that genuine candour which 
 men are sometimes led to imitate when they feel 
 and admire it." " Added to this," the same autho- 
 rity goes on to observe, " the rank which Marl- 
 borough held in the eyes of all Europe for no 
 subject had ever stood so conspicuously eminent in 
 modern times had its imposing effect." 
 
 With a view of forming plans for the next cam- 
 paign, the emperor invited the duke to Vienna. 
 
 " Vienna, Sept. 6, 1705. 
 
 " MOST ILLUSTRIOUS CoUSIN AND DEAREST PRINCE, 
 
 You have given so many proofs of zeal for my august 
 house and the common good, that I easily persuade my- 
 self you will readily embrace whatever may conduce to the 
 prosecution of the present difficult but necessary war. 
 You will understand that nothing can conduce more to 
 this end than to ascertain the sentiments of the confe- 
 derates as early as possible this winter, in order to re- 
 solve with secrecy what is to be undertaken by their united 
 forces against the common enemy next spring ; and from 
 the many proofs I have receu ed of j our good affection, I 
 promise myself that, though the journey hither be long, 
 you will gladly undertake it for the common good. In the 
 meantime, I will use all possible endeavours to get all
 
 126 LIFE OF 
 
 that is necessary for the war in readiness. Recruits are 
 already raising in my hereditary kingdoms and provinces, 
 and I expect from my states a sum of money propor- 
 tionate to their abilities ; the necessary generals shall be 
 also ready to assist at this council. I persuade myself, your 
 most serene queen and the States-general will in no way 
 be wanting to this good end, since there is great hopes 
 that, matters being thus disposed, the next expedition may 
 be as fortunate to the allies as the last, by the influence of 
 the queen and States and by your conduct, was glorious, 
 and fatal to the enemy. And I do again repeat my assur- 
 ances of my most kind affection to you." 
 
 " Sept. 27. 
 
 "MOST ILLUSTRIOUS COUSIN AND DEAREST PRINCE. 
 
 Although 1 do not doubt but you have fully understood 
 from my last letter the desire I had to deliberate with you 
 here in person, and particularly to confer with you on the 
 operations of the next campaign; yet such is the weight 
 and consequence of this affair that I cannot conceal from 
 you that, as your presence is the chief hinge on which the 
 main stress of the war now turns, so the greatest part of my 
 consolation, as well as the life and hopes of the confede- 
 rates, depend thereon. I cannot deny that your most serene 
 queen will soon have occasion for the presence of so great 
 a man, yet I have no reason to doubt that her generosity 
 will readily spare so little a time as this journey will take 
 up to me and the common cause. The delay will be 
 amply recompensed by the advantage of the counsels 
 which, from your great prudence and experience, you will 
 be able to give. I do again, therefore, kindly in treat you 
 to undertake this journey, notwithstanding it may seem 
 somewhat troublesome, and to embrace this new oppor- 
 tunity of adding new lustre to your name, already so 
 renowned through the world, and augmenting the many 
 and great obligations you have laid on my august family 
 and the common cause of the allies. I conclude with 
 constant assurances of my most kind affection." 
 
 To this journey the duke was urged by various 
 considerations ; and having the queen's orders, he
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARYBOROUGH. 12"J 
 
 accepted the invitation, and to that end set out from 
 the army, and arriving at Frankfort, he was waited 
 upon by Prince Lewis of Baden. As Prince Lewis 
 had been, in a great measure, the cause of the duke's 
 progress on the Moselle being disappointed, it was 
 thought that Marlborough would on this occasion 
 have shown some marks of resentment ; but though 
 they were both strictly watched at the interview, 
 nothing appeared in their treatment of each other but 
 all imaginable demonstrations of friendship and good 
 humour. 
 
 On the 6th of November the Duke arrived at 
 Ratisbon, and the same evening embarked on the 
 Danube in a splendid yacht, in order to proceed by 
 water to Vienna ; " admiring, as he sailed along," 
 says Mr. Coxe, " the picturesque scenery which 
 enlivens the banks of that noble river, and frequently 
 recalling to mind the milder beauties of his own 
 country, which he again longed to enjoy." 
 
 He arrived at Vienna on the 12th of November, 
 and was complimented by the government with the 
 offer of the splendid palace of the Prince of Diet- 
 richstein, which had been fitted up for his reception ; 
 but he thought proper to decline this offer, and took 
 up his abode in the house of his son-in-law, the 
 ambassador, (Lord Sunderland). 
 
 On the day after his arrival, the duke had an 
 audience of their imperial majesties, and a few days 
 afterwards a conference with the Prince of Solms, and 
 other public ministers, at which the emperor was 
 present. The same evening he was a long while in 
 conversation with the emperor, during which his 
 majesty was pleased to declare in person what he had 
 already done by letter, that his grace's services 
 " could never be forgotten by him or his posterity." 
 Shortly after the duke was seized with a fit of
 
 128 LIFE OP 
 
 the gout, which confined him three days to his 
 chamber, during which he was visited by all persons of 
 the greatest distinction then at court* His majesty 
 afterwards presented him with a ring of great value, 
 created him a prince of the Roman empire, and con- 
 ferred on him the lordship of Mindelheim, which he 
 had lately erected into a principality, in order to 
 fulfil the formalities required by the German consti- 
 tution. This lordship was in Suabia, not far from 
 Augsburg, and lately possessed by Duke Maximi- 
 lian, uncle to the Elector of Bavaria. By the terms 
 of the grant it was enacted, that his grace and his 
 heirs male, as possessors of that principality, should 
 be summoned to all diets of the empire and circle of 
 Suabia, there to appear in person, or by their pleni- 
 potentiary, as other princes of the empire do ; and 
 should also enjoy all other advantages, immunities, 
 rights, prerogatives, and pre-eminences, as princes of 
 the empire have. In harmony with this, the duke was 
 ever after acknowledged and called (in Germany) 
 by the style and title of Prince of Mindelheim.* 
 
 * The reader will doubtless be gratified by knowing what kind 
 of a territory that of Mindelheim was. It is thus described by Dr. 
 Heyland : " The territory of Mindelheim is agreeably situated ; 
 tbe air is healthy, and the soil fertile. It consists of arable, pas- 
 ture, and forest, is rich in all sorts of corn, well stocked with, 
 cattle, and abounds with deer and wild boars. The length is six 
 leagues, and the breadth from three to four. The clear yearly 
 revenue may be estimated at 1 5,000 or 20,000 German florins ; 
 to which may be added certain seignorial rights, particularly tolls 
 and customs. The country also produces a small quantity of salt- 
 petre. The natives are industrious, and would be in good circum- 
 stances, had they not been exhausted by frequent wars. The 
 greater part are labourers or breeders of cattle ; others are employed 
 in making linen, which manufacture would improve if they were 
 better provided with hands ; but for want of weavers, the poorer 
 farmers are obliged to sell their thread, of which they spin large 
 quantities, to foreign manufacturers. The wood, which abounds, 
 is rendered less valuable by the want of water conveyance."
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 129 
 
 The objects for which Maryborough visited Vienna, 
 and his success in regard to them, are thus stated by 
 Mr. Coxe : " He arranged the conditions of a new 
 alliance between the maritime powers and the house 
 of Austria, which had ceased on the death of the 
 late emperor ; he likewise obtained assurances from 
 the present emperor that he would grant fair and 
 honourable terms to the Hungarian insurgents, and 
 omit no concession in his power to extinguish a civil 
 war, which had hitherto crippled his efforts, to the 
 detriment of the common cause. He allayed the 
 bickerings which had arisen with the court of 
 Prussia, and persuaded that emperor to offer such 
 terms as were likely to satisfy that interested and 
 punctilious monarch. He was equally fortunate in 
 soothing the jealousy which had arisen between the 
 States-general and the court of Vienna. He con- 
 vinced the emperor that they would not listen to the 
 fallacious overtures of France ; and, as a proof of 
 their zeal, he announced their ready concurrence with 
 England in the promised loan and the intended rein- 
 forcements for Italy. These successes he announced 
 to Godolphin. ' Their only hopes,' said he, ' are 
 solely on the queen, they being very much dissatis- 
 fied with the negotiations this summer in Holland. 
 My journey hither has been of use in letting the 
 emperor see that his affairs will not allow of his 
 quarrelling with Holland, since that would only end 
 in giving advantage to France.' " 
 
 Having effected these services for the common 
 cause, the duke left Vienna with his son-in-law, Lord 
 Sunderland, and with all possible despatch hastened 
 to Berlin. To further his speed, the emperor ordered 
 horses to be at every stage^ at his own expense, and 
 several officers of the court rode before, to provide
 
 130 LIFE OP 
 
 everything in readiness, so that nothing might retard 
 the journey. By this means, the duke was enabled 
 to travel with extraordinary speed, notwithstanding 
 the season of the year. He left Vienna on the 23d, 
 and arrived at Berlin on the 30th. 
 
 On the evening of his arrival his grace had a pri- 
 vate conference of the king, and conducted his 
 audience so satisfactorily, that he entirely won the 
 esteem of Frederick, who, before his departure from 
 Berlin, granted almost all he wished, and presented 
 him with a sword enriched with diamonds, and his 
 son-in-law with a diamond ring of considerable 
 value. The king also consented to renew all treaties, 
 more especially that he had concluded last year, and 
 which had for its object the continuance of the 8,000 
 men in Italy, and the replacement of losses which 
 had been incurred in the preceding campaign ; with 
 a promise to sead three battalions in the room of the 
 horse he had commanded to be recalled. 
 
 Though all these subjects were arranged greatly to 
 the satisfaction of the duke, he was not so fortunate 
 in conciliating his Prussian majesty in regard to the 
 Dutch, the king being exceedingly displeased with 
 the States for their non-payment of arrears due. He 
 was also so averse to his troops remaining under 
 the command of the Margrave of Baden, that Marl- 
 borough found it absolutely impossible to make any 
 arrangements in regard to the regiments which had 
 recently been recalled from the Upper Rhine. He 
 quitted Berlin, however, in the hope he should be 
 enabled to manage the affair by letter. 
 
 He left Berlin on the 3d of December, and arrived 
 in Hanover, where he had new difficulties to en- 
 counter, on the 6th. The Elector being presumptive 
 heir to the British crown, great court was paid to 
 him by both parties in England, and each accused,
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MABLBOROUGH. 131 
 
 the other of being lukewarm in his cause. The 
 elector allied himself, as it were, more particularly 
 to the whigs, and the electress (Sophia) to thetories. 
 The duke, however, made them fully assured that 
 the queen would adhere firmly to their interest in 
 maintaining the succession to the crown in their 
 family, and with this the elector gave him assur- 
 ances of his being fully satisfied ; to confirm him 
 in a belief of which, he presented him with a calash 
 and six horses. " The day after I came here," said 
 Marlborough in a letter to Godolphin, " I had a very 
 long conversation with the elector, who did not want 
 many arguments to convince him that his and the 
 queen's interests were the same. He has commanded 
 me to assure her majesty that he will never have any 
 thoughts but what may be agreeable to hers." 
 
 Satisfied with his exertions in Hanover, he re- 
 paired to the Hague, where, having settled several 
 important matters with the States-general, particu- 
 larly the taking 10,000 men more into the pay of 
 England and Holland, to reinforce Prince Eugene's 
 army in Italy, the duke repaired to Brill, where, 
 embarking for England in company of several yachts, 
 under convoy of a squadron of the queen's ships, 
 he arrived in London on the 30th, and went imme- 
 diately to St. James's, where he arrived just as the 
 clock struck eleven at night. 
 
 During his absence a multitude of libels had been 
 uttered and published against him. It is, at this 
 distance of time, by no means necessary to state what 
 they were, nor who their authors were ;* and it 
 
 * The chief libellers were Dean Swift and Mrs. Mauley, author 
 of the New Atlantis, a work in which, under the guise of a fable, 
 mauy neble persons were calumniated in a very scandalous manner. 
 It was dedicated to the Duke of Beaufort. 
 K2
 
 132 LIFE OF 
 
 would, perhaps, have been more dignified had the 
 duke himself been equally indifferent to them. But 
 that he was not, his private letters testify ; and so 
 does also a passage in the answer he gave to the 
 deputation of the House of Commons, which waited 
 upon him to give him thanks for the services he had 
 performed in the last campaign, and also for his " pru- 
 dent" negociations with her majesty's allies. " I am 
 so sensible of the honour which is done me by this 
 message," answered his grace, " that I cannot have 
 the least concern at the reflections of any private 
 malice, while I have the satisfaction of finding my 
 faithful endeavours to serve the queen and the king- 
 dom so favourably accepted by the House of Com- 
 mons." 
 
 The state of parties at this time may be, in no slight 
 degree, imagined from a passage in Coxe's memoirs of 
 this celebrated character. " The high Tories had 
 wholly lost their political consequence, the moderate of 
 the party cordially joined in supporting the measures 
 of government, while the Whigs seemed to possess the 
 favour of the queen, the friendship of Godolphin, and 
 the confidence of the nation." In consequence of 
 this change on the part of the queen, and other satis- 
 factory reasons, Marlborough consented to overcome 
 his political bias, and to continue with those whom 
 Godolphin esteemed worthy his confidence. Both, 
 therefore, seized on so favourable an opportunity of 
 effecting a reconciliation between the moderate Tories 
 and their new adherents ; and so well did all things 
 agree with this, that even Smollett becomes eloquent 
 in his description of the new era which ensued. 
 " The duke of Marlborough was in such credit with 
 the people, that when he proposed a loan of 500,000 
 pounds to the emperor, upon a branch of his revenue
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARYBOROUGH. 133 
 
 in Silesia, the money was advanced immediately by 
 the merchants of London. The kingdom was 
 blessed with plenty, the queen was universally be- 
 loved, the people, in general, were zealous for the 
 prosecution of the war, the forces were well paid, 
 the treasury was punctual, and though a great quan- 
 tity of gold was exported for the maintenance of the 
 war, the paper currency supplied the deficiency so 
 well, that no murmurs were heard, and the public 
 credit flourished both at home and abroad." 
 
 The session of Parliament having closed, and the 
 time arrived when it became necessary for Marl- 
 borough to return to the Continent and open the 
 campaign, he went on board the Peregrine galley on 
 the 6th of April, and arrived at the Hague on the 
 15th, when he had a conference with the States- 
 general on the measures necessary to be taken. 
 Before we proceed farther, however, it will be a 
 grateful service to state, from Mr. Coxe,the happy per- 
 sonal condition in which the duke had left England. 
 " Marlborough quitted England with the highest gra- 
 tification he had ever yet experienced. The collision 
 of political sentiments between the queen and the 
 duchess had subsided; the majority of the parliament 
 and nation appeared to be inspired with his own 
 ardour for the prosecution of the war ; Godolphin 
 and the Whigs were, for the first time, in unison ; 
 his immediate dependants and friends had banished 
 their fears and jealousies ; and all parties looked up 
 to him as the moderator of their feuds, and the de- 
 pository of their confidence, who had equally sub- 
 dued the factious at home and vanquished the enemy 
 abroad." 
 
 It was the emperor's desire, that the duke should 
 resume his plan of attacking France on the side of
 
 134 LIFE OF 
 
 the Moselle ; but Maryborough had learned by expe- 
 rience how little he could rely on the promises of the 
 imperial court, or the co-operation of the German 
 princes. He knew also how impossible it was to 
 conciliate the Prince of Baden. His resolution was, 
 therefore, to decline the offers of the emperor, and to 
 make an effort in Italy, where he intended to join 
 Prince Eugene. This project raised the hopes of the 
 Duke of Savoy to the highest pitch. " Count 
 Maffei," said his highness in a letter to Marlborough, 
 " has communicated to me the very kind manner in 
 which you interest yourself in the unfortunate situa- 
 tion of my affairs, and of your plan to give the most 
 fatal blow to France. It is, in truth, worthy of you. 
 To you is reserved the glory of rescuing Europe from 
 slavery, and of carrying to the greatest possible 
 height the arms of the queen, by rendering them 
 triumphant, even in Italy, which, as well as Ger- 
 many, will owe her liberty to you. I entreat you, 
 therefore, to give to that enterprise all the attention 
 which it deserves, accelerating your speedy arrival, 
 in which I take a double interest ; for I am expect- 
 ing the commencement of this siege, for which the 
 enemy will employ 60 battalions, as many squadrons, 
 and 110 pieces of artillery, with a considerable 
 number of mortars. The imperialists have experi- 
 enced a check in the Bressano, and will not soon be 
 in readiness to act ; consequently, you will soon see 
 that the smallest time is precious, and how much it 
 imports the confederates to save, with this capital, 
 the remnant of my troops ; for you cannot fail of re- 
 flecting that, should this capital be lost, the enemy will 
 have it in their power to turn all their force against 
 Prince Eugene, and compel him to abandon Italy." 
 This project, however, Marlborough found impos-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROTJGH. 135 
 
 sible to carry into action. Godolphin acquiesced ; 
 but the German princes and the King of Denmark, 
 whose troops were to he employed in the under- 
 taking, objected. So also did the King of Prussia, 
 the Landgrave of Hesse, and the Elector of Hanover. 
 The Dutch, too, entertained a great repugnance to 
 it ; and at the moment that he was concerting with 
 Overkirk the means of maintaining defensive mea- 
 sures in the Netherlands during his absence, disas- 
 trous news arrived from the Upper Rhine, which 
 wholly changed the course of his plans. Villars 
 had suddenly taken the field, forced the German 
 lines, driven the margrave back to the Lauter, and 
 was making preparations to overrun the Palatinate. 
 
 When the Dutch heard this they became so alarmed, 
 that, looking on Marlborough's presence as their 
 only protection, they offered to relieve him from the 
 shackles they had all along loaded him with, by 
 secretly giving him the choice of the field-deputies, or 
 by previously instructing them to conform implicitly 
 to his orders. With this concession Marlborough 
 was well pleased ; and seeing the impossibility, 
 under the present circumstances, of carrying his 
 Italian expedition into effect, he consented to retain 
 his command in the Netherlands. 
 
 Though Godolphin had acceded to Marlborough's 
 plan, the dropping of it was far from being unpleasant 
 to him. " I now take it for granted, there's an end of 
 the project of Italy," wrote his lordship to the duke; 
 " and this, I must own, does not give me so much 
 uneasiness as it does you. For besides, that I could 
 never swallow so well the thoughts of your being so 
 far out of our reach, and for so long a time, I think 
 it may be almost as well for the allies to have the 
 balance kept up in Italy, as to drive the French
 
 136 LIFE OF 
 
 quite out of it, which would enable them to contract 
 their expenses, and more expose us on this side to 
 their force." 
 
 Marlborough's private letters at this juncture show 
 him to very great advantage. " You will see," said 
 he in a letter to the duchess, " by my letters to Lord 
 Treasurer that, in all likelihood, I shall make the 
 whole campaign in this country, and, consequently, 
 not such a one as will please me. But as I infinitely 
 value your esteem, for without that you cannot love 
 me, let me say for myself, that there is some credit 
 in doing rather what is good for the public than in 
 preferring our own private satisfaction and interest ; 
 for my being here in a condition of doing nothing that 
 shall make a noise, has made me able to send ten 
 thousand men to Italy, and to leave nineteen thou- 
 sand more on the Rhine, till the Marshal de Marsin 
 shall bring his detachment to this country." 
 
 To Godolphin he wrote " God knows, I go with 
 a heavy heart, for I have no prospect of doing any- 
 thing considerable unless the French would do what 
 I am very confident they will not ; unless the Mar- 
 shal de Marsin should return, as is reported, with 
 thirty battalions and forty squadrons; for that would 
 give them sufch a superiority as might tempt them to 
 march out of their lines; which if they do, I will most 
 certainly attack them; not doubting, with the bless- 
 ing of God, to beat them." 
 
 In that hope he was soon gratified. Naniur was 
 considered so highly important a post, that Villeroy 
 received positive orders even to risk a battle for the 
 safety of it; a conflict was, therefore, anticipated 
 on both sides ; and to provoke the French the better 
 to it, Marlborough made a movement upon Namur ; 
 being induced the more eagerly to do it by having
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGU. J 37 
 
 established a correspondence with an inhabitant of 
 that town, named Pasquier, through whose agency 
 he hoped to surprise the town. The French made 
 a great effort; they withdrew forces from the Rhine, 
 and reinfoi'ced Villeroy and the elector with the best 
 troops of France, so as to out-number the allies by 
 2,000 men : Marlborough having only 60,000 under 
 his command, and the French general 62,000. 
 
 The English troops had no sooner approached the 
 intended point of junction, than Villeroy and the 
 Elector of Bavaria, with their united forces, passed 
 the Dyle. Marlborough was greatly rejoiced at the 
 disposition thus manifested by the enemy to meet him 
 in the open field. " The French knowing that it is 
 not in our power, in less than three weeks, to have 
 the Hanoverians or Hessians from the Rhine, they 
 have taken the resolution of drawing as many of 
 their troops out of their garrisons as possible, and 
 marched yesterday out of their lines, and are now 
 encamped at Tirlemont. The English join the armies 
 this day, and the Danes two days hence. With my 
 humble duty, assure her majesty that, with all my 
 heart and soul, I pray to God that I may be able to 
 send her good news, so that your faithful friend and 
 servant might have some quiet before he dies." This 
 was written to Godolphin. 
 
 The positions of the two armies were in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Ramillies, and near that village a battle, 
 that will be ever memorable, was fought. Before we 
 give any account of that battle, however, we must 
 revert to a curious circumstance, viz., that it was 
 fought on the very spot at which Marlborough had 
 unsuccessfully recommended the Dutch to force the 
 French lines three years before. The duke's words 
 were " If we attempt their lines, should they pre-
 
 138 LIFE OP 
 
 tend to defend them, we may, with the blessing of 
 the Almighty, hope to gain a complete victory, the 
 consequences of which may be of more importance 
 than can be foreseen ; and should they think best to 
 retire, there is ground to hope we might push for- 
 ward very successfully, and draw mighty advan- 
 tages from it." In answer to this the Dutch de- 
 puties and generals replied, " Supposing the lines 
 forced, what advantage will come of it ? and shall 
 we be able to march to Tirlemont and Louvain ? 
 What gives ground for apprehension that we shall 
 not, is, that the enemy, a little within their lines, 
 have posts to retire to, that are more defensible than 
 their lines ; for instance, that of Ramillies, \vhere 
 their right, being extended to the Mehaigne, near 
 Taveirs, and their left towards Ramillies and Au- 
 trezlise, they will have a narrow aperture of but 
 1,200 paces to defend." Upon this very spot were 
 the enemy encountered and conquered at the time of 
 which we are now speaking. 
 
 The army was in motion early in the morning ; 
 but violent rain having fallen in the night, the 
 advance of the infantry was greatly retarded ; at the 
 same time, the duke, accompanied by the Dutch 
 deputies and generals, was informed that the enemy 
 were moving towards the position of Mont St. Andr6 
 and the Mehaigne, on the very ground the confe- 
 derates had hoped to occupy. There was a deep 
 fog; the air, however, cleared, and when it did so, 
 the two armies appeared in sight of each other, and 
 soon after engaged, with a result, which at once de- 
 cided the fate of the Netherlands, as that of Blenheim 
 had decided that of Bavaria. 
 
 The battle was most violently contested, and the 
 victory is universally allowed to have been owing
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 139 
 
 to the skilful dispositions of the duke ; " to his 
 presence and activity in every quarter where danger 
 most threatened, or disaster had taken place," says 
 Mr. Coxe, " and to the firmness and perseverance of 
 the Dutch infantry and cavalry, who bore the brunt 
 of the first attack. The German infantry also sus- 
 tained their national character in the attack of Ramil- 
 lies; and the horse of the right, who carne late into 
 action, are entitled to the merit of having rendered 
 the victory decisive and complete." 
 
 The enemy lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 
 13,000 men, and 2,000 deserted from them after the 
 battle. The confederates had 1066 killed, and 2,567 
 wounded. On the part of the French fell many 
 officers of distinction, amongst whom were the princes 
 of Soubise and Rohan, and a son of Marshal Tallard ; 
 amongst the wounded, the Marquis de Bar, and Mons. 
 de Montmorency, nephew to the Duke of Luxemburg. 
 On that of the allies 82 officers were killed, and 283 
 wounded, but none of distinction except the Prince of 
 Hesse Cassel and five colonels. The enemy lost also 
 above 120 colours, and 50 pieces of cannon. The 
 battle was fought on a Sunday, viz., May 23, 1706. 
 
 The joy in Holland at this victory was very great. 
 " We congratulate with your excellency," said the 
 Dutch government, " for the happy success of 
 this great and glorious action ; a success princi- 
 pally owing, after the Divine benediction, to your 
 conduct and valour, which will render your glory 
 immortal. It is a particular satisfaction we receive 
 from the testimony, which you have given of the 
 courage and bravery of our troops ; for though we 
 never doubted but they would follow the steps of so 
 great a captain as your excellency is, yet this testi- 
 mony is extremely advantageous to them and accept-
 
 140 LIFE OP 
 
 able to us. We will not forget the services, which 
 they have performed on this great occasion. We 
 pray God to bless, more and more, all your designs 
 and enterprises; and since your glory, after the 
 battles of Ramillies, Schelhemberg, and Hochstadt, 
 can receive no addition by the greatness of victories, 
 we wish it may by the number. We desire you to 
 believe that the esteem, we have for your excellency's 
 person and rare merit, cannot be greater." 
 
 We must now refer to two circumstances that 
 occurred in the battle. The duke was very often in 
 great peril ; one instance of which may be given in 
 his having been recognized by the French dragoons, 
 while rallying some broken horse. They attempted 
 to close round him, when, in leaping a ditch to dis- 
 engage himself, he was thrown. One of his equerries 
 (Colonel Bingfield) immediately alighted to give him 
 his horse, when, as he was holding the stirrup, his 
 head was struck off by a cannon-ball. 
 
 The other circumstance relates to the Dutch 
 general, Overkirk, who acted with great skill and 
 courage during the whole action; and to whom the 
 success of the first and principal attack was owing. 
 He fought at the head of his troops till the victory 
 was entirely won, and continued on horseback till 
 one in the morning, when he narrowly escaped falling 
 a sacrifice to the treachery of a Bavarian captain of 
 horse, whom he had taken prisoner in the early part 
 of the day. To this man he had returned his sword. 
 " You are a gentleman," said he, " and may keep 
 it." Notwithstanding this generosity, the villain 
 attempted to take an opportunity of stabbing his 
 benefactor in the back ; and had certainly perpetrated 
 the horrid and disgraceful deed had not the Dutch 
 general's groom rode up and shot him dead on the spot.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 141 
 
 We must here give place to a passage from Mr. 
 Coxe, since it places the duke on a higher pedestal than 
 even the victory itself. It ought, on no account, to 
 be omitted or curtailed. " The humanity displayed 
 by the victorious general towards his prisoners 
 deserves to be recorded for the applause of an impar- 
 tial posterity. The sick and wounded were lodged 
 in hospitals, and treated with the same care and 
 attention as the troops of the allies. The prisoners 
 were conveyed to Holland with the sympathy due 
 to their misfortune, and supplied with all the com- 
 forts which their situation required. To the benefi- 
 cent example which Maryborough displayed on this, 
 as on other occasions, we are indebted for the 
 refined tenderness which has since taken place in the 
 intercourse of hostile armies." "This virtue," Mr. 
 Coxe goes on to observe, " extorted the admiration 
 even of the enemy ; and a French writer pays a just 
 eulogium to our great commander for a quality which 
 could not be said to distinguish the chiefs of his own 
 and preceding ages. ' Marlborough always showed 
 the greatest attention to his prisoners, and set the 
 example of that humanity which has since soothed 
 the horrors and calamities of war.' " 
 
 The manner, in which the duke wrote at this time 
 to the duchess, is exceedingly beautiful. " I did not 
 tell my dearest soul, in my last, the design I had of 
 engaging the enemy, if possible, to a battle, fearing 
 the concern she had for me might make her uneasy ; 
 but I can now give her the satisfaction of letting her 
 know that, on Sunday last, we fought, and that God 
 Almighty has been pleased to give us a victory. I 
 must leave the particulars to the bearer, Colonel 
 Richards; for having been on horseback all Sunday, 
 and, after the battle, marching all night, my head
 
 142 LIFE OF 
 
 aches to that degree that it is very uneasy to me to 
 write. Poor Bingfield, holding my stirrup for me, 
 and helping me on horseback, was killed. I am told 
 that he leaves his wife and mother in a poor condi- 
 tion. I can't write to any of my children; so that 
 you will let them know I am well, and that I desire 
 they will thank God for preserving me. And pray 
 give my duty to the queen, and let her know the 
 truth of my heart, and that the greatest pleasure I 
 have in this success is, that it may be a great service 
 to her affairs ; for I am sincerely sensible of all her 
 goodness to me and mine. Pray, believe me, when I 
 assure you that I love you more than I can express." 
 
 When the news of this victory arrived in England 
 it gave the most lively satisfaction and pleasure. The 
 ministers wrote to him, in their joy, and the queen, 
 with her usual condescension and graceful friendship. 
 " I want words," said her majesty, " to express my 
 true sense of the great service you have done to your 
 country." " I must repeat my earnest request that 
 you would be careful of yourself." A proclamation 
 was issued for a thanksgiving, and the queen returned 
 thanks at St. Paul's for so glorious a victory, as she 
 had twice done before; addresses poured in from 
 every quarter of the kingdom, and " the name of the 
 undaunted and renowned general," we are told, " was 
 mingled with that of his royal mistress in shouts of 
 national exultation." 
 
 The effects of this battle were very great ; and to 
 what a condition it reduced the Elector of Bavaria 
 may be seen by what that prince wrote to his majesty, 
 the King of France, after the battle. 
 
 " SIR, If the events of the battle of Ramillies had an- 
 swered the hopes we expected from it, it would not have 
 been the loss, but the gain of a battle that I should have
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 143 
 
 acquainted your majesty with. There is no fault to be 
 imputed to the generals who have commanded, nor the 
 troops who have fought, but to a fatality without example. 
 I have a heart so full of this misfortune, that I cannot 
 express to your majesty the burden I labour under. The 
 loss, sir, of the battle of Ramillies, which has been as 
 fatal as that of Hochstadt, convinces me that it is not the 
 number of an army, nor the advantageous situation of a 
 camp, nor the courage of soldiers, that give the victory, 
 but God alone. When I seriously consider all that has 
 passed in this great action, (where your majesty's house- 
 hold and my cuirassiers broke, no less than three times, 
 the enemy's left,) I must confess I do not comprehend the 
 business of war. The only consolation that remains, sir, 
 in my misfortunes, is, that I have done nothing contrary 
 to your orders, which Marshal Villeroy cannot but 
 acknowledge, as well as all the officers of the army, who 
 have seen me expose myself as much as the meanest sol- 
 dier ; and if the peril of my life would have purchased a 
 victory, it would assuredly not have been my fault that 
 your majesty's arms had not been triumphant. But the 
 evil has befallen us, and what remains is to seek the means 
 of remedying it. I expect, in all this chaos of confusion, 
 your majesty's orders." 
 
 The elector and Villeroy, having escaped the perils 
 of the field, fled to Louvain ; where, holding a council 
 by torchlight in the market-place, they resolved to 
 abandon, not only the open country, but the fortified 
 towns, and to retreat behind the canal at Brussels. 
 A general revolution also followed in the Low 
 Countries ; for, as the allies were favoured with a 
 continued chain of conquests, the inhabitants of those 
 provinces, weary of French influence and govern- 
 ment, received the confederate generals everywhere 
 as their deliverers, since they had redeemed them 
 from slavery, and recovered for them their ancient 
 liberties. 
 
 The French having abandoned Louvain, the duke
 
 144 LIFE OP 
 
 lost no time in pursuing them. Alost, Lierre, Ghent, 
 Bruges, and Damme, were taken possession of; and 
 the enemy became so disheartened that, though the 
 English had no cannon to besiege it, they surrendered 
 Oudenarde, a place so strong, that even William, with 
 an army of 60,000 men, had not been able to take it. 
 
 Lou vain and Mechlin were now open to the con- 
 queror ; and the governor and magistrates of Brus- 
 sels, with the States of Brabant, sent deputations, 
 expressive of satisfaction that they had been delivered 
 from the oppression of the French, and a declaration 
 of their readiness to recognise Charles, and a resolu- 
 tion to assist in maintaining his right to the kingdom 
 of Spain and all its dependencies. He was invited to 
 Brussels, and in that city the archduke was pro- 
 claimed king under the name of Charles the Third. 
 The effects, indeed, of this battle were so great that 
 Maryborough wrote to Godolphin, that he thought 
 they would be greater than those, that had ensued 
 from the battle of Blenheim ; " for we have the 
 whole summer before us," said he, " and with the 
 blessing of God, I will make the most of it. For as 
 we had no council of war before this battle, so I hope 
 to have none this whole campaign ; and I think we 
 may make such a campaign as may give the queen 
 the glory of making an honourable and safe peace ; 
 for the blessing of God is certainly with us." 
 
 The French had not only been beaten, but thrown 
 into a panic. They had begun the engagement in 
 the hope and full confidence of victory, from a 
 knowledge that they were superior in numbers; and 
 at the moment when that confidence was gone, a 
 panic came over them, when, to use the duke's own 
 expression, he "pressed the enemy while confusion 
 remained among them," and to an effect that had not
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 145 
 
 often been done before. " We have done in four 
 days," said he in another letter, " what we should 
 have thought ourselves happy if we could have been 
 sure of it in four years." The Dutch deputies 
 related in their letter to the States, " The confusion 
 the enemy were in after the battle cannot be de- 
 scribed, insomuch that the elector, and several other 
 French Generals, could not refrain from tears." " I 
 have appointed next Sunday," said Maryborough in 
 a letter to the duchess, " for the army to return 
 thanks to God for the protection he has been pleased 
 to give us. For on this occasion it has been very 
 visible; for the French had not only greater numbers 
 than we, but also their best troops. I hope the 
 queen will appoint a speedy thanksgiving at St. 
 Paul's ; for the goodness of God is so great, that if 
 he had suffered us to have been beaten, the liberties 
 of all the allies had been lost." 
 
 On the first of June a public thanksgiving was 
 celebrated ; on the next day the duke made his 
 public entry into Ghent; and on the 4th, having 
 traversed the Scheldt, and accepted the surrender of 
 Oudenard, he pitched his camp between Arsele and 
 Caneghem ; Antwerp having surrendered, after a 
 secret negociation, without the firing of a single gun. 
 The duke, in order to arrange with the States for the 
 remainder of the campaign, made a journey to the 
 Hague. Having succeeded in this, he returned to 
 the camp at Arsele, and immediately after invested 
 Ostend. He summoned the city to surrender, but 
 the governor sent for answer, that he hoped the 
 duke would excuse him " if he defended the place, 
 as became him, till farther orders." 
 
 The city was, indeed, difficult to command, for its 
 environs were intersected with dikes, canals, and 
 L
 
 146 LIFE OP 
 
 water courses, which afforded innumerable means of 
 resistance ; and the defence, moreover, could Be in- 
 creased by inundation. The duke, nevertheless, suc- 
 ceeded in taking it ; and we may, in no small degree, 
 recognise the difficulty of doing so when we remem- 
 ber that, a century before, it was not reduced by 
 Spinola, the first warrior of his age, till after a three 
 years' siege, and a consumption of four-score thou- 
 sand men. It cost Marlborough only 500. 
 
 It ought to have been remarked that, before the 
 battle of Ramillies, the duke had some cause to 
 complain of the conduct of the court of Denmark, 
 which, either in favour to France or on account of an 
 ill-timed caution on a matter of arrears, had like to 
 have terminated the course of his glory, and pre- 
 vented the battle and victory which ensued, or might 
 have even exposed the confederate army to the 
 greatest hazard. The Danish troops, however, be- 
 haved so well in the engagement, that Marlborough 
 thought proper to acknowledge it in a very especial 
 manner ; and this he did in a letter to the King of 
 Denmark, wherein he said: 
 
 "From the Camp at Grimberff, Mai/, 29, 1706. 
 " After the troops have had a little refreshment, we 
 shall advance again towards the enemy, without giving 
 them time to recover themselves, relying entirely on 
 the blessing of Heaven and the bravery of the troops, 
 particularly those of your majesty, who distinguished 
 themselves so eminently, and acquired so much glory in 
 the battle, that I cannot excuse myself from writing this 
 second letter to your majesty to do justice to the Duke of 
 Wirtemberg, who that day gave shining proofs of his 
 capacity and valour, as also the other generals, officers, 
 and soldiers of your majesty's troops under his command, 
 who well deserve all the praises I can give them, and if I 
 might presume to say it, all the regard your majesty can
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 147 
 
 show for such brave men. I have not been wanting to do 
 them this justice to the queen and his royal highness, and 
 I hope your majesty will excuse the liberty I take in 
 recommending them to your favour."' 
 
 Menin was next attacked. This town was so 
 strong that many thought that to attempt its capture 
 was too bold an undertaking ; for, after the peace of 
 Nimeguen, the old fortifications had been replaced 
 by works constituted on Yauban's best and most 
 approved system ; it was, in fact, considered his 
 master-piece. It was, besides, strongly garrisoned, 
 and the duke de Vendome was sent to recollect the 
 scattered forces, and make an effort for saving it. 
 Marlborough, nevertheless, undertook to besiege it, 
 though he was, for some time, detained by the tardi- 
 ness of the Dutch in making preparations. After 
 several attacks it surrendered ; but it was after a 
 great loss on the part of the allies, 3,000 being killed 
 and wounded ; and 1,500 on the part of the garrison. 
 Fifty pieces of brass cannon, and forty of iron, were 
 taken; ammunition in great abundance; 300,000 Ibs. 
 of powder, four-and-twenty colours, and one standard; 
 against which the allies employed six-and-forty heavy 
 cannon, eighteen mortars, and several hundred cohorn 
 mortars. The capitulation was signed at eleven at 
 night, and the next morning the allies took posses- 
 sion. Marlborough says, however, that the garrison 
 might have held out, at least, five days longer ; but 
 they were led to give up the place sooner than they 
 ought to have done, from the fear of being made 
 prisoners of war. 
 
 The next operation was directed against Dender- 
 mond. Brigadier Cadogan wrote to the duke, that 
 the town having been set on fire in several places by 
 the bombs he had employed against it, he had written 
 
 L2
 
 148 LIFE OF 
 
 a letter to the governor, the Marquis Delvalle, to 
 acquaint him that his garrison was to expect no other 
 conditions than to remain prisoners of \var if they 
 obstinately persisted in any longer maintaining the 
 place. On receiving this letter, the marquis desired 
 a cessation of arms for four-and-twenty hours, to 
 enable him to call a council. The time having 
 expired, the governor sent for answer, that, having 
 called a council of war, it had been resolved that, 
 since the town had a strong garrison, and was other- 
 wise well provided for a good defence, it was their 
 duty to hold out to the last. 
 
 General Churchill, the duke's brother, was here- 
 upon charged with the siege ; it having been already 
 blockaded ever since the battle of Eamillies. The 
 town is situated twelve miles east of Ghent, fourteen 
 south-west of Antwerp, and seventeen north-west of 
 Brussels. An attack npon it was made (Sept. 4, 
 1706) at about ten in the morning, and after some 
 time spent in parleys, the garrison surrendered. 
 " This," says Marlborough, " was more than reason- 
 able ; but I saw them in a consternation. That 
 place could never have been taken but by the hand 
 of God, which gave us seven weeks without any 
 rain." In a letter to the States, also, he makes a 
 similar observation : " I heartily congratulate your 
 high mightinesses upon this happy event, in which 
 the hand of God has visibly appeared ; it having'been 
 observed that, for several years past, there has not 
 been in this country so favourable a season for such 
 an enterprise." " The rain," says he also in a letter 
 to Godolphin, " began the next day after we had 
 possession, and continued till this evening." The 
 country round may be amply understood by what 
 the duke afterwards wrote : " I believe the King of
 
 JOIIN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 149 
 
 France will be a good deal surprised when he shall 
 hear that the garrison has been obliged to surrender 
 themselves prisoners of war ; for upon his being told 
 that preparations were making for the siege of Den- 
 dermond, he replied, ' They must have an army of 
 ducks to take it.'" 
 
 After the fall of Dendermond, Marlborough in- 
 vested Ath, which having taken, he would have 
 marched to Mons ; but in this he was disappointed 
 by the reluctance of the Dutch, notwithstanding its 
 reduction was earnestly recommended. " We shall 
 have it much cheaper this year than the next," said 
 his grace, " because if we wait till then, they will 
 have time to recruit their army." 
 
 We have now leisure to return to another subject. 
 When Marlborough had conquered the Netherlands 
 by arms, he did not subdue, at the same time, all 
 the difficulties which he had to encounter ; for the 
 very success raised new ones. A quarrel arose be- 
 tween the emperor and the Dutch in regard to which 
 party the government should fall. Both claimed it. 
 Thus situated, the emperor offered it to the acceptance 
 of the Duke of Marlborough ; and this he did in a 
 transport of joy, at having, by a curious coincidence, 
 received some very happy and important news from 
 Spain on the very day that brought intelligence of 
 the victory of Ramillies. The patent, creating Marl- 
 borough governor of the Netherlands, was imme- 
 diately transmitted with a letter, written in Latin, 
 by the emperor's own hand, stating that the govern- 
 ment of the Belgic provinces could not be better con - 
 frded than to the hand which had recovered them. 
 In these sentiments the King of Spain concurred. 
 
 No arrangement could have been of such advan- 
 tage to the confederate cause as this; and, therefore.
 
 150 LIFE OP 
 
 Marlborough immediately imparted the news to the 
 treasurer for the decision of the queen and council. 
 In respect to the Dutch he made it a matter of con- 
 cealment, until he should hear the queen's answer. 
 
 The Queen, Lord Godolphin, Lord Somers, Lord 
 Sunderland, and the Whig leaders, were unanimous 
 in their satisfaction at this proposal and appointment. 
 *' We think it is like to keep everything in the 
 Netherlands," said Lord Godolphin in reply, " upon 
 a right foot; at least, during the operations of this 
 summer. We think there is no reason for the Dutch 
 not to like it as well as we do ; and all conclude 
 with myself that it is one of the rightest thoughts, 
 that ever came from the emperor's council." 
 
 Godolphin, however, in this reckoned without his 
 host. The Dutch raised a violent opposition to it. 
 " While the confederates," says Mr. Coxe, " were 
 employed in recovering the Low Countries, their 
 union was, in general, cordial and sincere ; but no 
 sooner had the victory at Ramillies secured their 
 object, than national interest began to operate." The 
 Dutch began to think how they could strengthen 
 themselves at the expense of their neighbours. 
 " Such is their temper," said Marlborough, " that 
 when they have misfortunes, they are desirous of 
 peace upon any terms ; and when we are blessed by 
 God with success, they are for turning it to their own 
 advantage, without any consideration how r it may be 
 liked by their friends and allies. As to myself, I 
 thank God and the queen, I have no need nor desire 
 of being richer ; but have a very great ambition of 
 doing everything that can be for the public good." 
 
 Animated with this feeling, he declined the proffered 
 grant upon the consideration, that the advantage he 
 might gain by such an elevation, with 60,000
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 151 
 
 a-year, would be very poor and insignificant in com- 
 parison of the fatal consequences, that might be, should 
 it cause a jealousy between the two nations. No 
 sooner, therefore, had he received the sanction of the 
 queen to his acceptance of this post, than he wrote at 
 once to the States his decided resolution not to accept 
 the appointment. This forbearance, however, by no 
 means awakened the Dutch to a sense of their ingra- 
 titude and presumption ; for, so far from affecting 
 any wish to share with England in the advantage 
 gained by the late victories, they even showed a dis- 
 position to appropriate the whole government of the 
 Netherlands to themselves. This spirit, however, 
 Marlborough and the government at home so suc- 
 cessfully contended against, that, at their instance, a 
 provisional government was proposed and established ; 
 by which it was agreed that the administration of the 
 Low Countries should be shared by the two mari- 
 time powers ; though, to satisfy the inhabitants, it 
 was to be conducted in the name, and under the 
 authority, of Charles the Third. That is, it was 
 agreed, between the duke and the deputies of the 
 States-General, that the administration should be 
 given to a council of state, consisting of natural-born 
 subjects of the Spanish provinces, who should be 
 enjoined to take an oath of fidelity to the King of 
 Spain, in the presence of the duke, the deputies, and 
 the States. 
 
 This arrangement, however, was not very agree- 
 able to the Court of Vienna. They thought it w r as 
 throwing too much power into the hands of the 
 Dutch. The King of Spain, too, was greatly dis- 
 satisfied. How this matter was settled the reader 
 will find afterwards. It may, however, here be re- 
 peated, that the French king was much better served
 
 152 LIFE OP 
 
 by his enemies in their own cabinets than by his 
 armies in the field. 
 
 Having relinquished all further operations, the 
 season being too far advanced to undertake any 
 serious matter, Marlborough left the command of the 
 army to Overkirk, and departed for Brussels, for the 
 purpose of regulating the government of the con- 
 quered provinces, where he was received with all the 
 honours that, in former years, had been usually paid 
 to the dukes of Burgundy. The streets through 
 which he passed were filled with a great concourse 
 of the nobility and gentry of both sexes, and lined 
 with the burgesses under arms. The cannon fired 
 from the ramparts, the populace uttered loud accla- 
 mations, and gave a thousand demonstrations of joy. 
 His grace, in the mean time, was received at the 
 Andeiiech-port by the burgo-master and magistrates, 
 who there presented him with the keys of honour, 
 and expressed their gratitude to the queen and the 
 English nation ; closing with a well-conceived com- 
 pliment to his grace, whom they styled the glorious 
 instrument of their deliverance. 
 
 The duke alighted at the Palace of Orange ; and, 
 a few days after, the magistrates waited on him 
 again, and presented him with " the wine of honour;" 
 which was brought in a tun, gilded and painted with 
 his grace's own arms, upon a carriage, with streamers, 
 drawn by six horses, preceded by trumpets and 
 kettle-drums; attended by a cavalcade of young 
 students on horseback, finely clothed, with devices in 
 their hands in honour of his grace, and in particular, 
 representing the great actions performed in this cam- 
 paign. _ 
 
 Having received these and other marks of honour, 
 the duke, on the 31st of October, returned to the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 153 
 
 army, where he gave directions for its going into 
 winter quarters ; the English at Ghent, the Danes at 
 Bruges, the Prussians along the Denier, and between 
 the Meuse and the Rhine. Overkirk was left com- 
 mandant in the Netherlands; the Count de Tilly 
 was sent to Louvain ; Talisch to Mechlin ; the govern- 
 ment of Brussels being intrusted to General Church- 
 hill. Having arranged all this, the duke himself 
 embarked on board one of the yachts belonging to 
 the admiralty of the Meuse, and in a few hours arrived 
 at Rotterdam, whence he went immediately to the 
 Hague, in order to arrange the operations for the 
 ensuing campaign, as well as to take a part in the 
 negociations, which had now been opened between the 
 court of France and the Dutch government. 
 
 We must now, for a moment, turn our eyes to- 
 wards Italy and Spain. Marlborough had been ever 
 active in procuring men and money for Prince 
 Eugene. With these supplies that celebrated person, 
 after long endeavours, became enabled to inflict on 
 France one of the greatest defeats it had ever sus- 
 tained in Italy. Anxious to compensate for the 
 disasters in the Netherlands, and also in Spain, Louis 
 had redoubled his efforts in that country. His hope was 
 to complete the ruin of the Duke of Saxony, whose 
 capital had become the last rampart of the allies in 
 that country. An engagement, therefore, took place 
 between Prince Eugene and the French general, 
 Marsin, which terminated in carrying relief to Turin, 
 at a moment when breaches had been made in the 
 ramparts, and the garrison reduced to the last charge 
 of powder. Marsin himself was made prisoner, and 
 soon after died of the wounds he received ; 9,000 
 men were killed, wounded, or taken ; and that army 
 which had, for so long a period, given laws to Italy,
 
 154 LIFE OP 
 
 was driven in confusion and disgrace towards the 
 borders of Dauphine.* 
 
 When Marlborough heard of this victory, which 
 he did by a letter from Prince Eugene himself, written 
 on the evening after the battle, he was affected with 
 great joy. " It is impossible," said he in a letter to 
 the duchess, " for me to express the joy it has given 
 me ; for I not only esteem, but I really love that 
 prince." " This glorious action," he goes on to say, 
 " must bring France so low, that if our friends can 
 be persuaded to carry on the war one year longer 
 with vigour, we could not fail, with the blessing of 
 God, to have such a peace as would give us quiet in 
 our days." 
 
 This splendid victory, however, had, by no means, 
 the commanding result that Marlborough hoped from 
 it. For no sooner had it been gained, than all the 
 jealousies that had existed between the emperor and 
 the Duke of Savoy, and which had only been sus- 
 pended during the respective periods of adversity, 
 
 * We are told that an infinite number of blunders were com- 
 mitted on this day. Ten thousand men were actually engaged 
 between the Dora and Stura, but when these were routed there 
 were yet 70,000 beyond the Dora, who might have crossed that 
 river while the post of Lucenta was held, and have renewed the 
 combat. Such, however, -was the consternation of the French, 
 that these 70,000 unbroken troops fled before less than half their 
 number. One of their officers, in a letter to a friend, expressed 
 himself thus : " I am sorry to tell you that I no longer know our 
 men. They are so changed from what they were at the battles of 
 Senef, Montcassel, and Landen, that one can hardly think them 
 to be of the same nation. I will not give you a detail of the dis- 
 order in which they fought at Turin, aud of the confusion which 
 prevailed among us when we turned our backs on an army that, 
 even after the battle, was much inferior to our own. I will draw 
 a curtain over this disagreeable scene ; but I cannot help telling you 
 that our troops hardly think themselves safe here, though divided 
 from the enemy by the Alps."
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOUOUGH. 155 
 
 broke out afresh ; and the emperor, more especially, 
 began, from that moment, to pursue his own pur- 
 pases, to the neglect and injury of the whole confe- 
 derate cause. 
 
 In Spain, too, a series of successes was followed 
 by a greater misconduct. The campaign in that 
 country had been brilliant. The close of it, how- 
 ever, was disastrous in the extreme. The troops, 
 we are told, committed every kind of excess, the 
 generals every kind of blunder, and for want of a 
 mind like that of Marlborough or Eugene, to con- 
 trol its jarring elements, every movement was an 
 error ; all being the result of different heads, actuated 
 by discordant interests. Marlborough was especially 
 chagrined at the conduct of Lord Peterborough in 
 that country. The causes are amply stated by Mr. 
 Coxe : " By these fatal reverses Marlborough was 
 not only mortified and disappointed, but placed in a 
 predicament equally critical and unexpected. Ad- 
 miring the chivalrous spirit, fascinating manners, 
 and courtly address of Peterborough, he had recom- 
 mended him to the command, and bestowed unquali- 
 fied praise on his splendid achievements. He was, 
 therefore, deeply chagrined to find, that success had 
 rendered him impatient of control, ambitious of pre- 
 eminence, and no less vain and visionary in his 
 designs than petulant in his manners, and unaccom- 
 modating in his disposition. He had, also, not only 
 treated with contempt and levity the young monarch, 
 under whom he was commissioned to act, and whom 
 he was interested to conciliate, but, from pique and 
 revenge, he was suspected of having so far swerved 
 from his duty as to make private overtures, propos- 
 ing to assist in raising the Duke of Savoy to the 
 Spanish throne." In this displeasure Lord Godol-
 
 156 LIFE OP 
 
 phin seems to have joined; for he says in a letter to 
 the duke : " He is both useless and grievous where 
 he is, and is preparing to be as troublesome here, 
 whenever he is called home." The perplexity of the 
 duke, however, did not merely arise from the conduct, 
 however eccentric and perverse, of Peterborough 
 alone ; for the condition and situation of the army, 
 and the disputes and rivalry of the generals and the 
 court of Charles, daily afforded new causes of dis- 
 quietude. 
 
 From this digression we must now return to the 
 affairs with which the duke was more particularly 
 concerned. On arriving at the Hague he found that 
 the French were endeavouring to amuse the Dutch 
 by offers of peace. With the Dutch the French had 
 always greater hopes than with any other of the 
 allies ; for they knew they had a party in the States 
 always on the watch to serve them ; and the intrigues 
 of these men are rightly stated to have given Marl- 
 borough more uneasiness than any circumstance of 
 actual warfare. In regard to the Dutch, as a people, 
 he mentions this characteristic : " The more com- 
 plaisance is shown to them, and the more we give 
 way to them, it is both their nature and their prac- 
 tice to be the more assuming." The duke, having 
 received the compliments of the States, had several 
 conferences with the deputies, in which, among other 
 things, it was agreed, that the steps France had made 
 towards a peace should be communicated to the 
 allies, in order to remove all suspicion of clandestine 
 negociations, as well as to encourage the several 
 members of the alliance to meet the next campaign, 
 not only with renewed, but even with redoubled 
 vigour. 
 
 The ministers of the allies residing at the Hague
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGII. 157 
 
 were invited to a general conference. At this con- 
 ference the States owned that France had formerly, 
 by some priA r ate persons, made general intimations 
 of their willingness to treat of peace ; and that last 
 winter the Marquis d'Alegro had presented to the 
 States a formal memorial on the same subject, the 
 substance of which they would read. Having done 
 this, they stated that they had given no ear to those 
 advances; therefore they had not communicated them 
 to the allies, holding them not worthy of that notice. 
 In October last, however, they went on to say, a 
 letter had ben written by the Elector of Bavaria to 
 the Duke of Marlborough, and another to the States, 
 to which answers had been respectively returned by 
 those to whom they they had been written. These 
 were expressive of a desire, the French king had, for 
 a peace. 
 
 Having read these letters, with their answers, the 
 deputies made a declaration to the assembled minis- 
 ters, to the effect, that their high mightinesses had 
 resolved firmly to observe their alliances in every 
 part ; that a peace would be extremely agreeable to 
 them, and, without doubt, to the high allies, if it 
 could be likely that it would bo firm and lasting. 
 But that the conferences proposed, without a more 
 particular declaration of the intentions of France, and 
 without a probable certainty or appearance of good 
 success, did not seem to their high mightinesses to be 
 a proper means for attaining it ; but much rather a 
 means, by such conferences about a peace, to divert 
 the thoughts of war and lull the allies asleep. 
 
 This disclosure and declaration of the deputies gave 
 to the allies great satisfaction. It was impossible not 
 to perceive that the object of the French king was, 
 in the first instance, to detach the Dutch from the
 
 153 LIFE OP 
 
 allies ; and, if that could not be done, to lull the 
 whole confederacy into inactivity, in the second. 
 It is proper, however, to furnish the reader with the 
 letter Marlborough wrote in answer to that he re- 
 ceived from the Elector of Bavaria, because it gives a 
 great insight into the views, which actuated the 
 allies in general at this particular time. 
 
 " November 20, 1706. 
 
 " SIR, Having communicated to the queen, my mis- 
 tress, what your electoral highness did me the honour to 
 write me in your letter of the 21st of last month, of the 
 intentions of the most Christian king, to endeavour to re- 
 establish the tranquillity of Europe, by conferences to be 
 held for that purpose, between deputies on both sides, her 
 majesty has commanded me to answer your electoral 
 highness, that, as she has received with pleasure this 
 notice of the king's inclination to agree to the making of 
 a solemn and a lasting peace with the allies, being the 
 sole end that obliged her majesty to continue this war till 
 now, so she will be very glad to conclude it, in concert 
 with all her allies, on such conditions as may secure them 
 from all apprehensions of being forced to take up arms 
 again after a short interval, as has so lately happened. 
 Her majesty is also willing I should declare, that she is 
 ready to enter, jointly with all the high allies, into just 
 and necessary measures for attaining to such a peace ; her 
 majesty being resolved not to enter upon any negociation 
 without the participation of her said allies. But the way 
 of conference, as proposed, without more particular declara- 
 tions, on the part of his most Christian majesty, does not 
 seem to her to be proper for obtaining a truly solid and 
 lasting peace. The States-General are of the same opinion ; 
 wherefore, your electoral highness will rightly judge that 
 other more solid means must be thought on to obtain so 
 great an end ; to which her majesty will contribute with 
 all the sincerity that can be wished, having nothing so 
 much at heart as the relief of her subjects and the tran- 
 quillity of Europe. Your electoral highness will always do
 
 JOHX, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 159 
 
 me the justice to be persuaded of the respect with which 
 I have the honour to be, &c." 
 
 There were many decisive and important reasons 
 why the French should desire a peace. They 
 had lost the battle of Itamillies, and great conse- 
 quences had attended it ; the siege of Barcelona 
 had been raised, and a fatal defeat had entirely 
 changed the aspect of affairs in Italy. These, and 
 a straitened treasury, had thrown the whole of 
 France into a state of perplexity and consternation. 
 When Louis's propositions failed, therefore, several 
 French writers, and some persons even in Holland 
 and England too, did not hesitate to throw the 
 entire odium on the pensionary Heinsius, Prince 
 Eugene, and the Duke of Marlborough. " It is no 
 wonder," said they, " that the advances made by 
 France, however sincere, had no effect. "Why should 
 this be? Because the three principal powers, on 
 whom this accommodation depended, were governed 
 by three persons whose interest it was to continue 
 the war; that is, Prince Eugene, the Duke of Marl- 
 borough, and Pensionary Heinsius." Though these 
 accusations were often repeated, and believed by 
 thousands, they were never thought worthy of a 
 reply by either of the parties accused. 
 
 The duke now prepared to return to England. 
 Before he quitted the Plague, however, he had the 
 satisfaction of endeavouring to allay, though not 
 settle, a dispute, which had arisen in regard to the 
 Bishop of Munster, between the emperor and the 
 States, and also the subject of barrier. In regard to 
 the first, the parties were still too much at variance 
 to permit a sound reconciliation ; and in respect to 
 the second, the duke, finding it too delicate a matter 
 for immediate settlement, left it to the negociation of
 
 160 LIFE OF 
 
 a future period. Sailing, therefore, from the Meuse 
 on the 26th of November, he arrived at Margate on 
 the following day. 
 
 We must now go back, and enter a little into the 
 intrigues, set on foot while Marlborough was yet on 
 the continent, relative to the appointment of Lord 
 Sunderland to the secretaryship of state, in the room 
 of Sir Charles Hedges. The fact was, that while 
 Marlborough was acting in the most faithful and 
 honourable manner towards the queen, the country, 
 and his friends, the more intemperate part of the 
 Whigs suspected that not only he, but even Godolphin, 
 were not dealing in an honourable manner. Lord 
 Sunderland, having conducted himself in a very 
 satisfactory manner during his embassy to Vienna, 
 expected on his return to be immediately admitted 
 into the ministry. To this, however, the queen was 
 strenuously opposed ; and Marlborough, unwilling to 
 wound her feeling, took part with her majesty, 
 although the duchess was decidedly in favour 
 of it, since she regarded her son-in-law with very 
 great kindness and esteem. Godolphin sided with 
 the duchess. He, therefore, proposed to offer to 
 Hedges'g acceptance another appointment of a nature 
 more permanent and profitable. But this the queen 
 would not listen to. " Why, for God's sake," said 
 her majesty, " must I, who have no interest, no end, 
 no thought but for the good of my country, be made 
 so miserable as to be brought into the power of one 
 set of men ? And why may I not be trusted, since 
 I mean nothing but what is equally for the good of 
 all my subjects ? There is another apprehension, I 
 have of Lord Sunderland being secretary, which I 
 think is a natural one, which proceeds from what 
 I have heard of his temper. I am afraid he and I
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 161 
 
 should not agree long together, finding by experience 
 my humour, and those that are of a warmer, will 
 often have misunderstandings between one another. 
 I could say a great deal more on this subject, but 
 fear I have been too tedious already; therefore, I shall 
 conclude, begging you to consider how to bring me 
 out of my difficulties, and never leave my service, for 
 Jesus Christ's sake ; for, besides the reason I gave 
 you in another letter, this is a blow I cannot bear," 
 
 This letter convinced Godolphin that it was of no 
 use to urge the matter farther ; and he resolved, in 
 consequence, to retire. He signified this resolution 
 to her majesty, and having done so, closed in the 
 following pathetic manner : " I have no house in 
 the world to go to, but my house at Newmarket, 
 which I must own is not at this time like to be a 
 place of much retirement ; but I have no other. I 
 have worn out my health, and almost my life, in the 
 service of the crown. I served your majesty faith- 
 fully to the best of my understanding, without any 
 advantage to myself, except the honour of doing so, 
 or without accepting any other favour than to end the 
 small remainder of my days in liberty and quiet," 
 
 Marlborough sympathised with Godolphin ; and 
 was as anxious that he should not resign office, as 
 the queen was. He wrote to him, therefore : " I 
 hope the queen will do everything for your case, 
 but that of parting with you ; in which, should you 
 have a serious thought, you could not justify yourself 
 to God or man ; for, without flattery, as England is 
 divided, there is nobody that can execute your place 
 but yourself." " I am," he said again, shortly after, 
 " positively of the opinion, that, should you quit the 
 service of the queen, you would not only disturb the 
 affairs of England, but also the liberties of Europe, 
 M
 
 162 LIFE OP 
 
 so that I conjure you not to have a thought of quit- 
 ting, till we have a good peace. As the 
 affairs of Europe, and those of the queen in particu- 
 lar, are at this time, I think both you and I are in 
 conscience and honour bound to undergo all the 
 dangers and trouble that is possible, to bring this 
 war to a happy end ; which, I think, must be after 
 the next campaign, if we can agree to carry it on 
 with vigour. I shall be very uneasy till I hear from 
 you, that everything is easy between the queen and 
 you ; for, without that, I shall have no heart to act 
 in anything ; being sure, that all things must go to 
 destruction." " Yours of Oct. 12," says his grace, 
 shortly after, " makes me fear, you have taken your 
 resolution ; which if it is to retire, I must lay the 
 consequence before you, which is, that the Dutch 
 will make their peace, which will be of fatal conse- 
 quence, especially considering the advantage we now 
 hare; for in all probability one year's war would 
 give ease to all Christendom for many years." He 
 expressed his sentiments, also, to the queen ; and 
 having done so, became comparatively easy. " I have 
 writ my mind," said he, to the duchess, " very freely 
 to the queen on this occasion ; so that whatever mis- 
 fortune may happen, I shall have a quiet mind ; 
 kaving done what I thought my duty. As for the 
 resolution of making me uneasy, I believe they will 
 not have much pleasure in that ; for as I have not set 
 my heart on having justice done me, I shall not be 
 disappointed ; nor will I be ill-used by any man." In 
 a subsequent letter, written to Godolphin, he pours 
 out his feelings in respect to the friendship he enter- 
 tained for him, in a very agreeable manner. " Allow 
 me to give you this assurance, that as I know you to 
 be a sincere, honest man, may God bless me as I
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 163 
 
 shall be careful, that whatever man is your enemy 
 shall never be my friend." 
 
 The political variance, that had already long sub- 
 sisted between her majesty and the duchess, was 
 greatly widened by this matter. The duchess, as 
 we have already stated, had a very great regard for 
 her son-in-law, who was moreover according with 
 her in political sentiment ; and her grace was 
 ardently desirous of his being raised, as was pro- 
 posed, to one of the highest offices of the state. A 
 correspondence ensued, therefore, between the queen 
 and the duchess, in which the latter was pleased to 
 use language, that could not do otherwise than give 
 the queen something of offence. " Your security and 
 the nation's," said her grace, " is my chief wish ; 
 and I beg of God Almighty, as sincerely as I shall 
 do for his pardon at my last hour, that Mr. and Mrs. 
 Morley may see their errors as to this nation before 
 it comes too late." Godolphin, however, found, after 
 a while, that the interference of the duchess, in 
 regard to Sunderland's appointment, was as fruitless 
 as his own. He, therefore, wrote to the duke, 
 entreating his grace to write to the queen. This 
 Marlborough did not hesitate to do, though hopeless 
 of success. In this letter, he was rather more earnest 
 than he had ever been before : for he entreated the 
 queen to pause before she gave a final decision ; and 
 closed with displaying, in detail, the mischiefs, which 
 she must expect to encounter, if she persisted in con- 
 sulting her own personal prejxidices, in preference to 
 the interests of the state. The repugnance, however, 
 of the queen still continued ; and this led the Whigs 
 to attribute it to Harley. 
 
 Harley, and the few moderate Tories yet in power, 
 were striving to undermine their political antagonists, 
 
 M2
 
 164 LIFE OF 
 
 and to draw Marlborough and Godolphin over to 
 their party. The more intemperate of the Whigs, on 
 the other hand, were jealous of these two ministers ; 
 who, in their turn, were equally averse to resign 
 themselves to either party. They were inclined, 
 according to Mr. Coxe, to the Tories, though disap- 
 proving their violence ; but compelled by necessity to 
 identify themselves with the Whigs ; without whose 
 assistance they could not carry on the government. 
 The queen, at the same time, was far from being 
 satisfied with Marlborough, because he had not 
 rescued her from the bondage of the Whigs. 
 
 To be suspected by any one was exceedingly offen- 
 sive to Marlborough at all times. At this period it 
 was particularly so ; insomuch that he declared, that, 
 were it not for the gratitude he owed to the queen, 
 and his concern for Godolphin, he would not hesitate 
 one moment to retire altogether from public life. 
 " I have had the good luck to deserve better of 
 Englishmen," he wTote to the duchess, " than to be 
 suspected of not being in the true interest of my 
 country ; which I am in, and ever will be, without 
 being of a faction ; and this principle shall govern 
 me for the remainder of my life. I must not think 
 of being popular ; but I shall have the satisfaction of 
 going to my grave with the opinion of having acted 
 as an honest man." 
 
 Shortly after he had written this letter he arrived 
 in England ; and having had an immediate interview 
 with the queen, he represented to her majesty, in so 
 strong a manner, the difficulties she would have to 
 encounter from a very active and determined party, 
 should she longer hesitate in removing Sir Charles 
 Hedges, and replacing him with the Earl of Sunder- 
 land, that her majesty relented ; and his lordship was
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 165 
 
 accordingly gazetted on the day fixed for the meeting 
 of Parliament. 
 
 The government was now based on a new footing, 
 viz., on a Whig basis ; the only Tory of any note, 
 admitted to any share in it, being that very Harley, 
 who seems to have been admitted, as it were, for the 
 greater opportunity of raising the influence of all 
 with whom he now began to act. The Parliament 
 having met on the 3d of December, the Commons 
 voted an address to the queen, congratulating her 
 majesty on the glorious victory of Ramillies, and the 
 repeated successes, with which it had pleased Heaven 
 to bless her majesty's arms and those of her allies, 
 " beyond the example of former ages." The Peers 
 also warmly congratulated the queen on the great 
 success of her arms during this " wonderful year :" 
 and the Commons, in their address, mentioned the 
 victory of Ramillies, as being " so glorious and so 
 great in its consequences, and attended with such 
 continued successes, through the whole course of the 
 year, that no age could equal." 
 
 On taking his seat, Marlborough was greeted with 
 every degree of gratitude and honour. " My Lord 
 Duke of Marlborough," said the Lord Keeper, *' I 
 am commanded by this House, to give your grace their 
 acknowledgments and thanks for the eminent services 
 you have done, since the last session of parliament, 
 to her majesty, and your country, together with their 
 confederates in this just and necessary war. Though 
 your former successes against the power of France, 
 while it remained unbroken, gave most reasonable 
 expectation, that you would not fail to improve them, 
 yet what your grace has performed, this last cam- 
 paign, has far exceeded all hopes, even of such as 
 were most affectionate and partial to their country's
 
 166 LIFE OP 
 
 interest, and your glory. The advantages, you have 
 gained against the enemy, are of such a nature, so 
 conspicuous of themselves, so undoubtedly owing to 
 your courage and conduct, so essentially and univer- 
 sally beneficial in their consequences to the whole 
 confederacy, that to attempt to adorn them with the 
 colouring of words, w^ould be vain and inexcusable ; 
 and, therefore, I decline it ; the rather because I 
 should certainly offend that great modesty, which alone 
 can and does add lustre to your actions, and which, 
 in your grace's example, has successfully withstood 
 as great trials as that virtue has met with in any 
 instance whatsoever; and I beg leave to say, that if any 
 thing could move your grace to reflect with much 
 satisfaction on your own merit, it would be this, that 
 so august an assembly does, with one voice, praise 
 and thank you ; an honour, which a judgment, so 
 sure as that of your grace's, to think rightly of every 
 thing, cannot but prefer to the ostentation of a public 
 triumph." 
 
 To this speech the duke answered, modestly : 
 " I esteem this a very particular honour, which your 
 lordships are pleased to do me ; nobody in the world 
 can be more sensible of it than I am, nor more 
 desirous to deserve the continuance of your favour 
 and good opinion." 
 
 The Commons, also, waited upon his grace with a 
 similar address, and were answered in a manner 
 equally modest. 
 
 On the 17th of December, the House of Peers 
 presented an address to the queen, praying her 
 majesty to extend and perpetuate the titles and 
 honours of the duke to his daughters, and their 
 heirs-male, in succession, so as to comprise all his 
 posterity ; and also the honour and manor of Wood-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 167 
 
 stock, with the house of Blenheim. This was par- 
 ticularly agreeable to the duke ; for, having lost his 
 only son, and having also lost all hopes of farther 
 issue, he was now no longer anxious to perpetuate 
 the name of Churchill in his family, which he had 
 formerly required his representatives to assume. 
 With the title and manor were also to descend the 
 sum of 5000/. a-year from the post-office : the whole, 
 however, being in the first instance, to be enjoyed, 
 during her lifetime, by the duchess, upon whom 
 they were all settled in jointure*. 
 
 Note. This grant has, of late years, become subject to 
 various deductions ; insomuch, that the income, now received from 
 the post-office, is only 3625/. per annum, instead of 5000/. 
 
 That this is an inequitable infringement must be evident to every 
 one that reads the original words of the grant, and the positive in- 
 junctions of parliament. For the grant was to enable (.he succes- 
 sors of the Duke of Marlborough to keep up the title. How a 
 duke's title can be kept up with such a pittance as 36251. per 
 annum, we are quite at a loss to conjecture. Nor was the grant 
 for this only. It was, that it might for ever after " act as a 
 stimulus to induce others to follow the great and glorious example, 
 the Duke of Marlborough had set." Those were not only the 
 implied objects, but the expressly stated ones, in the grant and 
 patent. In the spirit of these noble intentions, also, the titles and 
 pensions of Chatham, Nelson, and Wellington, were granted ; all 
 of which are enjoyed " clear of taxes, impositions, and other 
 charges." 
 
 The services of Marlborough were cheaply purchased and 
 rewarded. We earnestly hope, therefore, that parliament will 
 take the subject into its studious and equitable consideration, in 
 order that the present, and all future occupiers, of Blenheim Palace 
 and Park, may receive their due right-f ; which, in our opinion, 
 not only extends to the present and future, but to the past also. In 
 fact, it is our deliberative opinion, after a strict investigation of the 
 fact, grant, and circumstances, that not only the present right, but 
 
 f Can a mere park keep up a palace ? Could Windsor Park keep 
 up Windsor Castle ?
 
 168 LIFE OF 
 
 On the day on which this matter was deliberated 
 in Parliament, the duke addressed the House in the 
 following manner : 
 
 " My lords, I cannot find words sufficient to express 
 the sense I have of the great and distinguishing 
 honour which the House has already been pleased to 
 do me, in their resolution and their application to 
 her majesty. The thoughts of it will be a continual 
 satisfaction to me, and the highest encouragement ; 
 and the thankful memory of it must last as long as 
 any posterity of mine. I beg leave to say a word to 
 the House in relation to that part of her majesty's 
 most gracious answer, which concerns the estate at 
 Woodstock, and the house at Blenheim. I did make 
 my humble request to the queen, that those might 
 go along with the titles, and I make the like request 
 to your lordships, that after the Duchess of Marl- 
 borough's death, upon whom they are settled in 
 jointure, that estate and house may be limited to go 
 always along with the honour." 
 
 The grant of the 5000^. a-year to the duchess was 
 at the express request of the duke. The duchess, 
 therefore, considered herself more obliged to her 
 husband than to her sovereign ; and that is supposed 
 to have been the cause why her letter to her majesty, 
 in thanks, was written in so cold and formal a 
 manner. " Whether I have or have not the honour 
 to see your majesty," said her grace, " I find there 
 must always be something which obliges me to 
 return you my humble thanks. The concern I have, 
 
 " the whole past right," ought to be conceded. For though it is now 
 more than a hundred years since the battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, 
 Oudenarde, and Malplaquet were gained ; and though the fruits of 
 those victories were most maliciously sacrificed at the peace of 
 Utrecht, it is far from being too much to assert, that we all derive 
 benefit from those victories every day we live.
 
 JOIIN, DUKE OF MARLBOROTJGH. 169 
 
 in the settlement, made to Lord Marlborough's 
 family, by the act of parliament, makes a necessity 
 of my giving you the trouble of them upon this 
 occasion ; and though it is not natural to me to make 
 you so many fine speeches and compliments as some 
 others can do, yet nobody has a heart fuller of the 
 sincerest wishes for your happiness and prosperity 
 than your poor forsaken Freeman." 
 
 During the discussion, relative to these grants, the 
 duke received from the city of London the same 
 testimonial of national gratitude as after the battle of 
 Blenheim. Being invited by the Lord Mayor and 
 court of aldermen to dine with them in the city, his 
 grace went thither, accompanied by the Lord High 
 Treasurer and the Dukes of Ormond and Somerset, 
 in one of the queen's coaches ; followed by a train of 
 other coaches, in which were several of the nobility, 
 the foreign ministers, and other persons of quality, 
 with the generals and other officers of the army : 
 the standard and colours, taken at the battle of 
 Ramillies, having been first transferred with military 
 pomp from Whitehall, where they had been first 
 deposited, to Guildhall. It was a proud display ; 
 consisting .of twenty-six standards, and twenty-six 
 colours. As the cavalcade traversed the park and 
 mews of St. James's, the queen appeared at one of 
 the windows of the palace, at once to witness the 
 procession, and to give it additional honour. At 
 Temple-Bar his grace was received by the city- 
 marshal with nearly the same formalities as are shown 
 to the sovereign ; and throughout the whole going and 
 returning he was followed with acclamations from 
 the assembled multitudes. 
 
 To add to all these solemnities, the queen went, 
 on the last day of the year, to the cathedral of St.
 
 I 
 170 LIFE OF 
 
 Paul's, thereby giving the city of London the happy 
 spectacles of two triumphs in one year. 
 
 At this time the act of Union with Scotland 
 engaged the earnest attention of parliament ; and as 
 Marlborough considered, that the settlement of that 
 question involved not merely the temporary pros- 
 perity of England, but its permanent interest, as 
 well as that of all Europe, he took an active part in 
 bringing it to a happy conclusion ; thereby giving 
 the most fatal blow to the hopes of the Stuart family, 
 that had been struck since the revolution. 
 
 A new danger had now risen up in Europe. 
 Augustus, king of Poland, was reduced to so low an 
 ebb, that, brave as he was, he had been compelled to 
 retire into Saxony, leaving the greater part of his 
 kingdom in possession of Charles XII. ; who, soon 
 after, leading his victorious army into that country, 
 forced the unfortunate monarch to resign his crown 
 in favour of Stanislaus Letzinski, a nobleman, whom 
 accident first raised to the notice of the victorious 
 Swede. There having arrived, he pitched his tents 
 at Alt Ranstadt, two miles from Leipzig; and in 
 an imperative tone, not only called upon the Euro- 
 pean powers to guarantee the peace he had con- 
 cluded with Augustus, but to acknowledge Stanis- 
 laus. 
 
 He had been attacked by three northern sove- 
 reigns. The king of Denmark he reduced to the 
 signing a dishonourable peace ; then bursting into 
 those territories of the Czar, that lie on the borders 
 of the Baltic, he defeated Peter, now generally 
 styled the Great, in many bloody battles; then, 
 turning to Poland, he succeeded in dethroning king 
 Augustus, as we have just now stated. 
 
 The march of the Swedish hero into Saxony greatly
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 171 
 
 excited the jealousy of the allies. The English and 
 Dutch ministers, in consequence, wrote to the king, 
 who essayed to answer, that " he had no design by 
 this invasion of Saxony to undertake anything to 
 the prejudice of his friends and allies ; but being 
 provoked by an unjust war, to do what the law of 
 nations allows, he ought long since to have removed 
 the seat of war to that electorate where it had its 
 source, and had been supported so many years ; but 
 that he forbore doing it, at the intercession of the 
 allies, and would not make use of his right, so long 
 as he had any prospect of curbing an obstinate enemy. 
 But since his affairs would not suffer him to be 
 amused any longer, and that he could not permit the 
 enemy to repair his strength, so often broke to no 
 purpose, there was a necessity of attacking the 
 fountain from whence so many evils had sprung; 
 hoping that the allies would have no cause to com- 
 plain, if, by this expedition, their successes should 
 be interrupted ; since it was very apparent, Saxony 
 had done so much mischief, and would do more if 
 not prevented." 
 
 This answer not being regarded as satisfactory; 
 and reports being in circulation, that the king of 
 Sweden was on the point of concluding a subsidiary 
 treaty with the king of France ; one article of which 
 was that the Elector of Bavaria should be restored ; 
 another that a civil war, should be kindled in the 
 empire ; and a third that the revolution in Hungary 
 should be considered Marlborough was solicited not 
 only by his friends in England and Holland, but by 
 the court of Vienna, to visit the king, in order to 
 penetrate his designs ; more especially as Charles, 
 when pressed to give more explicit explanations, in 
 regard to his intentions, had said, that he would
 
 172 LIFE OP 
 
 open his mind to no one but the Duke of Marlho- 
 rough. 
 
 Thus impressed and thus situated, the duke recur- 
 red for advice to the Elector of Hanover ; assuring 
 his highness, that, if he thought it necessary, he was 
 ready to undertake the journey. The elector not 
 only wished him to put his design in force, but hinted 
 to him by letter, that it was necessary to succeed 
 in it to gain the two ministers, to whom Charles 
 was greatly attached : viz., Piper and Hermelin ; the 
 first by an annual grant of 2000^. ; the other of 
 1000/. : the first year to be paid in advance. 
 
 All this took place before Marlborough left Lon- 
 don. On arriving at the Hague, he imparted his 
 resolution of visiting the king of Sweden to the Pen- 
 sionary Heinsius, and afterwards to certain of the 
 deputies ; one of whom, with the pensionary, showed 
 him letters, which had been intercepted and deci- 
 phered, that showed very plainly, that almost every 
 one about the king, except Count Piper, received 
 French money. 
 
 Having obtained the sanction of the Dutch govern- 
 ment to his journey, the duke set out from the Hague ; 
 and, having visited the elector of Hanover in his way, 
 he arrived, shortly after, at the Swedish camp, accom- 
 panied by Cranenberg and Mr. Robinson. He drove 
 at once to the head-quarters of Piper ; who did not 
 fail to assure him, that the king was highly gratified 
 at learning, that his grace had undertaken to visit 
 him. Charles had passed his word, in 1700, not to 
 intermeddle in the war, then about to break out, 
 between the allies and Louis XIV. The allies/ how- 
 ever, were not disposed to trust, implicitly, to this 
 declaration ; and the Duke of Marlborough, more 
 especially, could scarcely be disposed to trust, that
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 173 
 
 a prince, who pursued glory, with so much eager- 
 ness, as the king of Sweden, would be so subservient 
 to his word, as not to sacrifice it to his interest and 
 ambition, if he fancied he saw a favourable oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 We will here give an instance of the falsehoods, 
 that some former writers have been accustomed to 
 invent, in order to answer some purpose or other 
 of their own. Marlborough was received by Count 
 Piper in the manner we have stated. Yet what says 
 Mons. de la Mottraye ? " The duke, coming to the 
 gate of Coui)t Piper's quarters, precisely at the time 
 appointed, sent in his message; but was answered, 
 the count was busy. The duke waited a good hour 
 and a half before he came down ; but he no sooner 
 saw him at the gate, ready to receive him, than he 
 came out of his coach, and, putting on his hat, passed 
 by the count, without saluting him, and went aside 
 as if to make water ; and then, after having made 
 him wait longer than was necessary, for that purpose, 
 he went up and addressed him with that eloquence 
 and politeness, which every one knows was natural 
 to him." 
 
 On the morning after his arrival (April 27th), 
 Marlborough was complimented by the ministers and 
 the general officers. At half-past eight, he went in 
 a coach of Count Piper's to Alt-Ranstadt ; and about 
 ten had his first audience of the king. At this inter- 
 view, the king was surrounded by several senators 
 and generals ; Mr. Robinson acted as interpreter ; 
 and the Swedish monarch received his illustrious 
 guest with all demonstrations of esteem and honour. 
 On arriving in the presence of the king, " I present 
 to your majesty," said his grace, " a letter, not from 
 the chancery, but from the heart of the queen, my
 
 174 LIFE OP 
 
 mistress, and written with her own hand. Had not 
 her sex prevented it, she would have crossed the sea 
 to see a prince, admired by the w r hole universe. I 
 am, in this particular, more happy than the queen ; 
 and I wish I could serve some campaign under so 
 great a general as your majesty, that I might learn 
 what I yet want to know in the art of war." 
 
 This well-timed compliment was exceedingly agree- 
 able to the royal warrior ; and it is said to have 
 soothed his vanity so much, that his satisfaction 
 became so visible in his countenance, that all present 
 saw, and afterwards remarked upon it. " The Queen 
 of Great Britain's letter," answered his majesty, 
 " and your person, are both very acceptable to me ; 
 and I shall always have the utmost regard for the 
 interposition of her Britannic majesty, and the 
 interests of the grand alliance. It is likewise much 
 against my will, if I have been obliged to give the 
 least umbrage to any of the parties engaged in it ; 
 but your excellency cannot fail to be convinced, that 
 I had just cause to come into this country with my 
 troops. On the other hand, you may assure the queen, 
 my sister, that my design is to depart from hence, 
 as soon as I have obtained the satisfaction I demand ; 
 but no sooner. However, I shall do nothing that can 
 tend to the prejudice of the common cause in general, 
 or the protestant religion in particular, of which I 
 shall always glory to be a zealous protector." 
 
 The conversation then turned on military and 
 political subjects, lasting till mid-day; when it being 
 the hour at which the king usually dined, his 
 majesty invited the duke to partake of his repast. 
 After dinner they repaired to the royal closet ; accom- 
 panied by Piper, Hermelin, and Robinson ; and there 
 a very interesting conversation is reported to have
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 175 
 
 taken place. It is thus related by Voltaire : " The 
 duke, who was never very hasty in making proposals,, 
 and had learned, by long experience, the art of pene- 
 trating into the minds of men, as well as of diving into 
 the secret connexion between their inmost thoughts 
 and their actions, gestures, and discourse, fixed his 
 eyes attentively upon th king. When he spoke 
 to him of war in general, he imagined that he saw in 
 his majesty a natural aversion towards France, and 
 that he took a secret pleasure in speaking of the 
 conquests of the allies. He . mentioned the Czar to 
 him, and took notice, that his eyes kindled whenever 
 he was named ; notwithstanding the moderation of 
 the conference. He moreover remarked that the 
 king had a map of Muscovy lying beside him, on the 
 table. This was sufiicient to determine him in his 
 judgment, that the king of Sweden's real design, and 
 sole ambition, were to dethrone the Czar, as he had 
 already done the king of Poland. He found that he 
 had no other views by remaining in Saxony, than by 
 that means to impose some hard terms on the emperor 
 of Germany. He knew his imperial majesty would 
 comply, and that thus matters would be easily brought 
 to a conclusion. The duke left Charles XII. to his 
 natural inclination ; and being satisfied with having 
 discovered his inclination, he made him no pro- 
 posal."* 
 
 The audience being over, the duke spent the rest 
 of the evening in visiting Count Piper and other 
 distinguished persons ; and as one and perhaps the 
 
 * This account being taken from Voltaire's life of Charles XII., 
 gives us an opportunity of quoting that writer's opinion of the Duke 
 of Marlborough. " He was equally qualified for the field and 
 the cabinet ; and did as much mischief to France by the wisdom 
 of his head as by the force of his arm."
 
 176 LIFE OP 
 
 most successful method to gain or to keep up the 
 interest he had excited with the hero to whom he 
 was upon a visit, he in a few days offered to have 
 settled on the Counts Piper and Hermelin one thou- 
 sand pounds a year, as the Elector of Hanover had 
 advised him. Piper, for a time, affected to have 
 scruples ; but the duke having effected some pro- 
 gress, appealed to Piper's wife, and the affair was 
 soon settled. That Piper received a sum of money 
 for the first annual allowance was paid in advance 
 soon became the subject of conversation throughout 
 all Europe, from the circumstance of a rich Jew of 
 Amsterdam, who was at the fair of Leipzig, having 
 been seen to wait on the duke more than once. This 
 Jew was known to negociate bills of exchange with 
 M. Hayman, an influential banker in Leipzig ; and 
 M. Hayman was equally well known, about the 
 same time, to pay a large sum to count Piper's 
 order. 
 
 While here, Augustus, ex-king of Poland, sent a 
 nobleman (Count Wackerbart) to compliment the 
 duke, and then to invite him to an interview at 
 Leipzig. Though this was a most delicate matter, 
 and might give offence to the Swedish monarch, 
 Marlborough did not decline the invitation. What 
 passed at this interview we may glean something 
 of by what Marlborough says in one of his letters to 
 the Lord Treasurer. " I had an audience of King 
 Augustus," said his grace, " at Leipzig ; at which, 
 besides many repeated assurances of his respect 
 to the queen, and of his strict adherence to the 
 interest of the allies, he complained to me of the 
 great hardships and extortions he had suffered from 
 the Swedes, and insinuated his desire, that the 
 guaranty, at the same time they accepted the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 177 
 
 guaranty of his treaty, would take care that he 
 might have some satisfaction for seven millions of 
 crowns, he pretends they have exacted, beyond what 
 the treaty allows. To which, I gave him my 
 opinion, that it was no ways advisable for him to 
 offer anything at this juncture, that might give the 
 least handle to the King of Sweden to delay his 
 march out of Saxony. You will have heard when 
 this treaty was concluded here, by Mr. Stepney, for 
 the Saxon troops, upon the notice I had of it, and the 
 pressing instances the king made me; I was pre- 
 vailed with to give Sir G. Wackerbart, who is to 
 command there, a bill on Mr. Sweet for 40,000 
 crowns, payable at fifteen days' sight, to enable them 
 to hasten their march, which he promised should be 
 done before the time appointed by the treaty ; so 
 that I must pray your care, in ordering remittances 
 for this service. The rest of the king's troops, I 
 find, are a greater burden to him than he is able to 
 bear, his country being very much exhausted ; so 
 that, at his desire, I have pressed the Court of 
 Vienna to take three or four thousand horse into their 
 pay, which they assure me are in good condition." 
 
 Charles, in the audience he had before given to the 
 duke, had declared, that he would accept no proposal 
 of mediation, till informed by him, that it was agree- 
 able to her Britannic majesty. When admitted to 
 his audience of leave, the king evinced, if possible, a 
 still higher respect and esteem for him ; and all 
 matters having been adjusted to their satisfaction, 
 Maryborough took leave of his majesty, each party 
 indicating the high respect they mutually felt in 
 regard to each other. As Marlborough, however, 
 was quitting the royal closet, notice was given that 
 Stanislaus, whom, as we have before said, Charles 
 
 N
 
 178 LIFE OF 
 
 had raised to the Polish throne, was in the ante- 
 chamber. To meet a sovereign, who was not only 
 not acknowledged by England, but who was the suc- 
 cessful rival of the sovereign whom she did acknow- 
 ledge, was a matter of some delicacy and difficulty. 
 Marlborough, however, feeling assured that Stanis- 
 laus had come at the express desire of the king, made 
 no objection to his being introduced, and bowing 
 assent, the king advanced to the door, and introduced 
 the visitor himself. " The Duke," we are told, 
 " paid his respects to Stanislaus without compromis- 
 ing the dignity of his own sovereign ; and the coun- 
 tenance and manner of Charles showed the gratifica- 
 tion, which he derived from this proof of attention." 
 Having thus succeeded in the negotiation to his 
 wishes, the duke now hurried his departure ; and 
 having received an intimation from the king of Prus- 
 sia, on his arrival at Charlottenburg, that his majesty 
 desired an interview with him, Marlborough did not 
 fail to wait upon him. He supped, therefore, with 
 the king on the night of his arrival; and, the next 
 day, accompanied his majesty to divine service. The 
 duke stopped only one day ; but, during that short 
 time, he was enabled to settle some important 
 matters, and received from the king many proofs of 
 regard. At parting the king " forced upon him," 
 (Marlborough's own expression,) a diamond ring, 
 valued at a thousand pounds. " This journey," wrote 
 his grace, " has given me the advantage of seeing four 
 kings,* three of whom I had never seen. They seem 
 to be all different in their kinds. If I was obliged to 
 make a choice, it should be the youngest, which is 
 the King of Sweden." 
 
 * The King of Prussia, the King of Sweden, aud the two Kings 
 of Poland.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 1^ 
 
 From Charlottenburg the duke went to Hanover ; 
 where, however, he stopt only long enough to inform 
 the elector in regard to the success of his missions. 
 He reached the Hague on the 8th of May, having 
 been absent not more than eighteen days. On 
 arriving he lost no time in communicating to the 
 States the assurances he had received from the King 
 of Sweden. " This," says Lediard, to whose narra- 
 tive we have been so greatly indebted in the course 
 of these pages, as well as to those of Mr. Coxe and 
 other writers, " entirely dissipated the jealousies, 
 some of the allies had conceived of his Swedish 
 majesty's designs; which were industriously fomented 
 by the emissaries of France, who, on the other hand, 
 left no stone unturned to engage the young northern 
 hero in an open rupture with the emperor. The 
 intrigues of France, however, proved unsuccessful ; 
 the King of Sweden's resolves were fixed ; nothing 
 less than the dethroning of the Czar of Muscovy 
 could satisfy his ambition, or cool his revenge. He 
 overlooked the most unsurmountable difficulties and 
 dangers with a kind of disdain, which showedhe was 
 inexorable ; and the short stay, he yet made in 
 Saxony, was only to bring the emperor to harder 
 conditions, which he succeeded in ; especially in favour 
 of the Protestants of Silesia. For the neighbourhood 
 of a prince, haughty, tenacious, and affronted, at the 
 head of an army daily increasing, made the emperor 
 think it his interest, or rather, he was under the 
 necessity, to get rid of him at any rate." 
 
 The satisfaction Marlborough gave to the ministry 
 at home is amply discoverable in certain passages from 
 the letters of Godolphin and other parties. " I think 
 the kingdom can never thank you enough," said Go- 
 dolphin, " for having settled all things where you 
 
 N2
 
 180 LIFE OF 
 
 have been, so much to your own satisfaction and our 
 advantage." " Your grace was born to do these great 
 things for your country, which no man else ever did 
 or can do," said Harley ; " and therefore to your 
 greater share of glory there falls a greater share of 
 fatigue." " As you have a zeal for the public, which 
 makes you not refuse to serve your country, so your 
 grace has a felicity and faculty to do that, for the 
 honour of the queen and the nation, which nobody else 
 could perform." 
 
 Having disposed of all necessary affairs at the 
 Hague, Marlborough proceeded to Brussels, where he 
 arrived on the 13th of May. He immediately held 
 a council of war with Overkirk and the field-deputies 
 of the States ; and orders were sent to the allied 
 troops to march to Anderlech, as their place of 
 general rendezvous. The confederate army, at this 
 time, amounted to 97 battalions and 164 squadrons ; 
 that of France to 102 battalions and 168 squadrons. 
 The confederates had 102 pieces of cannon; the 
 French 72. 
 
 Having joined the army at Halle, the duke learned 
 that the enemy had quitted their lines : " So," said 
 his grace, in a letter to the Earl of Manchester, " we 
 may be able to guess, the next march we make, 
 whether they design to meet us, as they give out. 
 It is certain they are very numerous ; but our troops 
 are all in so good a condition, that I think we can wish 
 for nothing more than a battle, to do our part towards 
 repairing the misfortune in Spain." This reference 
 to Spain refers to a shameful and fatal defeat, sus- 
 tained in that country, at the battle of Almanza. 
 
 In the mean time, the emperor, in order to facilitate 
 his plans in regard to Naples, had secretly concluded 
 a treaty of neutrality for Italy, with France ; and for
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 181 
 
 the sake of accomplishing the speedy reduction of the 
 Milanese, permitted the French garrisons to withdraw 
 without any molestation. The consequences of this 
 treaty which was not heard of till it was too late to 
 prevent its conclusion, were soon felt in every part 
 of the theatre of action. For the French, relieved 
 from any apprehension on the side of Italy, were by 
 this not only able to pursue their plans with greater 
 vigour in the Peninsula, but swell their army on the 
 Upper Rhine. The fatal battle on the plains of 
 Almanza was, in some degree, the consequence of this 
 policy : France had been able to recruit its forces, 
 and so great a defeat ensued, that before a month had 
 elapsed the Bourbon commanders had been able to 
 recover the greater part of Valencia, Murcia, and 
 Arragon ; in so much that King Charles was con- 
 fined to the single province of Catalonia, where his 
 whole force did not amount to more than 10,000 
 regular troops. 
 
 To remedy all this was beyond Marlborough's 
 power ; for the disaster made so little impression 
 on the Dutch, that he says, in a letter to Godol- 
 phin, that the generality of the people showed a 
 satisfaction at it rather than otherwise. " This I 
 do not attribute," continued he, " to any inclination, 
 they have for the French, as their aversion to the 
 present government, and the disorder it lies under, 
 to which I do not see any proper remedy can be 
 applied during the war. The Dutch think the French 
 are stronger than we are : if they continue of that 
 opinion, we shall do nothing." 
 
 The enemy was collected in the vicinity of Mons, 
 under the command of the Elector of Bavaria and 
 the Duke de Vendome. But our limits being con- 
 fined, we might almost as well go to the end of the
 
 182 LIFE OP 
 
 campaign at once ; since little was done during the 
 whole of it. For the Dutch had so relapsed into their 
 old, jealous, narrow, hesitating policy, that Marl- 
 borough was not permitted to make fresh conquests, 
 nor to act with his accustomed vigour. They were 
 satisfied with what had been already done. " They 
 will never more this war," wrote the duke, " venture 
 anything, that may be decisive ; being of opinion, 
 that they have already enough in their possession for 
 their security, and that France will assist them in 
 disposing of their possessions, as they shall think best." 
 
 Having advanced to Maldert, a strong position, 
 which covered the opening into Brabant, Marl- 
 borough was in great hopes of bringing the enemy 
 to an engagement. But in this he was not gratified. 
 At this time, for it is extremely agreeable to see 
 what a warrior can be in his domestic relations, at a 
 time in which he is surrounded by the fury of war, 
 he wrote a very affectionate letter to the duchess. 
 " By the inclosed, which I received but yesterday, 
 though it be of an old date, you will see the country 
 takes notice, that the work (at Blenheim) does not 
 go on, as they expected. Say nothing, but burn the 
 letter ; for when it is half built, it may be enough for 
 you and me ; and I do from my heart assure you, that 
 I should be much better pleased with you in a cottage, 
 than in all the palaces this world has without you." 
 
 About this time the Margrave of Baden died ; he, 
 whose jealousy had so often marred the splendid 
 designs of Marlborough; and the Margrave of 
 Bareith was appointed to succeed him in the com- 
 mand of the German part of the confederate army. 
 This general had not sufficient qualities for the situa- 
 tion in which he was placed ; and Villars, therefore, 
 became enabled to make a successful irruption into the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 183 
 
 empire. An attempt, in consequence, was made to re- 
 move the Margrave from the command. Maryborough 
 proposed the Elector of Hanover as a successor : " Not 
 only from a wish," we are told, " to throw lustre on 
 the house, next in succession to the British throne, 
 but with the hope, that a prince, in the prime of life, 
 would retrieve the military honour of the Germans." 
 It was not, however, till a great portion of the sum- 
 mer had elapsed, that Marlborough was able to suc- 
 ceed. The thought of appointing the Elector of 
 Hanover appears to have been greatly strengthened 
 by a letter, which the duke received from the Elector 
 Palatine. 
 
 " I have the honour, sir, to write you this, to conjure 
 you, by all that is dearest to you in this world, to employ 
 the great credit, together with your good offices, as well 
 at the courts of Vienna and England, as wherever else you 
 may judge it necessary, that the command of the army of 
 the empire be entrusted, without any loss of time, to the 
 Elector of Hanover. The crisis, to which the affairs of 
 the empire are at this time reduced, will easily convince 
 you, how necessary it is, at present, to apply speedy, and 
 proper remedies ; of which, in my opinion, what I now 
 suggest to you, in the person of the said elector, is one of 
 the chief." 
 
 The elector at first declined the offer made to him ; 
 answering that he could not think that any one could 
 have any regard for his glory, who could advise him 
 to accept the command, since the best that could be 
 hoped was to stand on the defensive. He was, at 
 last, however, induced to accept ; offering, at the 
 same time, to carry a body of troops with him, 
 without any charge to the empire ; at which the 
 duke greatly rejoiced. 
 
 In the mean time France had endeavoured to
 
 184 LIFE OP 
 
 foment a rupture between the emperor and the King 
 of Sweden : for notwithstanding the success of the 
 Duke of Maryborough's negotiations in Saxony, the 
 emissaries of France left no stone unturned to engage 
 the young Swede in a rupture with his imperial 
 majesty ; nor did the king want plausible pretences. 
 For an account of these we must refer to the various 
 histories of the times. We have space only to say 
 that the king was at last induced to listen to advice; 
 and that his pride and vanity having been sufficiently 
 soothed by Marlborough, and the emperor's ministers, 
 he led his army over the Oder, and advanced towards 
 the Vistula. " The danger," says Mr. Coxe, " which 
 had threatened the dissolution of the grand alliance, 
 was thus happily arrested ; and the prince, who had 
 held in his hands the fate of Europe, and raised the 
 admiration of the world, led his veteran army to 
 perish in the wilds of Muscovy, and himself became 
 a fugitive and a supplicant in a distant and barbar- 
 ous land." 
 
 A great deal of time being at this moment wasted 
 at Maldert, in consequence of the reluctance of the 
 Dutch to encounter any hazards, we may take the 
 opportunity of recurring to what was doing at home. 
 The queen having shown some favour to the Tories 
 in the dispensation of church prefermeut, the Whigs 
 had taken offence, and some bickerings ensued 
 between them and Godolphin. Marlboro ugh, also, 
 was involved- in it. This difference arose from the 
 refusal of the queen to nominate Dr. Potter to ( the 
 regius professorship of divinity in the University 
 of Oxford, and the promotion of two Tories to the 
 sees of Exeter and Chester. These promotions were 
 the work of the queen ; and her majesty having 
 decided upon them without consulting either Marl-
 
 JOHX, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 185 
 
 borough or Godolphin, a contention ensued, which 
 lasted not less than a year. A misunderstanding 
 ensued, also, between Maryborough and Lord Hali- 
 fax ; the former having offered to Lord Somers an 
 appointment, which the latter had ardently desired. 
 
 This affront Halifax had, soon after, an opportunity 
 of revenging. For the Duke's brother, Admiral 
 Churchill, having laid himself open to the hostility 
 of the Whigs, they formed a determination to bring 
 a charge against him in parliament for mismanage- 
 ment of the navy ; he being possessed of the highest 
 influence in the council of Prince George, the Lord 
 High Admiral. To spare the feelings of his brother, 
 the duke appealed to several Whigs, and even went 
 so far as to write to Lord Halifax. The letter was 
 sufficiently humble ; but Halifax, remembering the 
 affair just alluded to, sent the duke no answer. In 
 the mean time a cabal formed in the palace of the 
 queen, which had the result of affecting the duke 
 not only in his private capacity but in his public one. 
 
 We have already stated, that the friendship, so 
 long existing between the queen and the duchess, had 
 received a great interruption; external indications of 
 regard, however, were still preserved ; for the queen, 
 says Mr. Coxe, was a perfect mistress of dissimula- 
 tion ; and the duchess was too lofty, even to suspect 
 that the empire, which she possessed over her royal 
 mistress, could be undermined. In this, continues 
 the same authority, she resembled most favourites, 
 who neglect to maintain their power, by the means 
 employed to acquire it, and overlook appearances, 
 which seem trifling only to themselves.* 
 
 * The following passage, written by the duchess, will serve to 
 show, that the situation, she held, was not always of the most 
 agreeable description : " As fond as people are of power, I fancy
 
 186 LIFE OP 
 
 The duchess, being averse to a constant court 
 attendance, placed about her majesty's person, as one 
 of the bed-chamber women, an humble relation 
 (cousin), whom she had not only rescued from penury, 
 but whose family she had continued to patronise and 
 maintain. This person she selected, -because she not 
 only placed implicit confidence in her, but because 
 she regarded her abilities as being, by no means, of 
 a superior cast. " For a time," we are informed, 
 " her cousin answered all her expectations ; and 
 seemed a faithful and vigilant observer of the trans- 
 actions at court, and the feelings and condvict of the 
 queen. The duchess, therefore, relaxed still more in 
 her attendance ; and, proud of her husband's splendid 
 services, she gradually became more presumptuous 
 and domineering." 
 
 The consequence of all this was, that Mrs. Hill, 
 overlooking the services she had received from the 
 duchess, became a successful rival in the favour of 
 her mistress. She grew into consequence, and was 
 courted by many candidates for court favour. She 
 was a Tory. The duchess was a Whig. This added 
 to Mrs. Hill's influence. She was, also, adverse to 
 
 that anybody, that had been shut up so many tedious hours, as 
 I have been, with a person, that had no conversation, and yet must 
 be treated with respect, would feel something of what I did, and be 
 very glad when their circumslances did not want it, to be freed 
 from such a slavery, which must be uneasy at all times, though I 
 do protest upon the account of her loving me and trusting me so 
 entirely as she did, I had a concern for her, which was more than 
 you will easily believe, and I would have served her with the 
 hazard of my life on any occasion ; but after she put me at liberty 
 by using me ill I was very easy, and liked better that anybody 
 should have her favour than myself at the price of flattery, without 
 which, I believe, nobody can be well with a king or queen, 
 unless the world should become to be less corrupt, or they wiser 
 than any I have seen since I was born.''
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MAKLBOROUGII. 187 
 
 the house of Hanover. She was siipple, intriguing, 
 and ungrateful. She had a relation in the ministry, 
 too, of a like character. This was Harley. His 
 clement was political intrigue ; he is, therefore, justly 
 described as having been plausible, insinuating, adroit 
 in flattery, of a cool and calculating head, full of 
 courtesy and apparent candour ; and above all, pro- 
 fuse in expressions of duty and attachment. These 
 parties played into each others hands. Mrs. Hill 
 supplanted the duchess, her benefactress : Harley also, 
 with every sentiment of respect and duty on his lips, 
 followed her example in doing all he could to sup- 
 plant his benefactor. Mrs. Hill was the duchess's 
 relation by the mother's side ; by the father's she 
 was, also, related to Harley. Both united in inflam- 
 ing the queen against the duchess. Added to which, 
 Harley took especial care to foment a feeling of dis- 
 content among the Whigs against Marlborough and 
 Godolphin. 
 
 For some time the duchess was blind to all this. 
 She was apprised of it, indeed,. by several, who had 
 a near opportunity of observing ; but she could not 
 bring her mind to believe it. At length she awoke 
 from her delusion, and communicated her thoughts 
 in respect to it to the duke. The duke paid little 
 attention to this suggestion ; contenting himself with 
 merely advising the duchess to give Mrs. Hill a 
 caution. " This may do good," said he ; " for she is 
 certainly grateful, and will mind what you say." 
 
 The duchess, however, was too greatly moved to 
 follow this advice so implicitly as the duke wished. 
 She even proceeded to write, in a manner prudence 
 could in no way justify. The queen answered rather 
 sarcastically ; and this irritated her grace into giving 
 way to her resentment in a style even more impru-
 
 188 LIFE OF 
 
 dent than she had done before. At length her grace's 
 suspicion was entirely confirmed. Mrs. Hill at this 
 time married a Mr. Masham, whom the duchess had, 
 also, placed in the royal household. The marriage 
 itself proved little. But it was solemnized not at 
 church, but in the palace ; not in secret, but in the 
 queen's presence ! 
 
 When the duchess heard of this, she burst not only 
 into the palace, but, without any notification of her 
 arrival, into the queen's presence. There she expos- 
 tulated with her majesty ; charging her with having 
 concealed from her a marriage which concerned her 
 nearly, Mrs. Hill being a relation. The queen an- 
 swered in a manner that, by no means, tended to 
 allay the fever ; and from this moment their inter- 
 course was chiefly confined to a correspondence, in 
 which the queen appears to as little advantage as the 
 duchess. For if the duchess was acrimonious, the 
 queen was humility itself, blended with dissimula- 
 tion. 
 
 We now return to continental affairs. At this 
 time Maryborough was in great suspense in regard to 
 an expedition, which had been undertaken against 
 Toulon, by Prince Eugene and Sir Cloudesley Shovel. 
 The Duke's opinion in regard to this is very expres- 
 sively stated in one of his letters to Lord Godolphin. 
 " Should Toulon not be taken, the war must be con- 
 tinued ; but if that should succeed, I should then 
 hope France would be forced to give such conditions, 
 as England should think reasonable." " If," says he 
 in another letter, " the siege of Toulon goes on pros- 
 perously, I shall be cured of all diseases but old age." 
 
 He was the more anxious in regard to this, since 
 the Dutch had manifested, more strongly than hereto- 
 fore, an inclination for peace. For, deeming themselves
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 189 
 
 secure of a barrier by the victories of last year, they had 
 become almost entirely indifferent to success in other 
 quarters. This selfishness of conduct exceedingly dis- 
 pleased the English government ; insomuch that the 
 Lord Treasurer proposed a separate union with the 
 other allies, in order to deter the States from tamper- 
 ing with France; a subject on which he was exceed- 
 ingly apprehensive. The duke, however, felt induced 
 to judge the Dutch more favourably. lie, therefore, 
 opposed this proposition, lest it should create a 
 breach with the States. He was, decidedly, of 
 opinion, also, that nothing should be said till the fate 
 of Toulon was known. 
 
 Six weeks was Marlborough detained at Maldert, 
 unable, because not permitted, to strike a single blow. 
 His design was to march on Genappe; by doing which 
 he felt assured, the French must either risk a battle, 
 or retire from their strong position at Gemblours. 
 Learning, however, that Vendome had despatched 
 part of his force to Provence, these feeble men (the 
 deputies) consented to the movement Marlborough 
 had proposed. At four in the afternoon of the 1 Oth 
 of August the whole struck their tents ; and, accord- 
 ing to the disposition that had been made, passed the 
 Dyle at Florival ; and marching all night, arrived, 
 the next morning at break of day, about the heights 
 of AVaveren, where they made a short halt, and then 
 continued their march towards Genappe, where they 
 encamped, with their right at Promelles, and their 
 left at Davieres ; having made a march of about one- 
 and-twenty miles. 
 
 The moment Vendome heard that Marlborough 
 had made this movement, he gave orders for decamp- 
 ing, and accordingly, though it was midnight, began 
 to march; feeling assured, that if he- waited one
 
 190 UFE OP 
 
 moment, he could not avoid an action. In allusion 
 to this expedition, on the part of the enemy, Marl- 
 borough says, in a letter to the minister, " I hope 
 this will convince our friends in Holland, as it has 
 done our deputies, that if they had consented to my 
 making this march six weeks ago, as I pressed to do, 
 the French would have then made, as they now have, 
 a shameful march, by which both armies see, very 
 plainly, that they will not venture to fight." This 
 retreat, also, proved to the satisfaction of Marl- 
 borough and all his army, what a superiority they 
 possessed over the enemy, in the dread that his name 
 had inspired. 
 
 On the retreat of the enemy Maryborough moved 
 immediately to Nivelle, and prepared, with all the 
 alacrity of his nature, to compel battle the next day. 
 The French, however, still determining to avoid an 
 engagement, continued retreating with great rapidity, 
 and did not halt till they arrived behind the rivulet 
 which falls into the Haine, in the vicinity of Mons. 
 There they stopped, under arms, one night ; and pur- 
 sued their course, next day, to Chievres, from which 
 place they could reach the protection of their lines 
 in one march. A succession of heavy rains, which 
 rendered the roads and ways wholly impassable, now 
 prevented all movement ; and for a fortnight both 
 armies were compelled to remain in their respective 
 camps. At this time the English general heard from 
 his former celebrated companion in arms, Prince 
 Eugene : " What your highness has done, since you 
 had the power of marching against the enemy, evi- 
 dently proves that this campaign would have been 
 as glorious as the last, if you had not been restrained 
 by the great circumspection of the Dutch deputies, 
 who, ignorant of our profession, follow the opinion
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOttOUGH. 191 
 
 of their generals, who know nothing but defensive 
 warfare." This letter gave no small satisfaction to 
 Marlborough ; for it is a great pleasure to the great 
 to be appreciated by minds assimilating in greatness 
 with their own. 
 
 " Vendome's avoiding twice to fight within four 
 days,"'"" wrote the duke to Godolphin, " will, I hope, 
 convince our friends, as well as enemies, that his 
 orders are not to venture. The consternation, that 
 has been amongst their common soldiers, ought to 
 assure us of victory, if we can ever engage them ; 
 but they will not venture. They are now in a 
 country where they may march from one strong 
 camp to another, and so end the campaign; and this 
 I fear they will do." 
 
 The enemy having, however, one day show r n some 
 signs, that they intended to forage at Templeure, 
 Marlborough marched out, by break of day, with 
 20,000 foot, 5,000 horse, and 12 pieces of cannon, 
 with a design to attack the guard, that covered them ; 
 and by that means endeavour to force them to a 
 general action. The enemy, however, seeing the 
 general's wish, did not think fit to venture out. On 
 -which Marlborough was obliged to content himself 
 with ordering his troops to forage the places, the 
 enemy had intended to do, in order that they might 
 have no farther benefit from them. This was done 
 
 * Vendotne was the son of Henry IV. by one of his mistresses. 
 He was exceedingly indolent. " It seemed not a little astonishing,' 7 
 says Voltaire, " to sec a general-in-chief keeping his hed till four 
 in the afternoon ; and a prince, sprung from the blood-royal, sunk 
 in such a foul and filthy neglect in his person, as would have dis- 
 graced the meanest peasant." " In moments of emergency, how- 
 ever," remarks Lord Mahon, " he knew how to cast off such slothful 
 habits ; and still more frequently atoned for them by presence of 
 mind and great personal exposure."
 
 192 LIFE OF 
 
 without any opposition, though the French were 
 within a league of their camp and under the cannon 
 of Tournay. 
 
 About this time Marlborough wrote a letter to 
 the duchess, in which occurs the following passage : 
 " I do assure you, I did not mean the Whigs, when 
 I spoke of ingratitude, but I meant it in general to 
 England ; and if you will do me justice, you must 
 believe that I have done all the good offices, that are 
 possible, at this distance. I do not say this to make 
 my court to the Whigs, but that I am persuaded that 
 it was .good for my country and for the service of the 
 queen and England ; for I am now both at an age 
 and humour, that I would not be bound to make my 
 court to either party, for all that this world could 
 give me. Besides, I am so disheartened, that when 
 I shall have done my duty, I shall submit to Provi- 
 dence ; but, as a friend, I will tell you the unavoid- 
 able consequence, if the Whigs mortify the lord trea- 
 surer, that he will be disheartened, and Mr. Harley 
 have the power and credit of doing what he pleases. 
 This I know will hurt both the queen and England, 
 but I see no remedy." 
 
 Finding it impossible to draw the enemy into an 
 engagement, Marlborough moved from Soignies to 
 Alt and then to Helchin, where he first received 
 intelligence that the expedition had failed against 
 Toulon ; and that the combined forces had been 
 compelled to retreat into Piedmont. This disaster 
 is said to have arisen from the jealousy existing 
 between all the parties, engaged in the enterprise. 
 " The rivalry," says Mr. Coxe, " which reigned in 
 the respective cabinets of Vienna and Turin, extended 
 its influence to the field, and created the same dis- 
 union between the Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene,
 
 JOIIN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 193 
 
 in their capacity of generals, as between the duke 
 and the emperor in their capacity of sovereigns." 
 
 The effects of these jealousies were felt in every 
 movement. The military force, employed against 
 the town, was 35,000 men. These scaled the Col di 
 Tendi, and traversing the difficult country lying 
 contiguous to the Mediterranean, reached the camp 
 of Velotte, in the vicinity of Toulon, on the 26th of 
 June ; where, before the mouth of the harbour, lay 
 an English fleet, commanded by Sir Cloudesley 
 Shovel, consisting of not less than forty sail. 
 
 The garrison of Toulon scarcely exceeded 8000 
 men; and not well prepared to stand against an 
 attack, if instantly begun. But so much time was 
 lost in deliberations and disputes, that the govern- 
 ment of France had time to reinforce the town so 
 amply, that the enterprise became hopeless. The 
 allied forces, embarrassed by the want of supplies, 
 and menaced by the forces assembling round them, 
 abandoned the design, relinquished their posts, com- 
 menced a retreat ; and, after a great deal of difficulty, 
 reached the place, from whence they had set out, 
 with their army reduced one half. This failure 
 afflicted Marlborough in a double sense. For by it 
 he not only felt the evil, as it regarded the present 
 time ; but he saw clearly that it was impossible for 
 the two courts (those of Vienna and Turin), to unite 
 for the attainment of any common object ; and 
 equally futile to expect that Prince Eugene and the 
 Duke of Savoy could ever again be associated in any 
 future command. 
 
 Finding it impossible to bring the Duke de Ven- 
 dome to an engagement, the French camp being 
 covered with the Scheldt and their entrenchments, 
 Marlborough left his camp at Helchin, and went to
 
 194 LIFE OP 
 
 the Hague. The Dutch concurred in all the plans he 
 thought proper to submit to their consideration ; and 
 he found them, also, greatly desirous, that he should 
 not only meet the elector, and take measures with 
 him for the next campaign ; but that he should press 
 on the emperor and the empire the necessity of their 
 taking 6000 Saxon horse into their service. Not- 
 withstanding all this, the duke saw plainly that 
 what may be called the Dutch disorder was still 
 rife. " I must acquaint you," said his grace in a 
 letter to the minister, " that the Dutch will not only 
 not augment their own troops, but will act the next 
 year as they have done this last ; which is so dis- 
 heartening, that I do wish, with all my heart, it 
 were possible for me to be excused from being at the 
 head of their troops." The fact was, also what 
 Marlborough did not so well know that the Dutch 
 were not altogether ignorant of the cabals in the 
 English cabinet, and the declining favour of the 
 duke and Godolphin : circumstances which greatly 
 increased the desire the Dutch had for peace. 
 
 Having effected all he could, with the Dutch, the 
 duke returned to the camp at Helchin, where he 
 inspected the troops, preparatory to their going into 
 winter quarters. He then sat off for Frankfort, for 
 the purpose of meeting the elector of Hanover, the 
 elector Palatine, and Count Wratislaw, the emperor's 
 plenipotentiary. On the 19th he was met by the 
 elector Palatine, about one league from his castle of 
 Bansberg, where his electoral highness entertained 
 his grace with a splendid dinner, under a very mag 
 nificent tent. He arrived at Frankfort on the 21st. 
 There the elector of Hanover and the elector of 
 Mentz had arrived before him. They had several 
 conferences together ; but owing to Count Wratislaw
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 195 
 
 not having arrived, nothing could be concluded. 
 Nor could any thing effectual be done after he did 
 arrive, because he then explicitly declared, that he. 
 had not received full instructions. Upon this the 
 conferences broke off; but not before the elector of 
 Hanover had declared, privately, to the duke, that 
 unless the empire consented to put their army in a 
 better condition than it then was, he would not 
 return to it. " I am very sensible," said Marlborough, 
 writing an account of this to the minister at home, 
 " of the uneasiness he is likely to meet with, by what 
 I suffer in Flanders." " What I am going to say," 
 continues he in another letter, " does not proceed 
 from the spleen, but really from the vexation I have 
 in my mind, which makes me less capable of serving 
 with success, as I have done hitherto ; so that if I 
 can't prevail to have Prince Eugene sent to Catalonia, 
 I should think the next best thing for the service 
 would be, that he commands in chief in the empire ; 
 and that the elector of Hanover takes upon him the 
 command I have in Flanders ; for if things go as I 
 think they will, both in England and Holland, 
 nothing shall prevail with me to lose that reputation 
 I have hazarded for this war. Till I have had an 
 opportunity of acquainting the queen, and having 
 her leave, I shall let nobody know of this intention 
 of mine, but the pensioner, who is an honest man, 
 and so much my friend, that he will say nothing of 
 it till he has my leave. I send you the Duke of 
 Savoy's letter and project, as also my answer; so 
 that in what I have been wanting, the lords of the 
 cabinet may advise her majesty. The States having, 
 by an express, given her power to assure the Land- 
 grave of Hesse, that they will satisfy him for his 
 arrears; and if he will consent to leave his troops 
 o2
 
 196 LIFE OF 
 
 one year longer in Italy, I shall, this afternoon, send 
 an express. to Cassel, and press him, in the name of 
 her majesty, as well as that of the states-general ; 
 but I fear he has already sent his orders from the 
 Hague. You shall know what effect my letter to 
 the landgrave has had." 
 
 The duke returned to the Hague on the 3rd of 
 November, whither he was accompanied by Count 
 "Wratislaw. During his stay there his grace com- 
 municated what had passed at Frankfort to the 
 states-general; and their deputies having several 
 conferences with the imperial ministers, the States 
 resolved to use all means to engage the empire to 
 make greater efforts than they had hitherto done. 
 Soon after this the duke returned to England. 
 Previous to which, however, he had written to the 
 duchess a letter, in which occurs this curious 
 passage : " What you say of Mrs. Masham is very 
 odd ; and if you think she is a good weathercock, 
 it is high time to leave off struggling ; for believe 
 me, nothing is worth rowing for against wind and 
 tide ; at least you will think so, when you come to 
 my age." In a letter, dated a few days after, he 
 says : "I find my lord treasurer very desirous of 
 my being with him. I have no opinion of my being 
 able to do any good ; but uncertainty is the worst of 
 all conditions, for death itself is easier than the fear 
 of it. If you were truly sensible of the great desire 
 I have of ending my days quietly with you, I flatter 
 myself, your good nature would be contented to bear 
 many inconveniences, and to let the rest of the world 
 govern itself after its own method. This is the third 
 time I have writ since my being here, and the post- 
 master tells me, that not only those, but some of 
 mine from Frankfort, are still on this side; so that I
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 197 
 
 shall not make this longer than by assuring you of my 
 being, with all my heart and soul, &c." In another 
 letter he writes thus : " My dear soul ; if I could 
 begin life again, I would endeavour every hoiir to 
 oblige you. But as we can't recal what is past, 
 forget my imperfections ; and as God has been 
 pleased to bless me, I do not doubt but he will 
 reward me with some years to end my days with 
 you ; and if that may be with quietness and kind- 
 ness, I shall be much happier than I have ever yet 
 been." 
 
 Long before his arrival in England, Marlborough 
 had become sensible of the secret cabals of Harley 
 and Mrs. Masham, and their rapid advances in the 
 queen's favour. He grieved to learn, also, that her 
 majesty still persisted in appointing the Tory bishops, 
 who, in a letter to the duke, she expressly states, 
 were her own choice. " They are certainly very fit 
 for the station I design them," continues her majesty. 
 " Indeed, I think myself obliged to fill the bishops' 
 bench, with those that will be a credit to it and to 
 the church." In fact, the queen was, during the 
 greatest part of her reign, greatly to be pitied ; being 
 hemmed in on all sides by two parties, publicly, and 
 many other parties privately, none of whom, with 
 one or two exceptions, thought of any thing but 
 their own interests. " I can think," said her ma- 
 jesty, in the letter just now quoted, " but of one 
 thing ; which is, a resolution to encourage all those, 
 who have not been in opposition, that will concur in 
 my service, whether they be Whigs or Tories ; 
 which is a thing that might be put in practice, 
 believing it might do a great deal of good, and I 
 am sure it is not for my service to disoblige any- 
 body."
 
 198 LIFE OF 
 
 Iti-answer to this, the duk v e wrote in a very earnest 
 manner : 
 
 " MADAM, I had the honour of your majesty's of the 
 25th of last month; by which I find mine of the 29th to 
 lord treasurer was read to you. I beg the justice of you 
 to believe, that I am no ways concerned for the power, 
 that the Whigs must have with you; but the great concern 
 that I must always have lor your quiet and your safety ; 
 for if you are served to your satisfaction and security, I 
 am very indifferent who the persons are. And as you 
 desire that I would speak freely, I do protest in the pre- 
 sence of God Almighty, that I am persuaded, that if you 
 continue in the mind that I think you now are, and will 
 not suffer those, that have the honour to serve you, to 
 manage your affairs agreeably to the circumstances of the 
 times, your business must inevitably run into confusion ; 
 and, consequently, make it impossible for my lord trea- 
 surer to serve ; for if he is thought to have the power, 
 when he has not, both parties will be angry with him, 
 though both would admire him and be his friends, if lie 
 were out of the service. If I were with your majesty, I 
 believe I could let you see the trouble and distraction you 
 are likely to be in this winter, which you must prevent, 
 before the meeting of parliament, or it will be too late. I 
 find the Duke of Savoy, Prince Eugene, the Elector of 
 Hanover, and the Emperor, are all desirous, that you 
 would be pleased to allow me to continue as long on tins 
 side the water, as might be necessary for concerting the 
 operations of the next campaign. This will make it im- 
 possible for me to be in England before the meeting of 
 parliament ; and should I come at this time, it might 
 create jealousies on this side the water. But as I prefer 
 your quiet and service, above all other considerations, if 
 your majesty thinks my being with you for one day or 
 two, may be of any use, I am ready to obey. If I come 
 in a yacht, one man of war shall he ordered to Ostend, and 
 not be told what it is for; for I would endeavour to be 
 back with the army bt fore the French should know I am 
 gone for England. What I now propose will make so
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOBOUGH. 199 
 
 much noise, that I beg you will be pleased to advise with 
 my lord treasurer, before you send me your commands. 
 It is impossible for me to finish this letter without assuring 
 your majesty of what I know of Lady Marlborough, that 
 nobody could ?erve you with more zeal and true affection 
 than she has done for many years ; and I must do her 
 judgment that right, as to say she has foreseen some things, 
 which I thought would never have happened ; I mean 
 concerning the behaviour of some in your service. I pray 
 God to direct you in all things for your own good, and 
 that of all Europe, that your own affairs may prosper and 
 be glorious, as they have for some years, and I shall then 
 enjoy all the happiness and quiet this world can give me.'' 
 Marlborough was very right in his assertion to 
 Godolphin, that if he quitted office, not only the 
 business at home, but the still more important one 
 abroad, would very much suffer. " For," said he, 
 " whatever the new schemers may think, the allies 
 will expect nothing good from England, when they 
 shall see that you and I have lost our credit, after 
 having served with so great success." Matters, how- 
 ever, had proceeded farther than he had expected ; 
 for on arriving in England he found Mrs. Masham 
 and Harley more dominant than ever. The latter 
 in fact was a man of matchless insincerity. Even 
 Dr. Somerville himself a Tory, and an ardent one 
 admits this. "The part acted by Harley," says 
 he, " exhibits a scene of dissimulation and duplicity, 
 for which neither his sympathy with the sovereign, 
 nor the unjustifiable conduct of the junto to her, nor 
 the goodness of the end which he had in view, 
 supposing that to be admitted, can afford any 
 apology." 
 
 It was long before Marlborough and Godolphin 
 had been able to persuade themselves, that all the 
 time in which Harley appeared kind, grateful, and 
 subservient to them, he was acting a mean and de-
 
 200 LIFE OF 
 
 ceitful part. Their eyes, however, at length were 
 opened ; and when the former arrived in London, he 
 was fated to find, that however violent the feuds in 
 the cabinet might appear at a distance, they were 
 greater and much more dangerous than he had been 
 able in any way to anticipate. He found, in fact, 
 that he had only exchanged one species of evil for 
 another. When with the army, he was tormented 
 with imbecilities : when in England, with factions of 
 every species. We can only allude to the more 
 prominent of these. The more violent Whigs had 
 entered into a secret understanding with the more 
 violent Tories : and Godolphin stood exposed, 
 almost single-handed, not only to the obloquy both 
 parties chose to throw upon him, but to the displea- 
 sure of the queen herself. The kingdom was dis- 
 appointed at the disasters of the late campaign in 
 Spain, and at Toulon. They were not satisfied, 
 either, with the ministry, for not having some de- 
 cisive exploit to record in the Netherlands. 
 
 The parliament, however, was opened with a 
 speech from the throne, extenuating the failures of 
 the campaign, and recommending vigour and una- 
 nimity ; since no other line of conduct could ever 
 restore the prosperity of the grand alliance, or 
 obtain a safe and honourable peace. This re- 
 commendation was met in the Commons by an 
 unanimous address, assuring her majesty that no dis- 
 appointment should discourage them from enabling 
 her to reduce, in conjunction with her allies, the 
 whole Spanish monarchy to the obedience of the 
 lawful monarch. 
 
 In the House of Lords, however, great complaints 
 were made in respect to the decay of trade, and the 
 scarcity of money, the ill state and mismanagement
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 201 
 
 of the navy, and the great losses the merchants had 
 sustained for want of convoys. In consequence of 
 all which, the Lords passed a resolution for the 
 whole house's going into committee to enquire into 
 the state of the nation in regard to trade, and 
 the late management of the fleet. The attack was 
 opened by the Whigs with a charge against the 
 admiralty; directing the most pointed insinuations 
 against Admiral Churchill. The Tories, however, 
 confined themselves chiefly to insinuations against 
 the ministry at large : insisting that the public 
 grievances were such, that they could not be removed 
 by partial remedies. There must be a radical change 
 in the government. Marlborough was present at 
 these debates. He cared little for the attacks against 
 himself ; but he was greatly annoyed by those 
 directed against his brother. 
 
 A few days after this, the affairs at Toulon and in 
 Spain, more particularly the conduct of Lord Peter- 
 borough in that country, were brought before the 
 house. Then ensued a debate on the state of the 
 nation ; which created so lively an interest in the 
 public mind, that the queen herself went in disguise 
 to listen to it. It closed with the house adopting 
 an address, reported by the Duke of Bolton, in which 
 the Lords recommended a vigorous prosecution of 
 the war in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Savoy. 
 
 In a debate, which occurred shortly after, Lord 
 -Rochester took an opportunity of declaiming against 
 the conduct of the war in the Netherlands ; insisting 
 that it ought to be conducted on the principle of 
 defence, not of attack. " We seem," said his lordship, 
 " to neglect the principal business, and to mind only 
 accessories. I cannot forget the saying of a great 
 general, the old Duke of Schomberg, 'that to attack
 
 202 LIFE OP 
 
 France in the Netherlands is taking a bull by the 
 horns.' I, therefore, propose, that we should re- 
 main on the defensive in that quarter, and send from 
 our army there 15 or 20,000 men into Catalonia." 
 
 Hearing this, Marlborough rose with great warmth, 
 and insisted that so far from reducing the army in the 
 Netherlands, there existed a positive necessity for its 
 being increased. On which he was tauntingly in- 
 terrupted by Rochester, who expressed wonder, that 
 one, who had ever been conspicuous for calmness of 
 tone and moderation of action, should, on this occa- 
 sion, so evidently lose his temper. Marlborough 
 immediately apologised for any warmth he might 
 have been guilty of, and mildly justified it on the 
 principle, that it was impossible to debate on so 
 important a subject, without feeling strongly : and 
 feeling strongly, it was natural, that he should in 
 some degree express himself warmly. " Although," 
 continued he, " it is improper to disclose secret pro- 
 jects in so numerous an assembly, because the enemy 
 will not fail to be informed of them ; yet I am 
 authorised by the queen to gratify your lordships 
 by the assurance that measures have been already 
 concerted with the emperor, for forming an army of 
 forty thousand men, under the command of the 
 Duke of Savoy, and for sending succours to King 
 Charles. It is, also, to be hoped that Prince Eugene 
 maybe induced to take command in Spain; in which 
 case the Germans will gladly follow him. The only 
 difficulty, which may be objected to this scheme, is 
 the usual tardiness of the court of Vienna ; and it 
 must be admitted, that if the seven thousand recruits, 
 which the emperor promised for Piedmont, had 
 arrived in time, the enterprise against Toulon would 
 probably have been attended with success. But I
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOBOUGH. 203 
 
 dare engage my word, that, for the future, his im- 
 perial majesty will punctually perform his promises." 
 
 This reply and -assurance softened Rochester, and 
 he was politic enough to answer, that, had he known 
 how all tilings had been managed, the debate might 
 have been spared. The house then passed resolu- 
 tions, of which this is the substance : that " no 
 peace could be reasonable or safe, either for her 
 majesty or her allies, if Spain or the West Indies 
 were suffered to continue in the power of the house 
 of Bourbon." Also a hope that " her majesty would 
 be pleased to continue her solicitations with the 
 emperor, for this end, as well as for reinforcing the 
 Duke of Savoy, and strengthening the army on the 
 Rhine." In answer to these recommendations, the 
 queen expressed her entire concurrence ; and assured 
 the house, that no peace could be safe or honourable, 
 unless the whole monarchy of Spain was restored to 
 the house of Austria. 
 
 Her majesty had now become sensible, that it was 
 no longer wise to throw her patronage, so decidedly 
 as she was disposed, over the Tories. She, therefore, 
 personally in the cabinet, gave an assurance, that 
 though she had too far engaged herself to recede from 
 her promises, with regard to the two Tory bishops, 
 she would, in future, promote no more of that party. 
 
 The charges against the admiralty were now to be 
 encountered. Those in the House of Commons ter- 
 minated in a resolution merely, that recommended 
 her majesty, for the better security of trade, to ap- 
 point an additional number of cruisers. In the 
 Lords, however, the matter was not terminated so 
 easily ; for though they expressed great respect for 
 the lord high admiral (Prince George), certain lords 
 insisted, that one (whom they did not name, but who
 
 204 LIFE OF 
 
 was, in fact, Admiral Churchill,) had made " the 
 worst use imaginable" of the confidence reposed in 
 him by the lord high admiral. A censure on the 
 admiral, however, did not pass ; and as his history 
 is, in other respects, little connected with that of the 
 duke, we shall merely observe in respect to him, that 
 on the death of his patron (Prince George,) the board 
 of which he was a member was dissolved ; Lord 
 Pembroke was nominated lord high admiral ; and in 
 consequence he lost his office and influence, and re- 
 tired into a life of privacy. 
 
 Harley, all this time, was in the depth of his in- 
 trigues : but two discoveries were at length made, 
 which contributed greatly to his injury. One was a 
 correspondence, carried on with France by one of 
 Harley's clerks, named Gregg, whom he had taken 
 into his particular confidence. Gregg was, in conse- 
 quence, tried and executed. But it did not appear, 
 that Harley was in any way privy to his treason. 
 The other circumstance was, that two persons, whom 
 he had employed as spies to go over to Calais, under 
 the pretence of bringing him intelligence, were in- 
 formed against, as spies employed by France, to get 
 intelligence from England. These persons had been 
 often complained of upon suspicion; but they were 
 always protected by Harley ; and this engendered 
 great suspicion of Harley himself. The presumptions, 
 however, against them were, at last, so violent, that 
 they were seized and taken to prison. 
 
 Marlborough, having recommended Harley, in the 
 first instance, to the queen's favour, as we have 
 already recorded, could not bring his mind to think 
 him an object of suspicion. At length, however, he 
 perceived so many instances of dissimulation and 
 duplicity, that he could no longer doubt, that, through
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 205 
 
 the agency of Mrs. Masham, he was forming a party 
 and an administration of his own ; and the better to 
 ensure this, was creating a schism among those who 
 supported the government ; thereby endeavouring 
 to restore the preponderance of the Tories. All 
 this he was labouring to do in secret ; making dis- 
 creet use of both Whig and Tory, as either could 
 assist him in his favourite scheme. Several things 
 occurred, 'however, to awaken suspicion, and at length 
 conviction. We have no space to enter into these 
 circumstances : suffice to say, that being awakened, 
 neither Marlborough nor Godolphin hesitated long as 
 to the course they should pursue. They laid com- 
 plaints before the queen ; and insisted on Harley's 
 being dismissed. And here, to their great mortifica- 
 tion, though not much to their surprise, they found 
 her majesty fixed in the resolution not to abandon 
 her confidential adviser. Upon which the two 
 ministers announced to her majesty that she must no 
 longer consider them as her ministers. Marlborough 
 signified his resignation in the following terms : 
 
 "MADAM, Since all the faithful services I have endea- 
 voured to do you, and the unwearied pains I have taken 
 for these ten days, to satisfy and convince your majesty's 
 own mind, have not been able to give you any such im- 
 pressions of the false and treacherous proceedings of Mr. 
 Secretary Harley to Lord Treasurer and myself, but that 
 your majesty is pleased to countenance and to support 
 him, to the ruin of your own business at home; I am 
 very much afraid it will be attended with the sorrow and 
 amazement of all Europe, as soon as the noise of it gets 
 abroad. And I find myself obliged to have so much 
 regard to mine own honour and reputation as not to be 
 every day made a sacrifice to falsehood and treachery, but 
 most humbly to acquaint your majesty that no considera- 
 tion can make me serve any longer with that man. And 
 I beseech your majesty to look upon me, from this
 
 206 LIFE OP 
 
 moment, as forced out of your service, as long as you think 
 fit to continue him in it. No heart is fuller of duty to 
 your majesty than mine ; nobody has more sincere wishes 
 for your 'prosperity, nor shall more constantly pray for 
 your majesty's long life, and for your happiness both here 
 and hereafter. I am always, with the greatest respect and 
 the truest zeal for your service, &c. &c/' 
 
 The queen, notwithstanding all this, remained 
 immoveable. A circumstance, however, occurred a 
 few days after, which entirely altered her resolution. 
 A cabinet council having been called, notice was sent 
 to Marlborough and Godolphin, as well as to the other 
 members ; but when the council met, the two friends 
 did not appear. The queen had taken her seat ; and 
 Harley had opened the business of the meeting, when 
 the Duke of Somerset started up, exclaiming " I do 
 not see how we can deliberate, when the commander- 
 in-chief, and the lord treasurer, are not present." 
 Harley, on this, became disconcerted. The queen 
 remained silent. The duke, therefore, repeated his 
 observation with some vehemence. Upon which her 
 majesty, seeing the way in which the other members 
 received the matter, sitting in a cold, sullen manner, 
 broke up the council, and withdrew, " evidently 
 angered," says Bishop Burnet, " alarmed and disap- 
 pointed." 
 
 When these circumstances became known, great 
 . apprehension agitated the public mind. The queen 
 remained obstinate nevertheless. She would not 
 abandon her purpose. Harley, however, perceived 
 the condition in which he stood. He entreated her 
 majesty to accept his resignation ; and this entreaty 
 was seconded by that of the Prince of Denmark. 
 Her majesty saw, at last, the danger. She sent, 
 therefore, for the duke. The duke answered the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARYBOROUGH. 207 
 
 summons ; and then her majesty, after many expres- 
 sions, in which she indicated great anger and morti- 
 fication, condescended to inform him, that Harley 
 should no longer continue in her service. Upon this 
 Harley immediately resigned the seals ; and St. John, 
 who was secretary at war, followed his example. 
 
 When this event became known, great joy was 
 expressed by a part of the public. Their satisfaction, 
 however, was greatly moderated on learning, a few 
 days after, that the French king had projected an 
 invasion in order to restore the Pretender. An expe- 
 dition, it was now understood, was fitting out at 
 Dunkirk, consisting of 8 sail of the line, 24 frigates, 
 and 66 long boats, with a considerable number of 
 transports to convey 12 battalions, 13,000 stand of 
 arms, and a store of military accoutrements. 
 
 The French king had conceived great hopes from 
 this undertaking; for he imagined that as soon as his 
 fleet should set the Pretender on shore, in Scotland, 
 the whole of that kingdom would rise in his favour. 
 He thought, too, that, in consequence of the Preten- 
 der's landing, the queen would lie compelled to draw 
 at least 30 battalions from Flanders; and this, he con- 
 cluded, would soon oblige the States-general to accept 
 such terms, as he should think proper to propose to 
 them. All this vast project, however, he was doomed 
 to see vanish into air ! Maryborough acted with his 
 usual promptitude and vigour. Drafts were made 
 from the horse and foot guards, and several regiments 
 of infantry were ordered into Scotland, and others 
 were commanded to be in readiness for embarkation 
 on the north coast of Ireland. The admiralty, at the 
 same time, despatched 26 men-of-war from Deal to 
 lie off the Dunkirk coast. When the British fleet 
 appeared, the French king was confounded. For the
 
 208 LIFE OP 
 
 English government having sent, as he knew, a large 
 fleet to Portugal, he imagined that they had heen so 
 absurd and imbecile as to leave the coasts of England 
 wholly undefended. 
 
 A gale drove the English fleet to sea. The French, 
 taking advantage of this, gave signal for sailing. 
 Their destination, however, having been anticipated, 
 great was the surprise of the admiral, (De Forbin) 
 when he reached the Frith of Forth, to see the English 
 fleet, commanded by Sir George Byng, already 
 arrived before him, ready to give him a reception. 
 Finding this, De Forbin beat round the north of 
 Scotland, with an intention of landing his troops in 
 some more favourable place ; but he was prevented 
 by tempestuous winds; and, after the space of a 
 month, thought himself happy in effecting a return 
 to Dunkirk, with the loss of 4,000 men, from hard- 
 ship and sickness. 
 
 For their decision and prudent conduct in this 
 matter, the duke and Godolphin received great praise: 
 Godolphin for the vigour and wisdom of the internal 
 government ; Marlborough for the judgment he had 
 displayed in the disposing of the military force. The 
 queen, too, became, in consequence of these dangers, 
 more sensible of what she owed to her ministers ; as 
 well as the necessity of yielding to the impulse of 
 public opinion. 
 
 In point of time we ought here to give the reader 
 some account of the manner and conduct of the 
 duchess : but we must defer it to a future oppor- 
 tunity ; it not being convenient or proper to obstruct 
 the course of our narrative, since a great event is 
 hastening to engage our attention. 
 
 The storm, which threatened the kingdom, being 
 happily dispelled, and the necessary measures for the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 209 
 
 security of the government taken, the duke set out 
 from London, on the 29th of March, again to take 
 command of the army in the Netherlands. He 
 embarked at Margate the same evening, and came in 
 sight of the coast of Holland, at two o'clock next 
 day. But no pilot being ready, to carry the yacht 
 in, he got into an open boat, landed at Maeslandt- 
 Sluys ; whence he went, and arrived at the Hague, 
 the same day, late at night. 
 
 Before. we go further, we must state that Marl- 
 borough had scarcely arrived in Holland, when he 
 was importuned to return, both by Lord Godolphin 
 and the duchess, in order to settle some points in 
 regard to promotions, and other matters relative to 
 the conduct adopted by the queen. These matters, 
 however, were little better than personal ; so that 
 the reader must be satisfied with a mere allusion to 
 them : it being proper for us to confine ourselves, 
 for the present, to affairs, relating to the campaign, 
 about to ensue. (1708.) 
 
 Prince Eugene reached the Hague two days before 
 Marlborough. On learning that his illustrious friend 
 had arrived, the prince sent him a compliment, and 
 let him know, that he would make him a visit at 
 nine the next morning. His grace, however, with 
 the politeness natural to him, prevented his doing so 
 by going to his residence at eight. At eleven, the 
 prince returned the visit, and both went together to 
 the house of the pensionary Heinsius. At three all 
 parties dined with the Elector of Hanover's envoy ; 
 whither they were followed by a great crowd, anxious 
 to see the two generals ; more especially Prince 
 Eugene ; who, never having been in Holland before, 
 raised an eager curiosity in all the inhabitants of that 
 country to see him.
 
 210 LIFE OF 
 
 What the plans were, laid by these illustrious per- 
 sons, it is by no means necessary to state. They 
 will be seen by their developments. Having 
 arranged them, as far as they were capable of 
 arrangement,- the duke and prince went to Hanover 
 to confer with the elector. Here, to their great mor- 
 tification, they discovered, that the elector had made 
 up his mind not to resume his command on the 
 Rhine. He indicated also a particular dislike to 
 Prince Eugene ; considering him as having been sent 
 to usurp laurels, which he himself had hoped to 
 acquire. Marlborough, however, did not fail to con- 
 ciliate his assent. 
 
 The two friends now separated : Eugene going to 
 Dresden, and afterwards to Vienna, to accelerate the 
 preparations for the ensuing campaign ; Marlborough 
 totheHague: whence, havingcommunicated the result 
 of his journey, he proceeded to the army, now assem- 
 bling in the neighbourhood of Brussels. We must 
 here state, that it was agreed by the generals, that one 
 army should be formed on the Moselle, under Prince 
 Eugene ; another under Marlborough in the Nether- 
 lands ; and that the ostensible project should be, an 
 invasion on the side of Louvaine : but that the two 
 armies should, ultimately, unite by a r,apid march in 
 the Netherlands ; and then endeavour to compel the 
 enemy to receive battle before they could receive rein- 
 forcements from quarters at a distance. A month's 
 delay, however, took place, in consequence of having 
 so many parties to consult on these measures. " See," 
 said Marlborough, " the great advantage the King of 
 France has over the allies. We have to consult the 
 pleasure of many princes. He has nothing to consult 
 but his own pleasure and will." 
 
 At length the arrangements were completed. In
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 211 
 
 the mean time the French king, having greatly 
 increased his forces, suddenly gave the command of 
 it to the Duke of Burgundy, with orders to Vendome 
 to act under him. The duke was accompanied by 
 the Duke de Berry, and the Pretender, (under the 
 title of Chevalier de St. George,) who had returned 
 from his unsuccessful expedition to Scotland. The 
 army on the Rhine was given to the Elector of 
 Bavaria, with the Duke of Berwick under him ; and 
 Marshal de Villars was appointed to command in 
 Dauphiny. These changes surprised every one ; but 
 the French king hoped to derive great advantages 
 from them. In this, however, he was doomed to 
 some share of disappointment. 
 
 The strength of the two armies stood respectively 
 thus : that of the confederates consisted of 112 bat- 
 talions, and 180 squadrons ; with 1 13 pieces of 
 cannon: that of the French 124 battalions and 197 
 squadrons ; their number of cannon we have not been 
 able to ascertain. Before the armies, however, took 
 the field, the French formed a plot for the surprisal 
 of Antwerp : a plot which was discovered before it 
 could take effect. " The first hint we received of 
 this conspiracy," says Marlborough, " was, by a letter 
 intercepted at Brussels, while I was at Ghent. 
 Several others have been since taken, all addressed to 
 the Count of Bergulich, to whom they have been 
 suffered to pass. But as they were not subscribed, 
 we could not discover the author. Lastly, six days 
 ago, we seized a woman, who put one of these letters 
 into the post office. She acknowledged the writer 
 to be her son-in-law. He has escaped, and we are 
 endeavouring to discover his accomplices. We have 
 taken measures for the security of the place." 
 
 There were several movements made after this
 
 212 LIFE OF 
 
 affair, that are not material to record. The two 
 armies took the field. What Marlhorough expected 
 from the French force being committed to the Duke 
 of Burgundy may be seen from a letter, which 
 Godolphin wrote to him at this time. " I am of 
 opinion, that the Duke of Burgundy, and the rest 
 of the French princes that accompany him, will be 
 rather a hindrance and a perplexity to M. de Ven- 
 dome, and not any advantage : but I agree with you, 
 that it may very soon be the occasion of some action, 
 not so much for the superiority the French protend to 
 have, as from the impetuous, temper of that prince, 
 who is full of ambition and desire to get a reputa- 
 tion in the world." 
 
 Some difficulty now arose in respect to the Elector 
 of Hanover. " Mr. Howe says," writes the duke soon 
 after, " that the elector appears very much out of 
 humour, and no ways fond of his journey. I pray 
 God bless me with success ; for I expect none from 
 the Elector of Hanover." 
 
 Marlborough's head-quarters were now at Ter- 
 bank, and though actively engaged in a thousand 
 matters, he found time to write to the duchess ; a 
 letter from which we may learn something in regard 
 to his affairs with the army, and something in respect 
 to his affections at home. 
 
 "Whenever I have any reason, and my mind a little at 
 ease, I make use of that time to write to my dear soul. 
 The post does not go till to-morrow ; but as I am that 
 morning to see the left wing of horse, I make use of this 
 time to tell you, that I am in my health, I thank God, as 
 well as one of my age, and that has not his mind very 
 much at ease, can be, for what I concerted with Prince 
 Eugene will not be executed by fifteen days so soon as was 
 resolved, which will be an advantage to the Duke of Ven- 
 dome, by giving him time. But the slowness of the Ger-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 213 
 
 mans is such, that we must always be disappointed. Our 
 news from Spain is as favourable as we could expect, and 
 by Lord Galway's letters we have nothing to fear on the 
 side of Portugal. The Elector of Bavaiia having been 
 obliged to make a considerable detachment from his army 
 for the Moselle, will, we hope, enable the Elector of 
 Hanover to do something on the Rhine. By this time we 
 flatter ourselves that the Duke of Savoy is taking the field. 
 The greatest difficulty he will meet with is, the mountains 
 he must pass before he can get into France. As for us in 
 this country, we have a very good army, but the French 
 think themselves more numerous ; however, I hope, with 
 the blessing of God, that this campaign will not pass with- 
 out some good success on our side. You will easily be- 
 lieve me, when I tell you, that I do, from my heart, wish 
 that the favourable account, I now give you of the posture 
 of our armies, may meet with no disappointment, and that 
 this campaign may be successful, that I may have the hap- 
 piness of being with you in quietness next summer, and 
 for the remaining part of my life." 
 
 The two armies having remained eight days in 
 their camp, Maryborough signified it to Prince 
 Eugene : " I have employed this time," said he, 
 " in making an exact review of the troops, which 
 are in so good a condition, that it would gratify 
 your highness to see them." A letter, a few days 
 after, from Eugene promised Maryborough that he 
 might daily expect intelligence of his march. Just 
 before this the duke had ordered a thanksgiving in 
 the army for the past successes of the allies ; and 
 prayers were offered up to implore a blessing upon 
 the present campaign : and this affords us an oppor- 
 tunity of giving a passage from a short narrative of 
 the life and actions of his grace, by an old officer in 
 the army. " The service of God," says he, " ac- 
 cording to the order of our church, is strictly 
 enjoined by the duke's especial care ; and in all fixed
 
 214 LIFE OF 
 
 camps, every day, morning and evening, there are 
 prayers : and on Sundays service is daily performed 
 with all decency and respect, as well as in garrisons." 
 Marlborough now thought proper to inform the 
 States as to the plan, lie had concerted with Prince 
 Eugene : 
 
 " HIGH AND MIGHTY LORDS, Having reflected on the 
 situation of our affairs in this country, and considered 
 those on the Moselle, and observing the little probability 
 of supplying the army of Prince Eugene with all the 
 requisites, so as to act offensively and with vigour ; and 
 being confirmed in my opinion by a resolution of your 
 high mightinesses, communicated to me by the deputies, 
 I have imparted to Prince Eugene and Count Rechterin 
 my opinion, that it will be more advantageous to the 
 interests of the common cause for the army on the Mo- 
 selle to join us, in Brabant, without delay ; and entreated 
 them, should they be of my opinion, to communicate the 
 same to the Elector of Hanover, and to begin their march 
 as soon as possible. These measures being taken in con- 
 formity with the approbation of the field deputies, I 
 doubt not but they will give notice to your high mighti- 
 nesses. Nevertheless, I would not fail to inform you that 
 I have just received, from Prince Eugene, intelligence, 
 that his army commenced their march last Friday, the 
 cavalry advancing by long forced marches, while the 
 infantry followed rapidly ; and that it was his intention 
 to arrive in our camp on the 5th or 6th, to concert with 
 me the operations, according to our arrangement, that as 
 soon as the cavalry ehall approach, we shall move directly 
 upon the enemy, and bring on a battle, trusting in God to 
 bless our designs, and hoping that I shall soon have an 
 opportunity of sending you good news." 
 
 The enemy, a little before this, had made a 
 movement, which seemed to threaten Louvaine. The 
 object of this was to conceal their real intentions ; 
 founded on the discontent of the Flemish and Bra-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROTTGH. 215 
 
 banters; which had been greatly excited by the 
 government of the Dutch, which they considered 
 exceedingly oppressive. The scheme against Ant- 
 werp, as we have already stated, had proved abortive; 
 but it did not disconcert their general plan ; and 
 they, soon after, having a correspondence with the 
 disaffected, surprised the towns of Ghent and Bruges, 
 and threatened Brussels. They calculated, also, on 
 reducing Oudenard, a place, in a military point of 
 view, of very great consequence ; because, added to 
 its own strength, it -was the chief avenue to the other 
 fortresses, belonging to the allies, in Flanders ; as 
 well as the only channel of direct communication 
 with England : added to which, were it to fall, it 
 must involve the loss of all their conquests in that 
 quarter. " The enemy, on the other hand," says 
 Mr. Coxe, " seized on the most fertile and opulent 
 district of Europe ; and holding the fortresses on the 
 Scheldt, would easily have baffled every attempt for 
 their expulsion, flanked all direct attacks on French 
 Hainault, and stripped of their value the advantages 
 of the two preceding campaigns." 
 
 Such was the importance of Oudenard. The 
 French having threatened Brussels, as we have just 
 now stated, the alarm in that city became very great : 
 even the army itself seemed disposed to censure the 
 commander, as if what had happened was the con- 
 sequence of his misconduct and neglect. Upon the 
 first intelligence of the enemy's movement, Marl- 
 borough broke up from Terbank, and crossing the 
 Senne and the canal of Brussels, encamped with his 
 left at Anderlacht and his right at Tourbeck ; and 
 afterwards at Asch. There he learnt the enemy's 
 success. Not only Brussels, but the army itself, 
 became greatly alarmed ; and Marlborough himself,
 
 216 LIFE OF 
 
 doubtless, felt the awkwardness of his position. At 
 this trying moment, who should arrive but Prince 
 Eugene ! That prince was admired and beloved 
 nearly as much as Marlborough himself. This 
 appearance, therefore, gave great joy and confidence. 
 Finding that he could not effect a junction in time, 
 he had left his cavalry at Maastricht, and had hastened 
 to take a personal share in the conflict about to 
 ensue. " I am not without hopes," said Marlborough, 
 on seeing his illustrious compeer, " of congratulating 
 your highness on a great victory : for my troops 
 will be animated by the presence of so distinguished 
 a commander." 
 
 From the moment they met, the Prince and Marl- 
 borough appeared to be animated with a unanimity, 
 as if but one soul had informed both their bodies. 
 Eugene warmly approved the resolution, which his 
 friend had adopted, of bringing the enemy, if possible, 
 to an engagement ; and the proposal being sanctioned 
 by a council of war, pioneers were sent out, on every 
 side, to clear the roads for the passage of the troops. 
 
 All being prepared for an engagement, Eugene 
 took the opportunity of a few hours to pay a visit to 
 his mother, then residing at Brussels ; since he 
 might, possibly, never see her again. As to Marl- 
 borough, he became so much indisposed, that he was 
 compelled to issue orders through the medium of 
 Overkirk. These orders among other things em- 
 braced the sending four battalions to reinforce the 
 garrison at Brussels. The next day, however, he 
 was so far recovered as to resume the arduous 
 duties of command. 
 
 The immediate object of the French was to get 
 possession of Oudenard. They invested it, therefore, 
 on the morning of the 9th, and a heavy train of artil-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 217 
 
 lery was ordered from Tournay; and, for the purpose 
 of covering the siege, they prepared to occupy the 
 strong camp of Lessines on the Dcndcr. Here, 
 however, the allies anticipated them : for breaking 
 up from Asch, though the distance which they had 
 to march was twice that of the enemy, they arrived 
 at Lessines before them, threw bridges over the 
 Dender, and effectually interposed between them and 
 their own frontiers. 
 
 The French now retreated towards the Scheldt ; 
 and Eugene having returned, both generals resolved 
 to bring the enemy to an instant engagement, if 
 possible. When the enemy saw the rapidity of their 
 next march, five leagues, through a close country, 
 having io make their way, and pass over a great 
 river, all in seventy-four hours, they were con- 
 founded ; having expected, that Marlborough would 
 have contented himself with merely covering the 
 great towns in his rear. Disappointed and dis- 
 concerted, and therefore discouraged, the French 
 moved from the investment of Oudenard towards 
 Grove, with a view to shelter themselves behind the 
 Scheldt. We cannot enter into the separate move- 
 ments'of the respective armies. It is proper, however, 
 to record a circumstance, which proved greatly 
 injurious to the enemy, before the battle began. 
 There had been, for some time, a misunderstanding 
 between the Dukes of Burgundy and Vendome ; and 
 the hour of danger, instead of reconciling them, 
 exasperated them the more. They differed greatly 
 in opinion, and were both at a loss, what measures 
 ought to be resolved upon, and what dispositions to 
 make. This irresolution lasted till three o'clock on 
 the day of battle ; when most of the young com- 
 manders, having more fire than prudence, and who,
 
 218 LIFE OP 
 
 to make their court to the Duke of Burgundy, 
 thwarted every thing that was proposed by the Duke 
 de Vendome, declared loudly for an engagement, 
 which, in a great measure, determined the Duke of 
 Burgundy ; and Yendome was in consequence com- 
 pelled to submit. Their dispute lasted to the very 
 moment of action. 
 
 In this battle (that of Oudenard) scarcely any 
 artillery was used on either side : it was by musketry 
 alone the battle was fought and decided. The enemy 
 showed great courage and conduct at the beginning 
 and in the heat of battle ; but a retreat having been 
 sounded, they took to flight in great disorder ; and, 
 had not night come on, the destruction would have 
 been as great as the rout. " Had we been so happy," 
 said Marlborough, " as to have had but two more 
 hours of daylight, I believe we should have put an 
 end to the war." 
 
 Prince Eugene rendered great assistance in this 
 battle ; he having been complimented by the duke 
 with the command of the right. The electoral 
 Prince of Hanover (afterwards George II.) dis- 
 tinguished himself; and Overkirk, also, obtained 
 great laurels ; but he was so unfortunate as to fall 
 in the action. The Duke de Berry and the Chevalier 
 St. George beheld the battle from the steeple of an 
 adjacent village. The night was passed by the 
 enemy in flight. The word had been no sooner 
 given, as we have already stated, than generals and 
 privates, horse and foot, hurried in the greatest 
 disorder to Ghent ; Vendome being able to persuade 
 only 25 squadrons and some battalions to remain 
 united ; and with these he covered the flight of the 
 crowd in person. The fugitives were assisted by a 
 mistake on the part of the confederates. " In this
 
 JOIIX, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 219 
 
 crisis," says Mr. Coxe, " darkness enveloped the 
 contending hosts, and the positions were discernible 
 only by the flashes of musketry, which rolled round 
 the narrowing circle of the devoted army, till the 
 right of Eugene and the left of the Prince of Orange 
 approached the same point." In this position, the 
 allies mistook each other for enemies, and the 
 conflict " might have produced the most deplorable 
 effects amidst the victorious ranks, had not the 
 generals exerted themselves with unusual activity to 
 put a timely stop to the fire." To prevent farther 
 mischief, the troops were ordered to halt as they 
 stood ; and numbers of the enemy escaped in con- 
 sequence. 
 
 The allied army having passed the night under 
 arms, a most distressing sight appeared in the 
 morning : " among several thousand corpses," we 
 are told, " lay a prodigious number of wounded of 
 different nations, enveloped in carnage and sur- 
 rounded with the wreck of war. By the duke's 
 orders, the utmost exertion w r as instantly made to 
 collect the survivors, and to bestow on all, without 
 remission, the care and relief which circumstances 
 would permit. The agonies of suffering nature were 
 thus soothed, and many were snatched from a linger- 
 ing and painful death, to acknowledge the beneficence 
 and bless the name of their conqueror." Most of 
 the French wounded were carried to Oudenard, and 
 attended with the same care as those of the allies. 
 
 There have been several accounts published in 
 respect to the losses in this battle ; but it ap- 
 pears that the truest is, that the enemy lost in 
 killed and wounded 6,000, and 8,000 prisoners; 
 and that the loss of the allies was computed at 
 3,500. The allies took, also, one hundred stand-
 
 220 LIFE OF 
 
 ards and colours. None of the English horse, how- 
 ever, were engaged in the battle : and only 6 pieces 
 of artillery. 
 
 This battle was fought on the 1 1th of July, 1708. 
 That it was fought with great valour and skill is 
 certain ; but that it was also fought with no small 
 hazard at the outset may, we think, be seen from 
 what Marlborough says in his letter to Lord Godol- 
 phin : 
 
 "I must ever acknowledge the goodness of God, in the 
 success he has pleased to give us ; for I believe Lord Stair 
 will tell you, they were in as strong a post as is possible 
 to be found ; but you know when I left England, I was 
 positively resolved to endeavour by all means to get a 
 battle, thinking nothing else would make the queen's busi- 
 ness go on well. This reason only made me venture the 
 battle yesterday ; otherwise I did give them too much 
 advantage; but the good of the queen and my country 
 shall always be preferred by me, before any personal con- 
 cern ; for I am very sensible if I had miscarried, I should 
 have been blamed. I hope I have given such a blow to 
 their foot, that they will not be able to fight any more this 
 year." 
 
 The victorious chiefs allowed the enemy little time 
 for rest. The lines, which the French had constructed 
 from Ypres to Warneton for the purpose of cover- 
 ing the country between the Scheldt and the Lys, 
 were forced before Berwick could arrive to defend 
 them. He was hastening, with all speed, for that 
 purpose ; and a delay of six hours only might have 
 caused the allies to be too late. In the mean time 
 Eugene went to Brussels for the purpose of forward- 
 ing the march of his army, which had already reached 
 its vicinity. On the part of the enemy, Yendome 
 declared his resolution to defend Ghent to the last 
 extremity; even to the sacrifice of a strong garrison;
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 221 
 
 and the Duke of Berwick arrived at Lille with a 
 reinforcement to defend that citadel. Marlborough, 
 however, felt disposed to believe, that the French 
 would, of themselves, venture no more during the 
 remainder of the campaign. The chief thing the 
 Duke feared was, for it was only 'by Ghent that 
 he could get cannon by water, that the enemy 
 would venture all -for the preservation of that town. 
 The manner in which the victory of Oudenard 
 was received in England, may be gathered from a 
 letter to the Duke from Mr. Craggs : 
 
 "Mv LORD, As your glorious conduct must have al- 
 tered the face of affairs in Paris, so it has disconcerted a 
 world of knavish politics and designs here; and I am sure 
 that every body that told your grace the truth, must allow 
 there never was a more stirring one; which nothing under 
 Heaven but your own great genius could have quelled. 
 A very great peer was heard to say, that as this battle 
 might be the occasion of reducing Prance, so it would give 
 you such a power at home as might be very troublesome; 
 or words to this effect. But I hope in God, as your valour 
 has restored the crown to a power of giving protection and 
 doing justice to its subjects, that power will be maintained 
 where it ought, in the queen and her ministers; for such 
 deliverances from tyranny abroad, and anarchy at home, 
 are not to be hoped for every day. There has been no 
 mail from Holland since my Lord Stair's arrival, and the 
 accounts were so ill related for two or three days, that the 
 fine schemers and their allies, the disaffected, began to 
 find ten thousand reasons against a total defeat, or having 
 any great consequence from it. But by my Lord Stair's 
 journal, and three mails which came from Ostend to-day, 
 these wise well-meaning persons have again changed their 
 notes, and begin to cry Hosanna with the foremost. My 
 lord, I do not speak this as my own observation only, but 
 by the instigation of some very great and faithful friends 
 of your grace's, that when the differences shall be accom- 
 modated, which they will now very easily be, those who
 
 222 LIFE OF 
 
 have taken unreasonable opportunities to find unnecessary 
 faults, may not carry it off with an air of having been the 
 only and best well-wishers to the public good. For my 
 own part, I have a full and perfect joy, that God Almighty 
 has given these great blessings to us, by the means of 
 your grace's unexampled conduct and valour, which, in 
 defiance of all envy, hatred, and malice, which the devil 
 can invent, or villanous man design, must be a pillar of 
 glory to you and your memory, as long as annals and tra- 
 dition do last ; which brings me to beg leave to subscribe 
 myself, &c." 
 
 Godolphin sought to remove the impression which 
 this letter was likely to make on Marlborough's 
 mind: "I hope you will not, upon second thoughts, 
 be so much disheartened by the idle notions and ex- 
 pectations of impossibilities, which you may hear of 
 from hence. Something of this arises from malice 
 and envy, and from a desire to raise expectations, 
 which they think cannot be made good, and when 
 the Tories talk at this rate, these are the true reasons 
 of it. But you will consider besides, that it is the 
 temper of our nation, confirmed by daily experience, 
 that we are at the top of the house in prosperity ; 
 and in misfortune, indeed upon the least alarm, we 
 are ready to sink into the earth." 
 
 A day of thanksgiving was appointed ; and the 
 queen went again to St. Paul's to return thanks. 
 The Bishop of St. Asaph, afterwards Bishop of Ely, 
 preached the sermon : from which we extract the 
 following passage : " That our forces were led by a 
 commander, whom they loved to follow, and hazarded 
 every thing to preserve a life, with which each soldier 
 of the army thinks his own fast bound; by a princely 
 captain, whom both in giving orders, and in heat of 
 battle, they might not unhappily mistake for their 
 own, so that they seemed to have their general
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGII. 223 
 
 always in sight, because he was commonly in every 
 place of danger ; by a most valiant., wise, and fortu- 
 nate commander, crowned with fresh laurels every 
 other year, because it seems they wither faster in our 
 unkindly climate than elsewhere." 
 
 Soon after the battle, Maryborough received a letter 
 from Lord Harvey, in which he quotes the following 
 lines : 
 
 " Success so rlosc upon thy troops does wait, 
 As if tliou first hadst conquered fickle fate ; 
 Since fortune, for thy righteous cause and thee, 
 Seems to have forgot her loved inconstancy." 
 
 " No envy or faction," wrote Mr. Maynwaring to 
 her grace, " can reach a man that has gained three 
 such battles ; of which our soldiers here say, the last 
 is the most extraordinary, because the enemy were 
 attacked in their march, which shows the abilities of 
 a general, more than forcing a camp." 
 
 The malice of party, however, was very great ;' 
 and at no period of the queen's reign was it more 
 rife than at this period. " By letters from England," 
 says the duke, " I find I am in all ways to be found 
 fault with ; for when I am lucky, I am negligent, 
 and do not make use of the occasion ; and if I should 
 ever prove unfortunate, no doubt I should run the 
 risk of being a fool or a traitor." He was even 
 accused of not doing justice to the merits of Eugene. 
 The only answer he ever made to this accusation 
 was, " I dare say Prince Eugene and myself shall 
 never differ about our share of laurels." 
 
 In the midst of cares and anxieties, ever attending on 
 the command of armies, Marlborough was injudicious 
 enough to let domestic politics annoy him. Instead 
 of attending entirely to military duties, he permitted 
 his mind to be more than half engaged by interests
 
 224 LIFE 'OF 
 
 at home. The conduct of the ministry, and their 
 success or non-success with the queen, shared his 
 attention with Vendome and the Duke of Burgundy. 
 Affairs at home frequently threw him even into abso- 
 lute misery. In this he was, however, sometimes jus- 
 tified, for the country suffered. " I am very sorry," 
 he said in a letter to the duchess, "to see by yours, 
 that the queen is fonder of Mrs. Masham than ever ; I 
 am sure, that as long as this is, there can be no hap- 
 piness ; I mean quietness." " I am very sensible of 
 the very unreasonable opinioniatery of the queen ; 
 however, knowing the faults of those which were 
 before her; and what, I fear, will be in those that 
 are to follow her, I do, from my heart, wish her a 
 long and prosperous reign; so that you must take 
 pains ; for the happiness of England depends upon 
 her doing what is right and just. Besides my love 
 for my country, I own to you I have a tenderness for 
 the queen ; being persuaded that it is the fault of 
 those whom she loves, and not her own, when she 
 does what is wrong. God has been pleased to make 
 me the instrument of doing her again some service : 
 I wish she may make a right use of it." 
 
 In a letter to the queen, he makes use of the follow- 
 ing remarkable expressions : 
 
 "As I have formerly told your majesty, that I am de- 
 sirous to serve you in the army, but not as a minister ; I 
 am, every day, more and more confirmed in that opinion ; 
 and I think myself obliged, from all accounts, on this 
 occasion to speak my mind freely to you. The circum- 
 stances in this last battle, I think, show the hand of God; 
 for we were obliged not only to march five leagues that 
 morning, but to pass a river before the enemy, and to 
 engage them before the whole army was passed, which 
 was a visible mark of the favour of Heaven to you and 
 your army. i r our majesty shall be convinced from this
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 225 
 
 time, that I have no ambition, or any thing to ask for 
 myself or family ; but I will end the few years I have to 
 live, in endeavouring to serve you, and to give God 
 Almighty thanks for his infinite goodness to me. But, 
 as I have taken this resolution to myself, give me leave to 
 say, that I think you are obliged in conscience, and as a 
 good Christian, to forgive, and to have no more resent- 
 ment to any particular person or party ; but to make use 
 of such as will carry on this just war with vigour, which 
 is the only way to preserve our religion and liberties, and 
 the crown on your head ; which, that you may long enjoy 
 and be a blessing to your people, shall be the constant 
 wish and prayer of him, that is with the greatest truth and 
 duty," &c. 
 
 The duchess, however, had so misconducted her- 
 self towards the queen, that a strong dislike had 
 thrust from the queen's heart the strong affection she 
 had, for so many years, entertained for her. When 
 the news of this last battle arrived, too, her grace 
 acted in a manner, it is impossible to extenuate. She 
 wrote to the queen informing her majesty of the 
 victory, and then made a commentary upon it, in 
 which she was so injudicious, as well as ungrateful, 
 as to reflect upon the queen, hinting, or rather stat- 
 ing in broad terms, that her majesty had been far 
 from sufficiently grateful to the person, who had been 
 the instrument of so many successes. The queen 
 answered this in as strong terms, as the duchess her- 
 self had used ; and then wrote to the duke, to desire 
 him to explain what was meant by the words " If 
 I would please to make use of it." This letter Marl- 
 borough answered thus : 
 
 " Your majesty might see by the shortness of the letter 
 
 that was shown you, that I was in great haste when I writ 
 
 it, and my fullness of heart for your service made me use 
 
 that expression. What I then meant, as I must always 
 
 Q
 
 226 LIFE OP 
 
 think, is, that you can make no good use of this victory, 
 nor, of any other blessing but by following the' advice of 
 my Lord Treasurer, who has been so long faithful to you ; 
 for any other advisers do but lead you into a labyrinth, to 
 play their own game at your expense. Nothing but your 
 commands should have obliged me to say so much, having 
 taken my resolution to suffer with you, but not to advise, 
 being sensible that if there was not something very extra- 
 ordinary, your majesty would follow the advice of those 
 that have served you so long faithfully and with success." 
 
 The queen at this time, however, was not to be 
 altered ; and her conduct to the Whigs inflamed 
 them to such a height, that they determined on in- 
 viting the electoral prince to come over and reside in 
 England. To avoid this, the queen resorted to Marl- 
 borough, enjoining him to save her from so great a 
 mortification. 
 
 " I cannot end this, 1 ' said her majesty, " without giving 
 you an account, in short, of a visit I had from Lord 
 Haversham. He told me his business was, to let me know 
 there was certainly a design laying between the Whigs 
 and some great men, to have an address made in the next 
 session of parliament, for inviting the electoral prince over 
 to settle here ; and that he would certainly come to make 
 a visit, as soon as the campaign was over. And that there 
 was nothing for me to do, to prevent my being forced to do 
 this (as I certainly would), but by showing myself to be 
 queen, and making it my own act. I told him, if this 
 matter should be brought into Parliament, whoever pro- 
 posed it, whether Whig or Tory, I should look upon 
 neither of them as friends, nor would ever make any invi- 
 tations, neither to the young man, nor his father, nor his 
 grandmother. What I have to say upon this subject, at 
 this time, is, to beg you would find whether there is any 
 design where you are, that the young man should make a 
 visit in the winter ; and contrive some way to put any 
 such thought out of his head, that the difficulty may not 
 be brought upon me, of refusing him leave to come, if he
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 227 
 
 should attempt it ; for one of these two things I must do, 
 if either he or his father should have any desire to have 
 him see this country, it being a thing I cannot bear, to 
 have any successor here, though but for a week. And 
 therefore I shall depend upon you to do every thing on the 
 other side of the water, to prevent this mortification from 
 coming upon her, that is, and ever will be, most sincerely, 
 &c. &c." 
 
 On the receipt of this appeal, Maryborough refused 
 to countenance the plan, proposed by the Whigs. 
 " You may depend upon my joining with them," 
 said he in a letter to the duchess, " in opposition to 
 the Tories in all things ; but as to the invitation, or 
 what else may be personal to the queen, in regard to 
 myself, as well as concern for her, I must never do 
 any thing, that looks like flying in her face." Thus 
 determined, he thought he could in no way prove his 
 sincerity to the Whigs, and combat the obstinacy of 
 the queen, so well as by offering to resign. 
 
 " I am doing my best," he wrote to the duchess, " to 
 serve England and the queen, and, with all my heart and 
 soul, I pray for God's protection and blessing ; but I am 
 so tired of what I hear, and what I think must happen 
 England, that I am every day confirmed, that I should be 
 wanting in myself, and ungrateful to God Almighty, if I 
 did not take the first occasion that can be practicable, to 
 retire from business. And as I have for several years 
 served my queen and country with all my heart, so I 
 should be glad to have some time to recollect and be grate- 
 ful for the many mercies I have received from the hand 
 of God. I would not live like a monk, but I can't with 
 patience think of continuing much longer in business, 
 having it not in my power to persuade that to be done, 
 which I think right. I foresee the difficulty of retiring 
 during the war, which is my greatest trouble at this time ; 
 but even that difficulty must be overcome, if I must be in 
 some manner answerable for the notions of the queen,
 
 228 LIFE OP 
 
 who is in no ways governed by any thing I can say or 
 do. God knows who it is, that influences; but as I love 
 her and my country, I dread the consequences." 
 
 The queen assured the duke, that his offer of 
 resigning, as well as that of Godolphin, was by no 
 means agreeable to her. With many other expres- 
 sions, well worthy of note, her majesty said : 
 
 " You may flatter yourselves that people will ap- 
 prove of your quitting ; but if you persist in these cruel 
 and unjust resolutions, believe me, where one will say you 
 are in the right, hundreds will blame you. Lord Trea- 
 surer has gone to make a visit to 42, where the town says 
 he will meet with four or five gentlemen, who, I can never 
 be satisfied, mean well to my service, till they behave better 
 than they did in the last parliament, and have done ever 
 since the rising of it ; for from that minute they have been 
 disputing my authority, and are certainly designing, when 
 the new one meets, to tear that little prerogative the crown 
 has to pieces. And now because my servants and I set 
 up one, they formerly liked, to be speaker, they are against 
 him, for no reason, I suppose, but because they will have 
 none in any employment, that does not entirely depend on 
 them. Now, how is it possible, when one knows and sees 
 all these things, as plainly as the sun at noon-day, ever to 
 take these into my bosom ? For God's sake, do but make 
 it your own case, and consider then what you would do, 
 and why a handful of men must awe their fellow subjects. 
 There is nobody more desirous than I to encourage those 
 Whig friends that behave themselves well ; but I do not 
 care to have any thing to do with those friends that have 
 shown themselves to be of so tyrannising a temper ; and 
 not to run on farther on those subjects. To be short, I 
 think things are to come to, whether 1 shall submit to the 
 five tyrannising lords, or they to me. This is my poor 
 opinion on the disputes at present, which could not be, 
 if people would weigh and state the case just as it is, with- 
 out partiality on one side or the other, which I beg for the 
 friendship you have ever professed for me, you would do ;
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 229 
 
 and let me know your thoughts of what may be the best 
 expedient, to keep me from being thrown into the hands 
 of the five lords*.'' 
 
 The duke wrote a very calm, yet energetic reply ; 
 in which he said, that his desire of retiring arose 
 almost solely from his perceiving that he could no 
 longer be of any service to her Majesty: for that 
 she had proved to every one, that she no longer put 
 trust and confidence in him ; nor had any longer a 
 reliance on his opinion and judgment ; and that to 
 continue in her council to advise, without credit 
 enough to prevail upon her to follow good advice, 
 would only expose him and his reputation in the 
 world, by making him answerable for the follies of 
 other persons. 
 
 Before this answer was able to reach the queen, 
 her majesty and the duchess had come to an open 
 quarrel. The circumstances were these. The duchess, 
 as mistress of the robes, had arranged the jewels to 
 be worn by the queen, at the solemn Te Deum y 
 celebrated on account of the victory of Oudenard. 
 The queen did not approve the arrangement of them ; 
 and this the duchess ascribed to the ill offices of Mrs. 
 Masham. As they went to St. Paul's, too, the 
 Duchess made use of some expressions, to which the 
 queen replied in a tone, which induced the duchess 
 to request, that her majesty would terminate the 
 conversation, lest some one should overhear her. 
 When they returned, she wrote to the queen, and 
 her majesty sent a cool and dignified, yet sarcastic 
 reply, on which the duchess wrote again : saying 
 " Though I have always writ to you as a subject, 
 and lived with you as such, for so many years, with 
 
 * The punctuation of the queen and the duke has been invariably 
 observed. The spelling of the duke, however, has been improved.
 
 230 LIFE OF 
 
 all the truth and honesty and zeal for your service 
 that was possible, yet I shall never forget that I am 
 your subject, nor cease to be a faithful one." 
 
 Not long after this, the duchess had an interview 
 with the queen ; and this interview is truly stated 
 to have set the seal to her indiscretion. Both 
 parties were loud and violent ; both shed tears ; and 
 the interview closed with the duchess's dismission, 
 " with every proof of contempt and indignation," as 
 her grace afterwards confessed in a letter to the duke. 
 
 We must now return to the Continent. Lille had 
 become a place of great importance to both parties : 
 and Maryborough, in consequence, formed the plan 
 of masking that town, and penetrating through the 
 northern frontiers, into the heart of France. The 
 country was open to him. But even Eugene thought 
 the design too bold. He esteemed it even imprac- 
 ticable, until Lille could be obtained for a place of 
 arms and magazine. Both were convinced, that they 
 could not commence a peace this year ; and that it 
 could not be hoped for till the next. " The alarm is, 
 nevertheless," said the duke, " very great in France; 
 so that we should bring them to reasonable terms, if 
 Holland would let us act as we ought to do." 
 
 The Dutch deputies, however, though averse to 
 the idea of penetrating into France, were unanimous, 
 in common with Maryborough and Eugene, that 
 Lille ought to be besieged. The fortifications were 
 exceedingly strong; and Vauban, under whose super- 
 intendence they had been constructed, had drawn up 
 a project for their defence. It was the key of the 
 country, watered by the Lys and the Scheldt, with 
 which river it was connected by canals ; and its com- 
 mand was entrusted to Marshal Boufflers, governor of 
 Flanders, and a general particularly skilful in defence.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 231 
 
 Added to all this, it was situated in a swampy 
 plain, watered by several streams, and defended by 
 15,000 men. Nor were all these the only circum- 
 stances, that rendered the siege difficult. The season 
 was far advanced, and the hostile army was not only 
 superior to that which was to cover the siege, but 
 it commanded all the water communications with 
 the nearest part of Holland. 
 
 To engage this fortress there were assembled at 
 Brussels 94 pieces of cannon, 60 mortars, and above 
 3000 waggons of ammunition ; the draught-horses 
 required for which were estimated at 16,000. The 
 convoy occupied a line of 15 miles, and had to 
 traverse not less than 25 leagues. The object of the 
 confederates was to secure its march : that of the 
 enemy to obstruct it. So perfect, however, were 
 the skill and vigilance of the allied generals, that the 
 inarch was effected without so much as losing a 
 single carriage, and without affording the enemy an 
 opportunity of making an attempt upon it, though 
 their army consisted of 100,000 men. " This fact," 
 observes Feuguieres, " will scarcely be believed by 
 posterity." 
 
 The fame of this siege excited universal attention, 
 and drew to the spot many celebrated persons ; 
 amongst whom were the dethroned king of Poland, 
 and his natural son, afterwards so celebrated as 
 Marshal Saxe, then only 12 years of age, and who 
 had secretly departed on foot from Dresden, and 
 reached the army unhurt. Munich and Scheverin 
 were there ; and, also, the young Prince of Hanover, 
 afterwards George the Second. 
 
 Want of space prevents our entering into the 
 particulars of this siege ; for we have many other 
 important matters to relate. We can only note
 
 232 LIFE OP 
 
 results, as it were. The first investment of the town 
 was made by Prince Eugene. The Dukes of Bur- 
 gundy and Vendome, leaving a flying camp of 
 20,000 to protect Ghent and Bruges, crossed the 
 Scheldt, and formed a junction with Berwick. Their 
 united forces exceeded 110,000 men, and some of 
 the allied generals were greatly in hopes, that, in the 
 confidence of strength, they would make their boast- 
 ing good. Marlborough, however, feared they would 
 not. He even thought it probable, that the town 
 and citadel might cost double the time that was 
 expected in England and Holland. Vendome would 
 have engaged ; but to this Berwick objected ; and 
 upon reconnoitring the allies, for the last time, 
 Vendome perceived, that it was too hazardous; and 
 Berwick admitted afterwards, that, had Marlborough 
 not been restrained by the Dutch deputies from be- 
 coming assailant at that hour, the French army 
 must have received not only a check, but a fatal 
 and inevitable overthrow. " If the French," wrote 
 the duke to the Prince of Denmark, " had complied 
 with their threats, I might now have given your 
 royal highness an account of the success of a battle. 
 We drew up the army twice before them, and gave 
 them fair opportunities of coming to us." 
 
 The siege proceeded with a slowness, that ill 
 accorded with the impatience 1 of Marlborough. He 
 even complained not only of misconduct in " the 
 engineers, but of treachery : and thought that till 
 the fate of Lille was determined, it would be im- 
 possible to bring the enemy to any thing like a 
 general engagement. At length an attack was made 
 upon several counterscarps. Prince Eugene placed 
 himself in an advanced battery to animate the troops 
 by his presence. The signal being given, they
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 233 
 
 rushed to the attack. The onset was terrible, and 
 the struggle sanguinary. It terminated, however, 
 in a victory; but the victory was not gained with- 
 out great loss, and Eugene himself was so severely 
 wounded, that, the next day, Marlborough was 
 compelled to superintend the siege in person ; \\dien 
 he discovered, to his surprise, what had been un- 
 known to Eugene, that there did not remain pow- 
 der and ball for more than four days ! Alarmed at 
 this, the Dutch deputies importuned the duke to 
 abandon the siege. Supplies, however, were obtained 
 from Ostend by the excellent management of Generals 
 Webb and Cadogan ; and just when the French had 
 succeeded in capturing a considerable magazine at 
 Nieuport, Lille, after 60 days' siege, surrendered : 
 Prince Eugene, who had returned to the command, 
 treating the garrison with all the generosity their 
 brave defence so justly merited. 
 
 Though the city was taken, the citadel still re- 
 mained ; and the enemy formed a plan for relieving 
 it, or making themselves master of Brussels. For 
 this purpose the Elector of Bavaria was recalled from 
 the Rhine, and appeared before the walls of that 
 town ; and all the French considered it impossible 
 that the allies could come to its defence, in conse- 
 quence of the French main army being interposed in 
 their strong-hold behind the Scheldt, which they 
 had been three months in fortifying. Marlborough 
 and Eugene, however, forced the passage of the 
 Scheldt, and defeated the enemy's design by a series 
 of movements, which are said to be some of the most 
 masterly in military history. 
 
 Having accomplished this in conjunction with 
 Marlborough, Prince Eugene returned to Lille to 
 prosecute the siege of the citadel. Marlborough, in
 
 234 LIFE OF 
 
 the meantime, proceeded to Brussels, to take mea- 
 sures for continuing the supplies to the army at Lille ; 
 and while there, he took great pleasure in testifying 
 his satisfaction to the governor and the garrison for 
 the brave defence they had made of the city, during 
 the time the French were before it ; and about this 
 time he wrote to Godolphin, in which he says, "some 
 people may be angry; but Prince Eugene and myself 
 shall have the inward satisfaction of knowing, that 
 we have struggled with more difficulties, and have 
 been blessed with more success, than ever was known 
 before in one campaign." 
 
 While Marlborough was anxiously expecting the 
 surrender of the citadel, his mind was active in form- 
 ing plans for the recovery of Bruges and Ghent. 
 " I am now struggling with my own health and the 
 season," wrote his grace to the duchess, " that if it 
 be possible to finish the campaign with the taking of 
 Ghent and Bruges, which, if God blesses us with 
 success, I think we may, without vanity, say, that 
 France will, with terror, remember this campaign for 
 a long time ; there never having been any, in which 
 there has been such a variety of actions." At length 
 the besieged beat a parley; the garrison were per- 
 mitted to capitulate ; and, on the 9th of December, 
 marched out with all the honours of war. 
 
 Thus ended this remarkable siege, which has been 
 considered by most military persons as one of the 
 longest and most sanguinary in modern warfare. In 
 respect to Boufflers, the comman9er, both Marl- 
 borough and Eugene paid him all the respect due to 
 one who had defended the place in a manner not 
 only to ensure the gratitude of his sovereign, but the 
 respect and admiration of those who conquered him. 
 The siege, unfortunately, however, had not been
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 235 
 
 carried on without a great sacrifice of lives : the gar- 
 rison having lost 8,000 men : the conquerors, in 
 killed, wounded, and sick, 14,000 ! 
 
 The season had become late ; viz. December ; and 
 the French king naturally thought, that the allies 
 would be satisfied with what had been done, and 
 would now retire into winter quarters. He gave 
 orders, therefore, to his generals, to strengthen the 
 garrisons at Ghent and Bruges, and then go into 
 winter quarters themselves. Marlborough, however, 
 scarcely stopped a day; he invested Ghent; and that 
 town was not long before its garrison surrendered ; . 
 although it was so strong, that when the troops 
 marched out, and Marlborough saw their numbers 
 and condition, he could not refrain from expressing 
 his surprise, that a place of such consequence should 
 be surrendered at such a season, favourable to the 
 besieged but unfavourable to the besiegers, and 
 with so little loss. Learning the fall of Ghent, 
 the enemy abandoned Bruges ; and thus terminated 
 this extraordinary campaign; the enemy having lost 
 at the end of it all that they had gained in the be- 
 ginning and during the course of it. 
 
 Marlborough and Eugene now arranged their 
 plans for winter quarters ; and having done so, both 
 proceeded through Brussels to the Hague ; leaving 
 the command to Count Tilly. " I must go," said his 
 grace in a letter to Godolphin, "with Prince Eugene, 
 for some days, to the Hague : after which, I shall 
 take a little care of my health." " I desire," he 
 continues, " you will give my humble duty to her 
 majesty, and assure her, that I do, with all my heart, 
 pray, that the Almighty God may bless her arms,, 
 the next campaign, as visibly as he has been pleased 
 to do in this."
 
 236 LIFE OP 
 
 The campaign being closed, we may now refer to 
 an offer, which, in the midst of it, Marlborough had 
 received from King Charles of Spain : viz. to nominate 
 him governor of the Netherlands for life. The king's 
 letter being of a striking character, we think proper 
 to transcribe it. It is dated Barcelona, August 1 : 
 
 "MY LORD DUKE AND PRINCE, If your letter of June 
 26th, delivered to me by General Stanhope, had not been 
 very agreeable to me, you may believe, my lord, that I 
 was transported with one, which I have received from 
 the Duke of Savoy, announcing to me the recent victory at 
 Oudenard. I want expressions to testify the share I take 
 in this new glory, which is added to your skill, merit, and 
 courage. Since all your great actions in this war have 
 had no other object than the recovery of my monarchy, 
 you may judge of my heartfelt gratitude to you, for the 
 beneficial effects to my cause, which must result from this 
 glorious victory, not less perhaps than the reduction of my 
 whole monarchy, if you will continue the same vigour in 
 the prosecution of the war one year more. Thus, my 
 lord, it seems that to the hand, which has secured the 
 liberty of Germany and the Netherlands, Spain will also 
 owe hers. With this confidence, you will find me, my 
 prince, always willing to renew the patent for the govern- 
 ment of my Low Countries, which I sent you two years 
 ago, and to extend it for your life. You may depend on 
 the fulfilment of my royal word ; and be assured that I 
 will, in conformity with this promise, expedite the de- 
 spatches, as soon as I am in possession of Madrid. I need 
 not recommend to you the propriety of maintaining this 
 secret, as well from the consideration due to the Elector 
 Palatine, as from u fear of giving umbrage to the States." 
 
 This offer, though extremely flattering and agree- 
 able to him, Marlborough thought proper to decline; 
 his reasons for which may be gathered from the fol- 
 lowing extract from a letter to Godolphin : " This 
 must be known to nobody but the queen; for, should 
 it be known before the peace, it would create incon-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 237 
 
 veniences in Holland, and I beg to assure the queen, 
 that it is not compliment, but real duty, that when 
 the peace happens, if she shall not think it proper 
 for her honour and interest that I accept of this great 
 offer, I will decline it with all the submission ima- 
 ginable." In a letter to the duchess he makes use of 
 an exceedingly strong and affectionate expression : 
 " As to what you say of the offer of King Charles 
 to me, my thought is the same with yours ; that I 
 had rather live a quiet life with your love and kind- 
 ness, than with the most ambitious employment any 
 prince can give." The reader will soon learn how the 
 duke kept to his resolution ; and, above all, how his 
 Spanish majesty kept to his. 
 
 His grace had not been long at the Hague, when 
 he received a visit from Mr. Craggs, w v ho had been 
 appointed by Godolphin arid the Whigs to acquaint 
 him with the state of affairs in England. A party 
 had been formed against the Prince of Denmark, as 
 lord high admiral ; and a resolution was entered 
 into to get rid of his favourite, Marlborough's bro- 
 ther (the admiral) ; and vain it was that the Lord 
 Treasurer endeavoured to stem it. It became indeed 
 at last, evident, that, unless Lord Somers was ad- 
 mitted to office, the prince would be sacrificed. This 
 excited great alarm in the mind of the queen ; and 
 she, therefore, notified to Lord Godolphin an unqua- 
 lified acquiescence in the demands of the Whigs. 
 Before any thing, however, could be effectually done, 
 the Prince died ; having been long sinking under a 
 mortal disorder. Godolphin wrote instantly to 
 Marlborough, urging his immediate return to Eng- 
 land. In the mean time Lord Somers was appointed 
 president of the council; Lord Wharton, lord lieu- 
 tenant of Ireland; and Lord Pembroke, lord high
 
 238 LIFE OP 
 
 admiral. The first of these appointments seems to 
 have been at the instance of the duke : for we find 
 Lord Somers immediately after writing to him in 
 the following terms: 
 
 "I do not pretend to acquaint your grace with the 
 honour the queen has been pleased to do me in admitting 
 me into her service ; but rather to return my humble 
 thanks to you on that account, since I am well assured, 
 without your grace's concurrence, nothing of that sort had 
 been done. I hope your grace will believe, that according 
 to my poor capacity, I will serve her majesty diligently 
 and faithfully, and that I shall always be with the utmost 
 truth and respect, &c." 
 
 The illness of the prince had given the duchess an 
 opportunity of renewing her attention to the queen. 
 She herself has recorded this matter, but as an ex- 
 tract from that account would be too long or too 
 incomplete, we adopt an abstract. On learning the 
 death of the prince, the duchess wrote to the queen 
 in the following manner : 
 
 " Though the last time I had the honour to wait upon 
 your majesty, your usage of me was such as was scarce 
 possible to imagine, or for any body to believe, yet I 
 cannot hear of so great a misfortune and affliction to you 
 as the condition in which the prince is, without coming 
 to pay my duty, in enquiring after your health; and to 
 see, if, in any particular whatsoever, my service can either 
 be agreeable or useful to you, for which satisfaction I 
 would do more than I will trouble your majesty to read 
 at this time." 
 
 A few hours after she had sent this letter, learning 
 that the prince was much worse, the duchess travelled 
 all night, and arrived at Kensington the following 
 morning. She then had an interview with the queen. 
 Her majesty received her " very coolly, and like a 
 stranger." She went again on the next morning,
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MABLBOROUGH 239 
 
 and was present when the prince expired. She led 
 her majesty from the room soon after, and knelt 
 down and continued some time in that posture, 
 attempting to soothe the queen's grief. Her majesty 
 then gave the duchess a watch, and desired her to 
 send Mrs. Masham, and to return herself, when the 
 hand had reached a particular point. This her grace 
 did not comply with, being shocked at the preference ; 
 but she ordered her own carriage for her majesty's 
 use, and at the appointed time returned, saying that 
 the queen could send for Mrs. Masham, when she 
 
 fot to the palace. As they passed from the closet, 
 owever, the favourite appeared. The queen gave 
 her a look of affection and passed on to the carriage, 
 when the duchess attended her majesty to St. James's. 
 Nothing was gained by this attendance on the part 
 of the duchess ; except, as her grace confesses, in the 
 account she left of this matter, the mortification 
 of seeing the decline of her own influence, and the 
 superior favour of the rival she despised. 
 
 While at the Hague, Marlborough induced the 
 Dutch government to consent to an augmentation of 
 force, and he obtained from the emperor a promise 
 that his troops should winter in the Netherlands ; 
 and that succour should be sent from Naples to 
 Spain : but he was unable to conciliate the Duke of 
 Savoy, or to reconcile him with the court of Vienna. 
 He made satisfactory arrangements, however, with 
 the King of Prussia, through the medium of General 
 Grumbkow, for the continuance and augmentation 
 of his troops for the next campaign ; and he would 
 have immediately embarked for England, but, 
 learning that the King of France had recently 
 opened negotiations for peace with the Dutch, he 
 thought it not only proper but indispensable that ho
 
 240 LIFE OF 
 
 should remain at the Hague to watch the conduct 
 of it. 
 
 While there, the following anecdote is recorded of 
 him : "Riding out one day with Commissary Maniot, 
 it began to rain, and the duke called for his cloak ; 
 Maniot having had his put on by his servant in an 
 instant. The duke's attendant not bringing the cloak, 
 he called again ; but the man still continued puzzling 
 about the straps and buckles. At last the rain 
 increased very much, and the duke repeated his call, 
 adding, what was he about, that he did not bring 
 the cloak ? ' You must stay,' grumbled the man, 
 ' if it rains cats and dogs, till I can get at it.' The 
 Duke only turned to Maniot, and said, smiling ' I 
 would not be'of that man's temper for all the world.' " 
 This is an anecdote that Plutarch would have been 
 happy to have had the opportunity of recording of 
 any hero of ancient times. " Small touches are, 
 sometimes, deep strokes." 
 
 On the meeting of Parliament, a vote of thanks 
 were voted to Maryborough by the two houses, not 
 only for his great and eminent services in the last 
 " successful campaign," but for his " indefatigable 
 zeal and perseverance in the common cause." This 
 vote being transmitted to the duke, while at Brussels, 
 lie immediately answered it in the following terms : 
 
 "Sir, I am extremely sensible of the great honour 
 which the House of Commons has done me, in the vote 
 you have been pleased to transmit me by their order; 
 nothing can 'give me more satisfaction than to find the 
 services I have endeavoured to do the queen and my 
 country, are so acceptable to the House of Commons. And 
 I beg the favour of you to assure them, I shall never think 
 any pains or perseverance too great, if 1 may, by God's 
 blessing, be instrumental in producing a safe and honour- 
 able peace for her majesty and my fellow-subjects."
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 241 
 
 Notwithstanding the two houses had voted thanks 
 to the duke, a plan was formed to censure the 
 ministry for their conduct during the late invasion. 
 This attempt, however, was too absurd to be suc- 
 cessful. The queen's dislike to Godolphin, never- 
 theless, now began to exhibit itself in a more evident 
 manner she having turned on him the resentment 
 she fostered against the obnoxious party than it had 
 ever before done ; for the queen showed a strong dis- 
 like to promote any one, recommended either by 
 him or the duke. The whigs made complaints and 
 exhibited their jealousies ; the Lords Halifax and 
 Sunderland became greatly dissatisfied, and the re- 
 sentment of the duchess against the whigs became 
 so strong and violent, that Maryborough felt no small 
 difficulty as to the manner in which he should act. 
 
 At length she gave him good reasons, and he felt 
 no small satisfaction when the duchess signified to him. 
 that her mind had undergone a great and salutary 
 change in regard to them. Somers she described as 
 repulsive ; Halifax as ambitious, petulant, and vain ; 
 and, as to Sunderland, " she could find no terms 
 sufficiently strong to express her abhorrence." The 
 terms, she had before used in respect to the tones, 
 were now thrown upon the whigs; for both became 
 convinced that the heads of the whig party were 
 paying court through the medium of Harley and 
 Mrs. Masham ; and that the queen's intimacy and 
 conversation leaned only on those, who were enemies 
 to all that w T as most useful to the public service. Such 
 also was the opinion of Godolphin. " I don't use to 
 trouble you," said Godolphin, " with complaints of 
 my own circumstances, but so much advantage is 
 taken of your absence, and I suffer so much, that I 
 must give myself the vent of saying, the life of a 
 
 i
 
 24-2 LIFE OF 
 
 slave in the galleys is paradise in comparison of mine. 
 But at first the campaign would not let you come ; 
 afterwards the States would not let you come ; and 
 now God Almighty won't let you come ; so I must 
 yield to fate," 
 
 Such was the state of parties in England. Marl- 
 borough, however, was amply employed where he 
 was. The negociations for peace were going on in a 
 clandestine manner between France and Holland ; 
 the French king having made secret overtures to those 
 chiefs of the republic, who had been all along in- 
 clined to peace ; to ensure whose concurrence he 
 affected a willingness to give up Spain, the Indies, 
 the Milanese, and the Netherlands, for the quiet pos- 
 session, for his grandson, of the Two Sicilies. At the 
 very moment Louis was. offering all this, he was 
 guilty of so great a duplicity as to apply to the 
 emperor, through the medium of the pope, offering 
 to yield to the Archduke Charles, the Spanish terri- 
 tories in Italy, with the Netherlands, provided Philip 
 was permitted to keep Spain and the Indies. 
 
 Soon after Marlborough had become acquainted 
 with what the French king was offering to the 
 emperor, Buys and the burgomaster of Amsterdam 
 confidentially imparted to him what proposals he had 
 made to them. Having done which, they desired 
 Marlborough to remember to what a condition Hol- 
 land was reduced by the burthens of the war, and 
 urged the necessity of a peace. They, at the same 
 time, declared, as they had repeatedly done before, 
 that nothing should be done, without the queen's 
 concurrence. On hearing this, Marlborough re- 
 quested permission to lay the overtures before the 
 queen, through the lord treasurer ; all parties being 
 bound to secrecy. This was granted, and they were
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MAULBOROUGH. 243 
 
 sent over to England ; Marlborotigh, at the same 
 time, giving his opinion to Godolphin, that an 
 honourable peace could be obtained only in one way.; 
 viz., by action in the field. Having signified which, 
 the duke took his departure from the Hague, and, 
 embarking at Ostend, arrived in London on the 1st 
 of March (1709). 
 
 He made his appearance in the House of Lords on 
 the next day ; when the chancellor addressed him 
 with thanks from the peers ; closing a highly com- 
 plimentary address with these words ; " I shall not 
 be thought to exceed my present commission, if, by 
 being thus led to contemplate the mighty things 
 your grace has done for us, I cannot but conclude 
 with acknowledging, with all gratitude, the provi- 
 dence of God in raising you up to be an instrument 
 of so much good, in so critical a juncture, when it 
 was so much wanted." The duke answered " My 
 Lords, I hope you will do me the justice to believe, 
 there are very few things, that could give me more 
 satisfaction than the favourable approbation of my 
 services by this House ; and I beg leave to assure 
 your lordships, it shall be the constant endeavour of 
 my life to deserve the continuation of your good 
 opinion." 
 
 Marlborough took little part in the proceedings of 
 Parliament, during his stay in England. There was 
 one act, however, that greatly interested many per- 
 sons; even Marlborough and Godolphin themselves. 
 This was an act of grace. It was proposed by Sun- 
 derland ; and placed all those at ease, who had in any 
 way corresponded with the exiled family. 
 
 Notwithstanding the honours he had received from 
 the Lords, as well as from the Commons, Marlborough 
 was chagrined to find that the inliuen^e of Mrs. 
 
 R2
 
 244 LIFE OF 
 
 Masham not only continued, but even increased ; and 
 that the queen became daily more cold towards the 
 treasurer and more inveterate against the whigs. 
 He was, also, greatly mortified to find that the more 
 the favourite's influence increased, the more homage 
 she received from all persons, surrounding the court. 
 He found, also, that the whigs were meditating to 
 extend their influence, by placing Lord Orford at the 
 head of the admiralty. But what added still more 
 to his mortifi cation was, he had, we are told, the 
 melancholy reflection to perceive, that " his victories 
 began to lose their splendour in the eyes of a capri- 
 cious public ; that he was accused more than ever of 
 prolonging the contest from selfish motives ; that the 
 sovereign herself had ceased to take an interest in the 
 triumph of her arms, and that impatience of the public 
 burdens, and even the want of foreign luxuries, out- 
 weighed, in the consideration of many, all regard for 
 national liberty, and the safety of their country." 
 
 In the meantime the negotiations for peace were 
 going on in Holland, and Maryborough was intrusted 
 Avith the conduct of it on behalf of England ; Rouille 
 having been previously dispatched to Holland by the 
 King of France, with powers to offer such terms as 
 he hoped would be acceptable to the allies. 
 
 The proposals, then offered, however, were vague 
 and unsatisfactory, and Rouille, in consequence, re- 
 turned to Paris for further instructions ; and Prince 
 Eugene and Count Singendorff were sent to the 
 Hague. Maryborough, also, went to that place ; 
 having Lord Townsend as joint plenipotentiary. 
 The negotiations were then renewed ; the Marquis de 
 Torcy, secretary of state, having taken the place of 
 M. Rouille. This nobleman, so far from acting with 
 candour towards the assembled negotiators, actually
 
 JOHN, DTJKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 245 
 
 offered Marlborough a bribe ! That is, he offered 
 him, in the name of the King of France, 2,000,000 
 of livres, if he could obtain Naples and Sicily for 
 Philip ; or Naples alone ; or the preservation of Dun- 
 kirk, or of Strasburg; or if all could be obtained 
 together with Landau, he offered to double that sum ; 
 pledging the word and honour of the king for its 
 payment.* 
 
 * The king's instructions to the marquis were in the following 
 terms : " I do not in the least question but you avail yourself of 
 the opportunities you have of seeing the Duke of Marlborough, to 
 let him know that I have been informed of the steps he has taken 
 to hinder the progress of the conferences of peace, and even to 
 break them off entirely; that I have been BO much the more sur- 
 prised thereat, as I had reason to believe, from the assurances 
 he had already given, that he was willing to contribute to this end ; 
 that t should be glad his conduct was such as to deserve the 
 reward I have promised him ; and, in order that you may be able 
 to come to a clearer explication, I am willing you should give him 
 a positive assurance, that I will remit two millions of livres to him, 
 if by his good offices he can obtain one of the following conditions 
 for me: To preserve Naples and Sicily for the king my grandson, 
 or at the utmost extremity to preserve Naples only. I should 
 make him the same gratification were he to preserve Dunkirk 
 under my obedience, with its harbour and fortifications, without 
 even Naples or Sicily; the same for preserving Strasburg only, 
 excepting fort Kehl, which I shall give up to the empire in the 
 state it was when first I conquered it, or, in short, in the state it 
 was in when restored to my obedience; and also without preserving 
 Naples or Sicily. But of all these different expedients, the 
 obtaining of Naples for my grandson is that which I should like the 
 best. I should consent to extend this recompense to three mil- 
 lions, if he obtained Naples for my grandson, and at the same tini 
 I was permitted to keep Dunkirk with its fortifications and har- 
 bour. If I were obliged to relinquish the article of Dunkirk, I 
 should give him the same sum, could he contrive so as to preserve 
 Naples and Strasburg, in the manner as above explained, and Lan- 
 dau with its fortifications, by giving up Brisac; or even could I be 
 allowed to keep Strasburg and Dunkirk, both in their present con- 
 dition. In short, I am willing you should offer the Duke of Marl - 
 borough four millions, should he enable me to keep Naples and
 
 246 LIFE Of 
 
 It must be confessed, that the conduct of Marl- 
 borough, at this juncture, was not sufficiently digni- 
 fied : being merely that of a courtier. He returned 
 no answer to the proposal ; changed the conversation 
 whenever it was resumed ; and by the manner in 
 which he adhered to his instructions, proved to the 
 marquis, that it was as impossible to prevail over him 
 by bribery, as to beat him in the field. It has been 
 contended, however, that an expression of indignation 
 was not called for : that in making the offer, Torcy 
 only obeyed the orders of his sovereign, whose money 
 had formerly been graciously received in England, 
 both by the prince on the throne, and the patriots in 
 opposition; and that the English government had 
 been accustomed, through the agency of Marlborough 
 himself, to employ the same golden arguments with 
 the ministers of the allied powers. " The offer, 
 then," the apologists go on to remark, " was not 
 an insult, as it would be in our days. Torcy acted 
 conformably to the times, when he made it ; and 
 Marlborough conformably to himself, when he re T 
 ceived it with silent disdain, and pursued the busi- 
 ness of the meeting with unalterable temper." 
 
 The preliminaries were at length agreed upon by 
 the allies ; and Holland and England were greatly 
 rejoiced when they understood that it was so : but 
 Torcy having declined signing them, till he had an 
 
 interview with his master, he was fated to met, as 
 
 % 
 
 Sicily for the king my grandson, and to preserve Dunkirk with its 
 fortifications and harbour, and Strasburg and Landau in the manner 
 above explained, or even the same sum, were Sicily to be excepted 
 out of this last article. I must also explain to you, that if the 
 treaty was once signed, with the reservations in favour of the King 
 of Spain, and this prince had forfeited them, for non-acceptance 
 within the limited time, this should make no change in what yon 
 promised the duke of Marlborough.''
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROTJGH. 247 
 
 he was passing on the road to Versailles, a messen- 
 ger from the king, announcing his rejection of the 
 preliminaries. A charge has been brought against 
 Maryborough of his having secretly obstructed the 
 peace for his own personal interests. But the fact 
 is, the treaty broke off because the allies required 
 that the whole Spanish monarchy should be given 
 up by Philip, within two months; and if he refused, 
 that the French kipg should assist the allies in the 
 endeavour to compel him. This resolution, on the 
 part of the allies, if indeed they did actually desire 
 a peace, was exceedingly impolitic ; for it could 
 not be reasonably expected, that the French king- 
 could accede to such terms, Philip being his grand- 
 son ; and the war having been, in no small degree, 
 undertaken expressly in his behalf. Marlborough 
 himself felt the improbability of the king's doing so. 
 Where the proposition came from, except from the 
 counsellors of the Archduke Charles, seems to be a 
 mystery. 
 
 The negotiations were broken up ; and Marl- 
 borough then continued to exhort the ministers, that 
 the surest and indeed the only means of obtaining 
 the terms, which they were resolved to dictate, were 
 to provide a superior force in the Netherlands. " I 
 have as much distrust for the sincerity of France as 
 any body living can have ; but I shall own to you, 
 that, in my opinion, if France had delivered the towns 
 promised by the preliminaries, and demolished Dun- 
 kirk and the other towns mentioned in my instruc- 
 tions, they must have been at our discretion ; so that 
 if they had played tricks, so much the worse for 
 themselves." In fact, by the publication of Marl- 
 borough's correspondence, it has been decisively 
 proved, that he did not direct the negotiations;
 
 248 LIFE OP 
 
 that he was decidedly a friend to peace ; that he 
 differed in many respects from the cabinet ; and that 
 he was guided by instructions received from home, 
 which he did not, and could not, venture to trans- 
 gress. " Had he, indeed," says the best and most 
 judicious of his biographers, Mr. Coxe, " possessed 
 the sole management of affairs in peace and war, he 
 would, doubtless, have framed such conditions as 
 would have been accepted; or would have made 
 such mighty preparations as would have enabled 
 him to dictate his own terms in the heart of France." 
 " In this case," continues Mr. Coxe, " the treaty of 
 Utrecht would not have stained the annals of this 
 deluded and devoted country." 
 
 Marlborough had before this taken all possible 
 pains to get an accession of force in the Netherlands. 
 The failure of the negociations showed the wisdom 
 of this ; and the conduct of the King of France still 
 more: "Hunger," said his majesty, " will compel men 
 to follow the bread- waggons;" and his army amounted 
 now to a number, little inferior to that of the allies. 
 Vendome was removed to Spain to retrieve, against 
 other generals, the reputation he had lost, when 
 opposed to Marlborough : and the command in 
 Flanders was given to Villars. 
 
 At the opening of the campaign Villars occupied 
 a strong position behind the lines of La Bassee ; the 
 armies of Eugene and Marlborough, having assembled 
 on both sides of the Upper Dyle, joined in the vicinity 
 of Seclin. They soon after made use of several 
 stratagems to deceive Villars ; among which the feint 
 of an attack on the French lines ; and then suddenly 
 marched to invest Tournay. Our space is too short, 
 as we have observed in other places, to give a history 
 of the siege. We can only state, that Villars made
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBonotGH. 249 
 
 several ineffectual attempts to relieve it : that after 
 the town had surrendered, the citadel was besieged*; 
 and that after a brave defence the citadel itself 
 was compelled to surrender at discretion. The im- 
 portance of this town and citadel to the allies was 
 very great ; for by their acquisition a province in the 
 French Netherlands was acquired, remarkable for 
 its manufactures and fertility of soil ; and as a 
 military position it was still more important, for it 
 covered Spanish Flanders. 
 
 Three days after the fall of this citadel, part of 
 the allies under the Prince of Hesse, by movements, 
 effected with great skill and extraordinary rapidity, 
 entered the French lines without opposition, and in- 
 terposed between Mons, which it was intended to be- 
 siege, and the army of Villars, who was again baffled 
 by the superior talents and activity of his antagonists. 
 
 These movements led to the battle of Malplaquet; 
 which has been truly styled the bloodiest action of 
 the whole war, and the best fought in which the 
 French were ever defeated. 
 
 This celebrated battle took place on the llth of 
 September. Divine service was performed at three 
 
 * " We have at last signed the capitulation of Tournay," 
 wrote the duke to the duchess, " so that to-morrow night we shall 
 continue the attack on the citadel. The taking of it will cost us 
 more time and men than the town; but what gives me the greatest 
 prospect for the happiness of being with you is, that certainly the 
 njisery of France increases, which must bring us to a peace. The 
 misery of all the poor people we see is such, that one must be a 
 brute not to pity them." A few days before, he had written 
 thus : " I do hope this winter will put an end to this war, and 
 that the peace will last as long as we live ; and I do assure you, I 
 long every day to be more and more with you ; to live as much aa 
 our circumstances will permit, not to affect meddling with public 
 business, by which, I hope, we may be eased of both envy and 
 trouble,"
 
 250 LIFE OF 
 
 in the morning ; silence and order pervading all the 
 ranks. The confederates began to work on their 
 batteries, the moment service was over. They 
 raised one of 28 pieces of cannon on the left ; another 
 of 40 in the centre ; and the rest of the artillery was 
 distributed on the right. A very thick fog, which 
 lasted till half-past seven, had greatly facilitated 
 their work ; and when the morning cleared, both 
 armies found themselves in immediate neighbour- 
 hood. They had a perfect view, one of the other. 
 Villars commanded the French. His troops adored 
 him. They had, therefore, unbounded confidence 
 in him ; and as he rode along the ranks the air rung 
 with " Vive le Roi! Vive le mareschal de Villars!" 
 At seven, he mounted his horse ; giving the com- 
 mand of the right wing to Marshal Boufiflers ; he 
 superintending himself the movements of the left. 
 
 A little after eight the signal for attack began by 
 a discharge, on the part of the confederates, of 50 
 pieces of cannon. The numbers of the two armies 
 were nearly equal ; each having between 90,000 and 
 100,000 men. The battle raged for some time with 
 unexampled bravery. At length the Prince of 
 Orange made a terrible mistake. He could not 
 restrain his impetuosity. He made an attack, 
 therefore, contrary to his instructions, before he 
 could be properly supported, and thereby lost the 
 flower of the Dutch infantry. The allies, never- 
 theless, gained a complete victory. All the troops, 
 we are told, officers and soldiers, showed as great 
 resolution, intrepidity and firmness, as were ever 
 known in these later times, or stand recorded in 
 ancient history. Marlborough and Eugene were 
 often in the very hottest of the fire. Eugene was, 
 at length, struck by a musket-ball behind the ear.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 251 
 
 His attendants instantly persuaded him to retire in 
 order to dress the wound. " No," said the hero, 
 " if I am fated to die here, to what purpose can it 
 be to dress the wound ? If I survive, it will be 
 time enough in the evening." Saying this, he rushed 
 instantly into the hottest of the engagement. Marl- 
 borough performed all the duties of a consummate 
 general ; and the issue was, that the French army 
 left the field in possession of the allies, with 16 of 
 their cannon, 20 colours, 26 standards, and other 
 indisputable marks of victory ; not to mention a 
 great number of prisoners. Some of these were 
 taken in the action, others in the pursuit, and a 
 still greater number, the next morning. The loss, 
 however, in killed and wounded, and missing, was 
 greater on the part of the conquerors than of the 
 conquered ; the French having lost 14,000 ; the 
 allies 20,000. This disproportion of loss arose from 
 the unfortunate mistake of the Prince of Orange, to 
 which we have already alluded. 
 
 Both armies fought with almost incredible valour. 
 " The enemy," said Villars, " would be annihilated 
 by another "such a victory." " The French officers," 
 said Boufflers, " performed such wonders, as even 
 surpassed human nature." " The Eugenes and Marl- 
 boroughs ought to be well satisfied with us during 
 that day," said an officer of distinction in the 
 French army ; " since, till then, they had not met 
 with resistance worthy of them. They may say, 
 with justice, that nothing can stand before them ; 
 and indeed, what shall be able to stem the rapid 
 course of these two heroes, if an army of 100,000 of 
 the best troops, posted between two woods, trebly 
 intrenched, and performing their duty as well as 
 brave men could do, were not able to stop them on
 
 252 LIFE OP 
 
 day ? Will you not then own with me, that they 
 surpass all the heroes of former ages ?" 
 
 Marlborough had, previous to this battle, earnestly 
 desired an addition to his force of 10,000 men. 
 This was not accorded to him. Had it been so, 
 the ablest negociator in Europe could not have 
 commanded a peace so effectually as the additional 
 amount of victory would have been ensured on that 
 day. " The allies, indeed," in the language of Mr. 
 Coxe, " remained masters of the field ; but the 
 laurels of the two great commanders were deeply 
 tinged in blood, and the result of the campaign was 
 far from being commensurate with the sacrifice of 
 so many valuable lives." 
 
 In respect to the battle itself, it was the greatest 
 obtained in modern Europe, up to that day ; and 
 after it the French never ventured to meet Marl- 
 borough in the field. " The more dearly it was 
 purchased," says an elegant and powerful writer, 
 " the greater was the moral value of the success. 
 There remained no cause to palliate, no subterfuge 
 to cover, the defeat which the French had sustained. 
 They could not impute it to want of confidence in 
 their commander, or want of skill ; or want of 
 courage, or of conduct in the army, or in any part of 
 it ; nor to any disadvantages of ground ; nor to any 
 error or mishap of any kind. They had chosen 
 their position and strengthened it. They had stood 
 their ground well ; men, and officers, and com- 
 mander, had done their best ; the only blunder had 
 been committed by their enemies ; and owing to 
 that, and to the advantage of their post, they had 
 inflicted a loss greater by nearly one third, than they 
 had themselves sustained, and yet were beaten." As 
 to the conduct of the two confederated generals, a
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 253 
 
 German officer says in his letter, that no appearance 
 of jealousy was ever observable between them; yet on 
 this day it was remarked, that each endeavoured to 
 surpass the other in valour and conduct. They 
 both escaped miraculously, as it were; and so did 
 Marshal Boufflers ; as to Villars, he w r as severely 
 wounded when in the front rank. No four generals 
 ever exposed themselves more ; and none ever de- 
 served more of their respective countries. Such was 
 the celebrated battle of Malplaquet. " Had this 
 engagement," says one of the authors of the Tatler, 
 u happened in the time of the old Romans, and sucb. 
 things been acted in their service, there would not 
 be a foot of the wood, which was pierced, but had 
 been consecrated to some deity." 
 
 One of Marlborough's first cares, after the action, 
 was to administer relief to the wounded French, of 
 whom 3000 had been left on the field, and to arrange 
 means with the French marshals for conveying them 
 away. Though this battle was of vast consequence 
 to the allies and Europe at large, we are told that 
 only two notes from the victorious general have 
 been found among the Marlborough manuscripts : 
 and that, in them, the duke did not spttak of his 
 victory with the same exultation, as he had of those 
 won at Blenheim, Ramillies, and Oudenard. One of 
 these notes was to the duchess : 
 
 " I am so tired that I have but strength enough to tell 
 yon, that we have had this day a very bloody battle ; the 
 first part of the day we beat their foot and afterwards 
 their horse. God Almighty be praised it is now in our 
 power to have what peace we please, and I am pretty well 
 assured of never being in another battle; but that now 
 nothing else in this world can make me happy if you are 
 not kind."
 
 254 LIFE OF 
 
 The other -note was addressed to the lord trea- 
 surer : 
 
 "The English post of the 26th is come, but I have not 
 strength to do any thing but to let you know that we have 
 had this day a very murdering battle. God has pleased us 
 with a victory ; we have first beat their foot and then 
 their horse. If the Dutch please, it is now in our power 
 to have what peace we please, and I have the happiness of 
 being pretty well assured that this is the last battle I shall 
 be in ; so that 1 may end my days in some quietness, and 
 have the satisfaction of your company." 
 
 Surely this is joy and exultation enough. His 
 prediction was verified ; for never did the enemy 
 once venture to meet Marlborough in the field again. 
 
 The next day Marlborough was affected in a way, 
 in which it had been happy for mankind, had con- 
 querors always been affected. It is thus described 
 by Mr. Coxe : " Marlborough had scarcely retired 
 to enjoy a short repose after his incessant fatigues, 
 before he was disturbed by the numerous appeals, 
 made by the officers of the different nations in the 
 army, to give orders for relieving the wounded, and 
 disposing of the sick. But on the ensuing morning, 
 his feeling mind was exposed to much more painful 
 emotions ; for that day was dedicated to the melan- 
 choly solemnity of burying the slain. On riding 
 over the field of battle, he surveyed with a heavy 
 heart the numerous bodies of the dead and dying, 
 strewed over the plain, or heaped upon each other. 
 Nor did he feel only for the sufferings of his com- 
 panions in arms ; the groans of the wounded enemies, 
 and the sight of their mangled limbs, equally 
 awakened his compassion. Learning, also, that many 
 French officers and soldiers had crept into the neigh- 
 bouring houses and woods, wounded, and in a miser-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOKOUGH. 255 
 
 able condition for want of assistance, he ordered them 
 every possible relief, and dispatched a messenger with 
 a letter, to the French marshal, humanely proposing 
 a conference at Bavai between General Cadogan and 
 any officer whom they should choose to appoint, to 
 arrange the means of conveying away these wretched 
 sufferers. The meeting took place accordingly, be- 
 tween Cadogan and the Chevalier de Luxembourg, 
 and the arrangements were amicably settled ; two 
 days being allowed for burying the dead and remov- 
 ing the wounded ; the officers pledging their parole 
 not to serve till regularly exchanged, and the soldiers 
 to be considered as prisoners of war, for whom an 
 equal number of allied troops were to be returned. 
 The number of the wounded, who might shortly have 
 terminated their wretched existence, did not amount 
 to less than 30,000 men." 
 
 Soon after the victory, Marlborough had the satis- 
 faction of receiving a letter from Lord Somers. 
 
 " MY LORD, 1 am too sensible of the greatness of the 
 affairs in which your grace is constantly engaged, and of the 
 little use any letter of mine can be, to pretend to trouble you 
 often ; but I lay a sort of customary claim to congratulate 
 you upon the occasion of this glorious victory, as I have 
 done often before upon the like accounts. Many others 
 can make their court better ; but no man living can more 
 truly rejoice in the success, or has more heartily wished 
 and prayed for it. May the consequence of it be as agree- 
 able and happy to yourself as your own heart can desire, 
 and to all Europe in producing a happy and lasting peace, 
 which is the end for which you have been so long fighting, 
 and which I hope you will live long to enjoy with honour 
 and satisfaction. I cannot but hope this last great success 
 will quite lower the credit of those, who may wish for an 
 ill peace, and satisfy the French king, at last, that he has 
 attempted every thing possible for saving his own honour,
 
 256 LIFE OP 
 
 and that it is time for him in good earnest to think of pre- 
 serving France from utter ruin. I am sure, your grace 
 will omit nothing which may improve this glorious ad van- 
 tage : I am not so vain as to offer any poor thoughts of 
 mine for that purpose." 
 
 He received, also, a letter from Godolphin, in 
 which the minister gave him a curious anecdote, in 
 regard to the manner in which affairs were considered 
 by the governor of the Bank of England. 
 
 11 Upon the strength of your victory I spoke yesterday 
 to the Bank, that pursuant to the latitude, given in the last 
 session of Parliament, they would now contract with me 
 for the circulation of 600,000/. in exchequer bills, to the 
 carrying on the public service. What 1 said seemed to 
 be pretty well received, and I hope it will succeed ; but 
 upon that occasion Sir Gilbert Heathcote, who is governor, 
 said to me, ' Pray, my lord, don't let us have a rotten 
 peace.' ' Pray, tell me,' I answered, ' what you call a 
 rotten peace?' ' I call any thing a rotten peace,' he said 
 4 unless we have Spain ; for, without it, we can have no 
 safety, and now we have them down, let us keep them so, 
 till we get quite out of the war.' ' But, Sir Gilbert,' I 
 said, ' I want you a little to consider the circumstances of 
 the Duke of Marlborough and me: we are railed at, every 
 day, for having a mind, as they call it, to perpetuate the 
 war ; and we are told we shall be worried, next winter, 
 for refusing a good peace, and insisting upon terms, which 
 it was impossible for France to perform.' He replied very 
 quick, ' They are a company of rotten rogues that tell you 
 so; I'll warrant you, we'll stand by you.' By this you 
 will see, that as all the malicious people will rail, if there- 
 be no peace, so those, who wish best, will be very uneasy 
 at any peace, under which they do not think themselves 
 safe, or that leaves them to an aftergame for the recovery 
 of Spain. This seemed also to be in a good measure the 
 sense of the States, when Lord Townsend alarmed them 
 with the prospect of a new treaty. If they continue in 
 that mind I hope peace may be had so as to satisfy our 
 friends ; for the others it is impossible."
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 257 
 
 Though this victory was of such a commanding 
 nature, the news of it was received in England with 
 mixed sensations ; of triumph on the side of his 
 friends, and of blame on that of his enemies. The queen 
 was rather indifferent ; but she thought it expedient 
 not to appear so, and went in consequence to St. 
 Paul's to return thanks. Marlborough's friends and 
 the public lauded him loudly for his military genius ; 
 but his enemies cast upon him the bitterest re- 
 proaches for the wanton sacrifice of his men; not 
 knowing that the great loss was occasioned by the 
 Prince of Orange, and Marlborough not esteeming 
 it prudent to make a public declaration of it, lest it 
 should prove displeasing to the Dutch. 
 
 The third day after the conflict was observed as 
 a day of thanksgiving by the whole army ; and the 
 evening concluded with a triple discharge of small 
 arms and artillery. On the next day they invested 
 Mons. Had Marlborough's advice been followed 
 in 1706, that town would doubtless have been taken 
 without so great a havock as had ensued at Mal- 
 plaquet. The siege was committed to the charge 'of 
 Prince Eugene ; but the Prince of Orange had the 
 immediate direction of the attacks. In regard to 
 the French, they were so disheartened, and had 
 retired so far, that Mons was left almost entirely to 
 itself. The heavy artillery having arrived from 
 Brusssls, the trenches were opened. This operation, 
 however, was interrupted by a sally of the garrison. 
 Some days after, the allies began to fire upon the 
 face of the hom-work, at the gate of Havre, and 
 continued to do so, with very good success, till the 
 next day (Sept. 20) about noon : when the breaches , 
 being almost practicable, and the besiegers making 
 preparations for a general assault, to escape the
 
 258 LIFE OF 
 
 effects of the attack, the governor beat a parley, and 
 hung out white flags to signify his desire to capi- 
 tulate. Hostages were hereupon exchanged ; the 
 enemy sending M. de Sonnegar, M. Grimaldi, and 
 M. Lellier ; and the allies, Major-General Ranck, 
 Brigadier Ockinge, and Colonel Alberti. 
 
 The French hostages, having dined with the Prince 
 of Orange, went, in the afternoon, to the duke's 
 head-quarters, where Prince Eugene also was ; and 
 haying delivered in their proposals, consisting of 
 two-and-twenty articles, returned into the town the 
 same evening with their highness' answer. They 
 came 'out again the next morning, and, after some 
 debates, accepted such terms as the confederate 
 generals thought fit to grant them ; by which they 
 were allowed to march out with marks of honour ; 
 but without cannon or mortars. By this surrender 
 it was plainly manifested that the allies had gained 
 something more than the mere name of a victory ; 
 since the enemy, who had hazarded the battle at 
 Malplaquet to prevent the siege of Mons, did not 
 make the least motion to relieve it, notwithstand- 
 ing the assurances which had been given by Villars 
 and Boufflers to the French king, that he would not 
 lose an inch of ground by the action ; and their 
 boasts of marching towards the allied armies, if the 
 king's service required it. 
 
 This affair ought not to be passed over without 
 some notice being taken of the gallant Duke of 
 Argyle, who is said to have been frequently fore- 
 most in every danger; exposing his person like the 
 meanest soldier. At the siege of Mons, he par- 
 ticularly distinguished himself; and one day, observ- 
 ing a corps shrinking from the onset, he rushed in 
 among them with exposed breast, exclaiming, " You
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 259 
 
 see, brothers, I have no concealed armour ; I am 
 equally exposed with you ; I require none to go 
 where I shall refuse to venture. Remember, you 
 fight for the liberties of Europe and the glory of 
 your nation, which shall never suffer by my beha- 
 viour ; and I hope the character of a Briton is dear 
 to every one of you." 
 
 By the conquests of this campaign the great towns 
 in Brabant and Flanders were covered ; the French 
 were reduced to their own limits ; and the Dutch 
 frontiers and the adjacent provinces became exempt 
 from the burthen of supplying, encamping, and 
 foraging armies. 
 
 The time, however, was now come for the allied 
 armies going into winter quarters ; the advancement 
 of the season not admitting of any farther under- 
 taking. On the 26th the confederate generals, there- 
 fore, moved from the camp before Mons, passed the 
 Haisue, and came to Thiuries, where they remained 
 the next day, which they devoted to the celebration 
 of a thanksgiving to Almighty God, for the taking 
 of Mons. Two days after, the troops separated to 
 march into their respective quarters : the British 
 for Ghent, the Danes for Bruges, the Prussians for 
 the Meuse, and the rest for Brussels, Louvain, and 
 the neighbouring towns of Brabant. Having directed 
 all this, the two generals set out for Brussels, and 
 then went to the Hague. Previous to the going 
 whither, however, the duke had the satisfaction of 
 receiving the following complimentary letter from the 
 States-General : 
 
 " SIR, Although we were already informed by our 
 deputies, of the taking of Mons, and the reduction of the 
 province of Hainault, the letter, whereby your lordship 
 congratulates us on that happy success, has not been for
 
 260 LIFE OF 
 
 all that less acceptable to us. We look upon this con- 
 quest as one of the fruits of the last victory, and of your 
 labours; and we rejoice the more at it, because, besides 
 its own importance, it must convince all the world that 
 the advantage, as well as the glory, of the last battle 
 remain on the side of the allies. We congratulate, with 
 all our hearts, your highness thereupon. If the season 
 permitted you to go as far as your good will, we might 
 surely promise ourselves, that the valour of your highness 
 would procure us new advantages before the end of the 
 campaign ; but seeing the season of the year does not 
 allow of any farther action, this must be deferred till next 
 spring ; unless the enemy prefer peace to war, upon more 
 equitable conditions than they have hitherto expressed. 
 We are with much esteem," &c. 
 
 The Duke arrived at the Hague on the 3rd of 
 November, Prince Eugene on the 7th. During their 
 stay many things were arranged necessary to the 
 common cause. Plans were also laid for the next 
 campaign ; and the Dutch stimulated to concur in a 
 vigorous prosecution of the war. 
 
 As in these memoirs our chief design is to give 
 merely a general outline of the life and actions of 
 Marlborough, and not to furnish an account of the 
 general operations going on in various parts of 
 Europe, for a description of which the reader is 
 necessarily referred to the various histories of the 
 time, we pass over a multitude of circumstances in 
 no way affording data, on which to furnish oppor- 
 tunities of judging either the genius or the character 
 of Marlborough. We proceed, therefore, to the 
 advances which France made towards a peace, soon 
 after the taking of Mons. To this end Signor 
 Foscarini, the Venetian ambassador, who came to 
 Holland about this time, took a turn to Amsterdam, 
 to feel the pulses of the burgomasters of that city.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 261 
 
 On the other hand, M. do Petticum, resident of the 
 Duke of Holstein, at the Hague, who had been em- 
 ployed the last winter, underhand, in the negociation 
 of peace ; and had since continued to hold a cor- 
 respondence with the Marquis de Torcy, made some 
 new overtures on the part of France, and desired 
 passes for their commissioners to come to the Hague. 
 The British, Dutch, and Imperial ministers, having 
 taken this matter into consideration, and a report of 
 their conference having been made to the assembly 
 of the States-general, their high mightinesses re- 
 fused the passes ; but consented that M. de Petticum 
 should go to the French court, pursuant to their 
 desire, to know what farther offers they had to 
 make. That minister, therefore, set out for Paris 
 about the middle of November. The duke also 
 a few days after set out for London, and Princo 
 Eugene for Vienna. 
 
 We have now leisure to allude to a circumstance 
 with which Maryborough was concerned, only as a^ 
 matter affecting the general affairs of Northern 
 Europe : viz. the defeat sustained by Charles XII. 
 at the battle of Pultowa, This great and unfortunate 
 monarch having resolved to invade Muscovy, and 
 being flushed with the success he had met with yi 
 Poland, took it into his imagination that he could 
 dethrone Peter with the same ease that he had done 
 Augustus. He marched, in consequence, so far into 
 the Ukraine, that, at length, he had no possibility of 
 retreating : and this brought such a catastrophe on 
 his affairs, that he was never after able to disentangle 
 himself. This was the battle of Pultowa ; in which 
 he lost not only his camp, his baggage, and all his 
 artillery, but a great part of his army. A consider- 
 able number, it is true, survived the battle; but
 
 262 LIFE OF 
 
 being closely pursued by Peter's forces, and having 
 neither bread nor ammunition, they were all made 
 prisoners of war. The king himself, with a small 
 number about him, passed the Dnieper, and got into 
 the Turkish dominions, where he lived some time 
 under voluntary, though unavoidable, confinement, 
 at a town in Moldavia, called Bender. 
 
 This defeat interrupted Charles's career of military 
 glory; and happy it was for the allies that it did so; 
 for it tranquillised the alarm of the emperor, and 
 freed the belligerent powers from the dread of his 
 formidable interference. They were, also, gratified 
 by another result; it replaced Augustus on the throne 
 of Poland. Maryborough, however, sympathised 
 personally with the unfortunate and defeated hero : 
 for he had received many marks of kindness from 
 him; and, with all his errors and eccentricities, he be- 
 lieved him to possess a great and magnanimous spirit. 
 
 The news of his defeat was communicated to the 
 duke by a letter from Prince MenzikofF, delivered 
 by a captain of Peters guard, whom he had 
 dispatched for that purpose. " An officer from the 
 Czar's army," wrote Maryborough to Godolphin, "is 
 this afternoon come with letters, and the relation of 
 the late victory, to the Prince of Orange and myself. 
 He left the Czar twelve days after the action. I 
 send to Mr. Secretary a copy of my letter from the 
 Czar's favourite and general, with the relation of the 
 whole ; so that I shall not trouble you with repeat- 
 ing ; but cannot avoid telling you that the particular 
 account the officer gives me is terrible ; and, having 
 once seen the King of Sweden, I am extremely 
 touched with the misfortune of this young king. 
 His continued successes, and the contempt he has of 
 his enemies, have been his ruin." " If this unfortu-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 263 
 
 nate king," wrote the duke to the duchess, " had 
 been so well advised as to have made peace the be- 
 ginning of this summer, he might, in a great measure, 
 have influenced the peace between France and the 
 allies, and have made his kingdom happy ; whereas, 
 he is now entirely in the power of his neighbours." 
 
 This defeat occasioned great alterations in the 
 north of Europe, and some apprehended changes in 
 regard to the operations of the next campaign. The 
 King of Denmark made instant preparations for in- 
 vading Sweden ; Augustus departed from Dresden 
 for the recovery of Poland ; and the King of Prussia 
 joined in their alliance with the Czar, in the hope of 
 conquering Pomerania. He complained, as usual, 
 at the end of the campaign, of the conduct of the 
 allies, and of the little attention paid to his interests. 
 He not only, therefore, threatened to recal his troops, 
 but even affected to listen to overtures from France. 
 Marlborough, however, succeeded in conciliating the 
 king, through the medium of Grumbkow ; and his 
 majesty, in consequence, promised to continue his 
 assistance in the next campaign. 
 
 Marlborough now determined on returning home ; 
 Godolphin having written to him to say that, with- 
 out him, all things would fall into confusion, both at 
 court and in parliament. On taking leave of the 
 States, "I am grieved," said he, "that I am obliged 
 to return to England ; and the more so since my 
 services to your republic will there be turned to my 
 disgrace." What the circumstances at home were, 
 to which Godolphin alluded, we now proceed to give 
 some account of. 
 
 The whigs having again threatened the ministers 
 with withdrawing their support, and the jealousies 
 which had existed against them being also revived,
 
 264 LIFE OF 
 
 it became evident to the queen, that the whigs were 
 determined to monopolise all power ; and her majesty 
 appealed to Marlborough. In the meantime the 
 duchess had become reconciled to the whigs ; and 
 wearied the duke in consequence with exhortations 
 to support them. Actuated by respect for the queen, 
 and gratitude for past benefits, he scarcely knew how 
 to act ; but at length resolved to support the whigs 
 in placing the Earl of Orford at the head of the 
 admiralty ; and the queen, no longer able to resist, 
 reluctantly consented to the appointment. A similar 
 objection occurred, soon after, to the admission of 
 Sir George Byng and Sir John Jennings. This led 
 to new cabals. Marlborough was again resorted to ; 
 and on the very day, in which he landed in England, 
 the feud terminated ; the appointments being made, 
 with the exception of Sir John Jennings, towards 
 whom the queen held a rooted antipathy. 
 
 Since the quarrel, recorded some pages back, 
 between the queen and the duchess, they had met 
 but seldom ; and even in their correspondence they 
 had mutually indulged in constant altercations. In 
 these, the themes of the duchess were the queen's 
 reluctance to favour those, to whom she was indebted 
 for the glory of her reign ; the secret influence of 
 Harley; and the evident satisfaction, her majesty 
 had, in the society and friendship of Mrs. Masham. 
 The answers of the queen were couched in terms at 
 once reproachful and sarcastic. The duke was 
 greatly disturbed by these perpetual altercations ; 
 and he wisely entreated the duchess to abstain. 
 " It has always been my observation in disputes, 
 especially in that of kindness and friendship, that 
 all reproaches, though ever so reasonable, do serve 
 to no other end but making the breach wider. 1
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 265 
 
 can't hinder being of opinion, how insignificant 
 soever we be, that there is a Power above which 
 puts a period to our happiness or nnhappiness ; 
 otherwise, should anybody, eight years ago, have 
 told me, after the success I have had, and the twenty - 
 seven years' faithful services of yourself, that we 
 should be obliged, even in the lifetime of the queen, 
 to seek happiness in a retired life, I should have 
 thought it impossible." 
 
 Soon after receiving this recommendation, the 
 duchess had a personal altercation with the queen 
 in regard to a particular apartment in the palace, 
 which the duchess wished to have ; but which she 
 found her majesty desired to reserve for the use of 
 Mrs. Masham's sister. A short time after which, 
 the duchess wrote to her royal mistress, soliciting to 
 be informed what crime she had committed, that her 
 majesty's behaviour was so greatly altered towards 
 her. The queen's answer was to the effect, that the 
 alteration did not arise from any fault, but from a 
 discordance in political.opinion ; finishing with " It 
 is impossible for you to recover my former kindness; 
 but I shall behave myself to you as the Duke of 
 Maryborough's wife, as my groom of the stole." 
 
 The folly, for what other name can be given to 
 it ? did not rest here. Her grace drew up a nar- 
 rative of the whole course of their connection from 
 the beginning to the time in which she wrote. To 
 this she appended extracts, relative to the obligations 
 of friendship, from the " Whole Duty of Man," and 
 from the directions, prefixed to the communion 
 service, in which it is enforced, that no one could 
 conscientiously partake of the Lord's Supper, unless 
 they were at peace and in charity with all mankind. 
 Having done this, she requested the queen to inform
 
 266 LIFE OF 
 
 her, whether she still remained in the same mind in 
 regard to her, she was in before : " If your majesty 
 will do this," concluded the duchess, " I assure you 
 that I will never trouble you more upon any subject 
 but the business of my office." The queen answered, 
 that when she had read all the papers, she would 
 send an answer. The duchess, however, never heard 
 any more about them. " My papers," says her 
 grace, " had no apparent effect upon her majesty, 
 except that, after my coming to town, as she was 
 passing by me, in order to receive the communion, she 
 looked with much good-nature, and very graciously 
 smiled upon me. But the smile and pleasant look, I 
 had reason afterward to think, were given to Bishop 
 Taylor and the common prayer-book, and not to me." 
 
 It must be confessed, that the temper of the 
 duchess was exceedingly difficult : and this is 
 evident from an anecdote given in Lord Wharncliffe's 
 introductory remarks in regard to Lady Mary 
 Wortley Montague. 
 
 " The duchess had still, at a great age, con- 
 siderable remains of beauty, most expressive eyes, 
 and the finest hair imaginable ; the colour of which 
 she had preserved unchanged by the constant use of 
 honey-water. By this superb head of hair hung a 
 tale, an instance of her waywardness and violence, 
 which (strange to say) she took particular pleasure 
 in telling. None of her charms, when they were at 
 their proudest height, had been so fondly prized by 
 the poor duke, her husband. Therefore one day, 
 upon his offending her, by some act of disobedience 
 to her ' sovereign will,' the bright thought occurred, 
 as she sate considering how she could plague him 
 most, that it would be a hearty vexation to see his 
 favourite tresses cut off. Instantly the deed was
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROtTGH. 267 
 
 done ; she cropped them short, and laid them in an 
 antechamber he must pass through to enter her 
 apartment. But, to her cruel disappointment, he 
 passed, entered, and re-passed, calm enough to pro- 
 voke a saint ; neither angry nor sorrowful ; seem- 
 ingly quite unconscious both of his crime and his 
 punishment. Concluding he must have overlooked 
 the hair, she ran to secure it. Lo ! it had vanished ; 
 and she remained in perplexity the rest of the day. 
 The next, as he continued silent, and her looking- 
 glass spoke the change a rueful one, she began to 
 think she had for once done a foolish thing. Nothing 
 more ever transpired upon the subject till after the 
 duke's death, when she found her beautiful ringlets 
 carefully laid by in a cabinet, where he kept what- 
 ever he held most precious." 
 
 The conduct of the duchess, in the zealous part 
 she took in behalf of the whigs, inflamed the queen 
 even to exasperation. Her majesty detested the 
 whigs ; she feared them in equal proportion. The 
 favourite hated them too ; and Harley was a subtle 
 instrument of their hatred ; and the favourite was, 
 in turn, an instrument of Harley ; who engaged, 
 likewise, the equally subtle agency of Lord Rivers ; 
 whose influence increased the discontent of the Duke 
 of Somerset, who was deeply offended with Marl- 
 borough for having refused a vacant regiment to his 
 son, Lord Hertford, even though he had been earnestly 
 recommended by the queen. Somerset was also at 
 this time so greatly in the queen's favour, that 
 Godolphin was frequently heard to remark, that 
 Somerset was more hours in the day with her majesty 
 than he was absent. 
 
 Harley had, some time before this, begun his 
 grand scheme ; viz., that of ruining the influence of
 
 268 LIFE OP 
 
 Marlborough. He joined both tories and Jacobites, 
 therefore, in decrying Marlborough in negociation as 
 well as in war. " When he thought," says Mr. 
 Coxe, " that peace would be concluded, he censiired 
 the preliminaries, as not sufficiently advantageous : 
 and when Louis rejected them, he blamed Marl- 
 borough for the rupture of the negociation." " In 
 military affairs he blamed the siege of Tournay, as 
 useless and expensive ; he censured the battle of 
 Malplaquet as wanton carnage ; and did not even 
 refrain from so cruel an aspersion as to stigmatise it 
 as a selfish expedient of the duke to thin the num- 
 ber of officers, that he might profit by the disposal 
 of their commissions !" He also imputed to him the 
 prolongation of the war ; not for the benefit of the 
 country, but of himself. 
 
 All these accusations were insinuated into the ear 
 of the queen by Mrs. Masham, and the effect on the 
 mind of her majesty, which was weak, was what 
 might naturally have been expected. The queen 
 was, also, led by the impression, that Marlboroxigh's 
 whole thoughts were bent on personal aggrandise- 
 ment ; and a circumstance now occurred, which so 
 totally riveted that idea upon the queen's mind, that 
 it could never afterwards be eradicated. This cir- 
 cumstance was an extraordinary act of imprudence 
 on the part of the duke himself. He prayed the 
 queen to make him captain-general for life ! The 
 duke had not even the apology arising from prece- 
 dent, for this imprudent request. For, on consulting 
 the lord chancellor (Cowper), the records were 
 searched; the result of which was, that the chancellor 
 assured him, that such a grant was totally unprece- 
 dented. Notwithstanding this, the duke persevered. 
 Sensible that the queen was entirely alienated from
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 269 
 
 him by the intrigues of those to whom she had given 
 her whole confidence, and that his enemies were 
 every day becoming more active and more virulent, 
 for the sake of strengthening himself while his 
 friends were in power, against the attacks of his 
 enemies, and securing a permanent influence in the 
 army ; he had (about the middle of the last cam- 
 paign) made the request stated ; the greatest im- 
 prudence he ever committed. 
 
 The answer of the queen was what might have 
 been naturally anticipated. After consulting with her 
 counsellors, she rejected the request in the most 
 decided and unequivocal manner. And here we may 
 copy a passage from Dean Swift : " When the Duke 
 of Argyle was consulted what course should be taken 
 upon the Duke of Marlborough's request, to be 
 general for life, and whether any danger might be 
 apprehended from the refusal, I was told, he suddenly 
 answered, that her majesty need not be in pain, for 
 that he would undertake, when she commanded, to 
 seize the duke at the head of his troops, and bring 
 him away living or dead." This answer was, it has 
 been supposed, intended to augment the queen's 
 alarm. Whether it was intended so or not, it is 
 certain it produced that effect ; and from that period 
 the influence of the duke was less than one-half what 
 it formerly had been. 
 
 The duke landed at Aldborough on the 8th of 
 November. On the 10th he went to St. James's. 
 On the 15th the queen opened the parliament : when, 
 among other matters, she took notice of the late 
 glorious campaign, and its great and important suc- 
 cesses. The Commons took the first moment to vote 
 their thanks, and a congratulatory compliment to the
 
 270 LIFE OP 
 
 duke ; stating that his successes were so remarkable 
 that the house thought itself obliged to express how 
 sensible they were of the honour and advantage, 
 which the kingdom and the confederacy had received 
 from his services. The duke answered, " It is a 
 very great honour and satisfaction to me, that the 
 House of Commons is pleased to take such notice of 
 my endeavours to serve the queen and my country. 
 I cannot be just to all the officers and soldiers, who 
 have served with me, unless I take this opportunity 
 to assure you, that their zeal and affection for the 
 service is equal to the courage and bravery they have 
 shown during this whole war." 
 
 The address of the lord chancellor was rather 
 florid than otherwise : " My Lord Duke, I am 
 commanded by the Lords to give your grace the 
 thanks of this house, for your continued and eminent 
 services to her majesty and the public during the 
 last campaign, of which, nothing can be greater 
 said, than that her majesty (who always speaks with 
 the utmost certainty and exactness) has declared from 
 the throne, that it has been, at least, as glorious as 
 any which have preceded it. But this repetition of 
 the thanks of this august assembly has this advantage 
 over the former, that it must be looked upon as 
 added to, and standing on, the foundations already 
 laid in the records of this house, for preserving yoiir 
 memory fresh to all future times ; so that your grace 
 has, also, the satisfaction of seeing this everlasting 
 monument of your glory, rise every year much 
 higher. I conclude with wishing that God may 
 continue in a wonderful manner to preserve so invalu- 
 able a life, and that you may not only add to the 
 structure, but finish all with the beauties and orna-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 271 
 
 ments of a lasting peace." This address was an- 
 swered by the duke with his usual modesty and 
 self-denial. 
 
 The House of Commons having pledged itself to 
 grant the necessary supplies for the ensuing year, 
 more than six millions were voted before the end of 
 a month, and a considerable augmentation of troops. 
 The duke was also appointed lord-lieutenant and 
 custos-rotulorum of the county of Oxford. 
 
 At the time of the duke's arrival, the whole king- 
 dom was in a ferment, in regard to a sermon preached 
 by Dr. Sacheverell, rector of St. Saviour's, South- 
 wark, before the lord mayor and aldermen of 
 London. In this effusion the doctrine of passive 
 obedience was revived ; but, as Marlborough took 
 but a very small part in what ensued in regard to 
 it, we shall pass on to more important matters. The 
 subject belongs to history, where it stands as an 
 awful indication of the folly to which nations 
 may be reduced by political party and religious 
 fanaticism. 
 
 The junto had now obtained the honours and 
 offices they wished, and no sooner had they done 
 this, than great dissensions arose among themselves ; 
 their jealousy of Marlborough and his friend Godol- 
 phin increasing also in like proportion ; and of these 
 jealousies, Harley and those connected with him, 
 and of whom he made instruments, did not fail to 
 profit ; and an opportunity soon arrived of which 
 they instantly took advantage, to mortify Marl- 
 borough, in a manner the most repugnant and repul- 
 sive. This was occasioned by the death of Lord 
 Essex ; and the queen's having, immediately on his 
 death, and without any consultation with her two 
 chief ministers, Marlborough and Godolphin, pro-
 
 272 LIFE OF 
 
 nrised two offices, vacant by his death ; the governor- 
 ship of the Tower to Lord Rivers, and the regiment 
 he had commanded, to Colonel Hill, a person who 
 was no other than Mrs. Masham's brother. 
 
 Marlborough wished the governorship to be con- 
 ferred on the Duke of Northumberland, and the 
 regiment on the Duke of Somerset's son, the Earl of 
 Hertford. He went, therefore, to her majesty, but 
 was fated to be grievously disappointed ; for the 
 queen gave him scarcely time to state what he 
 wished. " Your grace is come too late," said her 
 majesty ; " I have already promised the lieutenancy 
 to Lord Rivers." Nor was this all. Scarcely had he 
 quitted the room, when he received a message from 
 the queen, commanding him to present the vacant 
 regiment to Colonel Hill. This being a greater 
 mortification than the other, the duke soon after 
 solicited an audience ; when he assured her majesty, 
 that to prefer so young an officer as Colonel Hill, 
 before others, would be exceedingly prejudicial to 
 the service. He stated, also, that the appointment 
 was extremely mortifying as it regarded himself. 
 " It is setting up a standard of disaffection, madam, 
 to rally all malcontent officers in the army." Neither 
 this nor any thing else that his grace said, however, 
 had any effect. On parting, the queen drily said, 
 " You will do well to advise with your friends." 
 
 Stung with this reception, Marlborough resolved 
 to resign his post, unless J\Irs. Masham was dis- 
 missed. He retired from London to Windsor 
 Lodge, without the customary formality of taking 
 leave, on the day on which a cabinet council \vas 
 to be held. No one knew of his departure till the 
 hour of meeting. To his surprise and mortification, 
 however, no notice of his absence was taken, either
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 
 
 273 
 
 by the queen or any of the members. He in conse- 
 quence wrote to the queen, closing his letter with, 
 " I hope your majesty will either dismiss Mrs. 
 Masham or myself." This letter he showed to 
 several whig leaders. Sunderland and his adherents 
 approved, Godolphin trembled. Two councils were 
 held, therefore, at the house of the Duke of Devon- 
 shire ; and on meeting it was resolved, Lord Somers 
 being absent from the first, and Lord Sunderland 
 from the second, to support the commander-in- 
 chief in his determination to oppose the appoint- 
 ment of Colonel Hill. Lord Godolphin was, how- 
 ever, averse to this : because he' considered that it 
 must terminate in the resignation of Maryborough ; 
 a resignation which he considered pregnant with all 
 manner of evils. He urged Somers to solicit an 
 audience. We must first, however, relate an inter- 
 view with the queen, which "Walpole is said to have 
 had with her majesty on this subject. That wary 
 aspirant represented to the queen how awkward 
 this subject would prove to Maryborough ; and 
 requested her to stay for his answer *. " Did you 
 write to him ?" -inquired the queen. " I thought 
 not." " Not on Tuesday, Madam, but the next 
 Friday, by your express order ; and you said par- 
 ticularly, that if he had any reasons against it, you 
 would acquiesce." " O, yes ; I remember something 
 about it now : but I am very well assured there can 
 be no ill consequences from it, any farther than 
 people have a mind to make them, and I will have 
 it done ; and I tell you plainly, but you shall not 
 tell it to any mortal, that I have stopped signing all 
 the other commissions purely on this account." " I 
 
 * Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole. 
 T
 
 274 LIFE OP 
 
 beg you, Madam, not to think of it until you have 
 heard from the Duke of Marlborough. What a 
 surprise and a hardship would it be to him to have 
 commissions sent over for brigadiers under him, 
 without his knowledge ! He has hitherto been very 
 successful, and does not deserve to be made con- 
 temptible." " Well, then, I will do nothing till 
 I hear, but, positively, I will sign none of the 
 others." 
 
 When Lord Somers was admitted, " I have pre- 
 sumed," said his lordship, " to request this oppor- 
 tunity, in consequence of a conversation with the 
 Duke of Marlborough ; and as his grace was yes- 
 terday absent from council, I deem it my duty to 
 speak of it to your majesty. I found, Madam, the 
 Duke of Marlborough under great uneasiness; he hav- 
 ing heard that your majesty was inclined to hearken 
 to some people, who might give their advice in con- 
 tradiction to the opinions of those who had so well 
 succeeded, and to hearken to recommendations for 
 advancement in the army, without, as usual, con- 
 sulting with his grace. This conduct will be attended 
 with fatal effects ; and when it is once discovered 
 that applications to others are successful, it will be 
 impossible to prevent factions in the army, and to 
 preserve the discipline and unity which have been 
 hitherto maintained. His grace likewise apprehends 
 there arc some persons, who endeavour to do him ill 
 offices with your majesty." 
 
 " I have a full and lasting sense," answered the 
 queen, after a pause, " of the Duke of Marlborough's 
 long and lasting services, and no one dares attempt 
 to do him ill offices with me ; because, if they did, 
 their malice would recoil on themselves. This I 
 will confirm when I see him ; and then, I doubt not,
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH.. 275, 
 
 I shall have the satisfaction of hearing him own 
 that, after mature reflection, he has changed his 
 opinion, and will not continue to deem my proposal 
 unreasonable." 
 
 On retiring from the closet, Somers immediately 
 communicated what had passed to the duke. " I 
 presumed to offer several other things," said his 
 lordship, " but I found her majesty very reserved, 
 and not willing to enter into any further explanation ; 
 and, therefore, as I was advised by the lord trea- 
 surer, I took my leave." The cold and repelling 
 manner of the queen had no other effect on Marl- 
 borough than making him still more determined 
 to adhere to his threat; and in this he was sup- 
 ported by Sunderland. They differed, however, as 
 to the manner in which that should be done. Marl- 
 borough wished to make it a matter of private remon- 
 strance ; Sunderland desired to bring it before Par- 
 liament. 
 
 This, however, both Marlborough and the duchess 
 thought would be construed by the queen into an 
 insult. Lord Somers, therefore, solicited another 
 audience from the queen ; when he found her majesty 
 rather less repulsive. Indeed she condescended so 
 far as to say, at parting, " I do assure you that I feel 
 for his grace as much kindness as ever ; yet I am 
 much surprised at the great offence, which is taken 
 at my recommendation ; and when Lord Marlbo - 
 rough comes to town, I will endeavour to convince 
 him, that my friendship for him is as entire as he 
 can desire." 
 
 Somers and Godolphin now advised Marlborough by 
 all means to return to London to perfect the favourable 
 disposition of the queen. The whole junta acquiesced 
 in this advice ; but Sunderland opposed himself to
 
 276 LIFE OF 
 
 it. Neither the duke nor the duchess were inclined 
 to this measure. " I am sure if lie does," wrote the 
 latter to one of the party, " I shall wish he had never 
 proceeded in this manner; but have gone to council 
 in a cold formal way, never to the queen alone, and 
 declared to all the world how he was used ; and that 
 he served till the war was ended, only because he 
 did not think it reasonable to let a chamber-maid 
 disappoint all he had done." In these sentiments the 
 duke concurred ; thinking that her majesty might 
 still have a desire to keep him ; but then she could 
 not do so and retain Mrs. Masham at the same time. 
 He therefore wrote to the queen, making bold to 
 say " The affair of the regiment is only one of a 
 great many mortifications, that I have met w y ith ; 
 and as I may not have many 'opportunities of writ- 
 ing to you, let me beg of your majesty to reflect what 
 your own people and the rest of the world must 
 think, who have been witnesses of the love, zeal, and 
 duty with which I have served you ; when they shall 
 see that, after all I have done, it has not been able 
 to protect me against the malice of a bed-chamber 
 woman." The letter concluded with a request for 
 leave to retire. 
 
 During all this, the public mind being greatly 
 agitated, Mr. Secretary Boyle went even so far as to 
 assure her majesty, that, should Marlborough retire, 
 " her crown was at stake." Hints were also thrown 
 out in Parliament, that a motion would be brought 
 forward against the favourite ; and that an attempt 
 would be made to stop the supplies. At this the 
 queen began to feel some alarm. She summoned 
 Godolphin twice ; and, at the latter interview, showed 
 him the letter she had received from Marlborough. 
 At the former she had told him, that she would no
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUG-H. 277 
 
 longer insist upon the appointment of Colonel Hill; 
 and at parting, the queen said, " I will answer the 
 <lnke's letter ; and send it to you to-night." 
 
 Till the queen's reply arrived, Marlborough was 
 firm in his resolution neither to seek an audience, nor 
 to continue in the command of the army, unless the 
 favourite was dismissed. The queen's letter, how- 
 ever, having been laid before the principal Whigs, 
 and they being of opinion, that the duke ought to be 
 .satisfied with this concession, he at length gave up 
 the point, and complied with their advice. He had, 
 accordingly, an audience, and her majesty conde- 
 scended to receive him, we are told, " with a pro- 
 fusion of kindness, which she had scarcely shown in 
 the days of his highest favour." 
 
 Thus this disagreeable matter terminated ; but the 
 consequences were ever after felt in a thousand rami- 
 fications ; for it made her majesty more circumspect 
 in her resolution to get rid of the ministry as soon 
 as possible ; and the favourite, Harley, and their 
 allies, more artful. But it had this effect also ; it 
 proved to Marlborough, that he could depend on the 
 Whigs only in cases where their own interests and 
 party views were concerned. As to the regiment, 
 the command of it was given to Colonel Meredith ; 
 and the brother of Mrs. Masham was rewarded for 
 his disappointment with a pension of one thousand 
 pounds a year ! 
 
 Harley and his partisans now made use of a nnm-r 
 ber of artifices to get Marlborough away ; that is, to 
 compel him to go to the continent to join his army, 
 and act as plenipotentiary in Holland. Marlborough's 
 friends assisted his enemies in this matter ; for with 
 a view of impressing on the queen's mind the great 
 importance of Marlborough, they got an address
 
 278 LIFE OF 
 
 voted in Parliament to the queen, praying her that 
 she would be pleased to send the duke forthwith to 
 Holland. In this address both Houses concurred; 
 and in the course of it they observed " We cannot 
 but take this opportunity, to express our sense of the 
 great and unparalleled genius of the Duke of Marl- 
 borough ; and with all imaginable duty, to applaud 
 your majesty's great wisdom, in having honoured 
 the same person with the great characters of general 
 and plenipotentiary, who, in our humble opinion, is 
 most capable of discharging two such important 
 trusts. We therefore make it our humble request to 
 your majesty, that you would be pleased to order 
 the Duke of Marlborough's immediate departure for 
 Holland; where his presence will be equally necessary 
 to assist at the negociations of peace, and to hasten the 
 preparations for an immediate campaign, which will 
 most effectually disappoint the artifices of our enemies, 
 and procure a safe and honourable peace for your 
 majesty and your allies." 
 
 There was some difficulty in getting the queen to 
 answer this address in a consistent manner. The 
 minister had prepared an answer to this effect : 
 " I thank you for this address; and I am very well 
 pleased with this declaration of your just sense of 
 the Duke of Marlborough's eminent services, which 
 I am so fully convinced of, that I shall always 
 esteem him as God Almighty's chief instrument of 
 my glory, and my people's happiness; and I will give 
 the necessary orders for sending him immediately to 
 Holland." 
 
 When Godolphin presented the draft of this to 
 the queen, her majesty was pleased to propose 
 stating, that she had given Maryborough orders to 
 depart some time before : By this insinuating, that
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 279 
 
 Maryborough was unwilling to go. Godolphin re- 
 monstrated with the queen for such an imputation, 
 and went even so far as to hint, that the thought 
 originated not with her majesty herself, but with 
 some of her secret counsellors. This the queen 
 unequivocally denied ; and, though with some re- 
 luctance, at length adopted the following : " My 
 Lords and Gentlemen ; I am so sensible of the 
 necessity of the Duke of Maryborough's presence in 
 Holland at this critical juncture, that I have already 
 given the necessary directions for his immediate 
 departure, and I am very glad to find, by this address, 
 that you concur with me in a just sense of the Duke 
 of Maryborough's eminent services." 
 
 Marlborough set off from London the next day ; 
 but, as he passed through the city, he was importuned 
 by many not to leave England till after the trial of 
 Dr. Sacheverel. To these, and other exhortations, 
 Ire, of course, tirrned a deaf ear. He embarked at 
 Harwich ; and, after a stormy and difficult passage, 
 landed at the Brill on the 7th of March; having been 
 three days at sea, and rolling about, three leagues 
 from shore, from seven in the morning till two in the 
 afternoon. A few days after his landing, he received 
 the following letter from the celebrated colonizer of 
 Pensylvania, William Penn : 
 
 " NOBLE FRIEND, Thy best friends have been in some 
 pain, for thy quick and agreeable passage, which they now 
 conclude, because we have no news yet from thee. It is 
 by no means pleasing that the duke chooses the field before 
 the cabinet, since the enemies are so much abler there than 
 in the field, and that the duke, without flattery, is equally 
 able on both; and as he has nobody of his size in the field, 
 so nobody can be better furnished for the cabinet. And 
 that so great a general should victoriously forward a peace 
 is certainly a just addition to his character ; it being as
 
 280 LIFE OP 
 
 wise as brave, and I think Christian too. I have enclosed 
 the duke my novel about peace ; it is no more than Henry 
 IV. designed, and the States of Holland have proved 
 practicable ; and, therefore, not chimerical." 
 
 Though the duke had turned a deaf ear to certain 
 of the people's wishing him to remain in England till 
 after the trial of Sacheverel, yet he was by no 
 means indifferent to the result. When he learned, 
 therefore, that though the Tory priest had been found 
 guilty, yet that his punishment was merely suspen- 
 sion from preaching for three years, and burning his 
 sermon at the Exchange, he was greatly chagrined ; 
 and the more so, since he felt that such a termination 
 could only have resulted from a defection among his 
 friends ; and that such defection was the result of a 
 strong expectation of the change in the government, 
 which was, in fact, now approaching with a hurried 
 step. Among the betrayers of party were the Dukes 
 of Shrewsbury, Somerset, and Argyle. 
 
 For causes, which we have no space to refer to, 
 the balance of popularity was now turned from the 
 Whigs to the Tories. Sacheverel became the public 
 idol. He was considered the champion of the church ; 
 and caressed wherever he went : he, who, to the dis- 
 honour of the Revolution, and to the church itself, 
 had preached a sermon before the corporation, not 
 for liberty, as he ought to have done, but for divine 
 and hereditary right. The queen's chaplain attended 
 him at his trial ! The taking so much notice of this 
 absurd sermon was the greatest mistake, amongst a 
 thousand mistakes, the Whigs ever committed. 
 
 Though all thoughts of a treaty seemed to be at a 
 stand, towards the conclusion of the foregoing year, 
 yet, upon the vigorous resolutions taken in Great 
 Britain and Holland for the continuance of the war,
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOIiOUGH. 281 
 
 the court of France thought fit to make further over- 
 tures of peace. Marlborough had left England, as 
 he had often done before, saddled with the imputa- 
 tion,' that his wish was for perpetual war. Petcum, 
 as we have already stated, had gone to Paris for new 
 instructions. He returned with new proposals. 
 These were, also, rejected by the allies. On this, 
 others were proposed. These, too, were considered 
 unsatisfactory. At length, passes were granted to 
 the French plenipotentiaries, who, soon after, repaired 
 to Gertruydenberg, where conferences followed con- 
 ferences ; till various expedients having been ineffec- 
 tually made to modify the article relative to the 
 evacuation of Spain, Louis rejected the demands of 
 the allies, and the negociatioii was at length entirely 
 broken off: the emperor being averse to any clause 
 affecting his interest ; it being decidedly evident that 
 Louis was insincere in the articles he proposed. 
 
 He promised enough. He offered to recall his troops 
 from Spain ; to withdraw all assistance from that 
 country ; and in the very moment in which he did so, 
 the allies had decided evidence before them, that he 
 was encouraging his grandson Philip to persevere in 
 the contest. Nothing would satisfy the allies, there- 
 fore, but Louis giving up, unequivocally, the whole 
 Spanish monarchy. That Louis was insincere in what 
 he offered, and that his wish was merely to the pur- 
 pose of creating a division among the allies, we should 
 suppose certain ; but that the terms were what he 
 could not be expected to accept, is, we should sup- 
 pose, almost equally certain, also. 
 
 It was said at the time, and has been echoed to the 
 present one, that Marlborough was always averse to 
 peace. In the present instance, certain it is, that 
 he acted only as a plenipotentiary ; not upon his
 
 282 LIFE OP 
 
 own suggestions or wishes, but as one no longer the 
 moving mind in foreign negociations. 
 
 Feeling that his power was greatly on the decline, 
 his desire was to incur as little as possible of respon- 
 sibility, for measures which he was not permitted to 
 influence. " I am white paper," said he in a letter 
 to the duchess, " upon which the Treasurer and his 
 friends may write theirdirections." Indeed, so entirely 
 anxious was he, that neither the making of a peace, 
 nor the continuance of the war, should be saddled 
 upon him, that he proposed that the Parliament 
 should be kept together by short prorogations, in 
 order that the whole course of the proceedings might 
 be submitted, from time to time, to the approval or 
 disapproval of the legislature. 
 
 Every expectation of a peace had now vanished. 
 To take the field before the enemy c'ould assemble 
 was now, therefore, the ardent desire of Marlborough 
 and his illustrious friend, Prince Eugene ; and the 
 campaign opened with another successful passage of 
 the enemy's lines ; a great and unexpected success. 
 The two generals assembled their armies in the 
 vicinity of Tournay. We must not, however, pro- 
 ceed to allude farther to their successes, till we have 
 quoted a passage from one of the duke's letters to 
 the duchess; since it evidently shows to what a state 
 of despondency his mind w r as, at this time, reduced. 
 "I hope God will be pleased to bless this campaign; 
 for I see nothing else that can give us peace, either 
 at home or abroad. I am so discouraged by every 
 thing I see, that I have never, during this war, gone 
 into the field with so heavy a heart as I do at this 
 time." 
 
 Mortaigne was taken by the allies ; retaken by 
 the French ; and afterwards taken again. Marl-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MAULBOROUGH. 283 
 
 borough and Eugene having joined at Tournay, they 
 made an attack, preparatory to the siege of Douay, 
 upon the French lines ; not choosing to stop, till the 
 enemy could receive reinforcements. This attack 
 was more successful than Maryborough had expected. 
 " I bless God," said he, in a letter to the duchess, 
 " for putting it into their heads not to defend them ; 
 for at Pont de Vendi, where I passed, the Marescha! 
 d'Artagnau was with 20,000 men ; which, if he had 
 stayed, must have made it very doubtful. But, God 
 be praised, we are come here (Lens, April 21) 
 without the loss of any man. The excuse, the 
 French make, is, that we came four days before they 
 expected us." 
 
 The allies now sat down before Douay and began 
 the siege of it. Its strength was considerable : less 
 populous than Lille; but of a greater circuit. While 
 part of the army was engaged one night, against the 
 town, the garrison made a sally ; when one regiment 
 of the besiegers suffered greatly, and another was 
 nearly cut to pieces. Two days after, the artillery 
 reached the camp ; consisting of 200 pieces of can- 
 non, including 80 twenty-four pounders. 
 
 On the 20th of May, the French army assembled 
 in the vicinity of Cambray, to the amount, it is 
 supposed, of the allied armies ; which consisted 
 of 155 battalions, and 226 squadrons. It was 
 expected that Villars, who had assumed the com- 
 mand, would venture a battle for the relief of Douay. 
 
 Villars was accompanied by Marshals Montesquiou 
 and Berwick, and the Pretender ; and it was a port 
 of great importance, since the allies could bring to it 
 all their stores by water over from Amsterdam. He 
 had, therefore, orders to save the town even at tho 
 risk of a battle.
 
 284 LIFE OP 
 
 The country around was in a dreadful state. " It 
 is impossible," said the duke, " without seeing it, to 
 be sensible of the misery of this country ; at least one 
 half of the people of the villages, since the begin- 
 ning of last winter, are dead; and the rest look as 
 if they came out of their graves. It is so mortifying, 
 that no Christian can see it, but must, with all his 
 heart, wish for a speedy peace." 
 
 Marlborough was now sixty years old, but with- 
 out being at all sensible of old age. " I thank God, 
 I have my health," said he ; " but what I hear from 
 your side of the water gives me so much uneasiness, 
 that I am not so fully pleased with those sanguine 
 thoughts as formerly, that God would protect and 
 bless us : but with all my soul I pray he may ; and 
 shall very freely venture my life that we may have 
 success ; which is necessary not only for the pre- 
 venting of the ruin of England, but of all Europe : 
 for, should the French get the better, you may 
 depend on it, that Holland is so alarmed by our 
 divisions in England, that they would consent to 
 whatever peace France should insist upon." 
 
 In a subsequent letter to the same party he says 
 " I long for an end of the war. Whatever the event 
 may be, I shall have nothing to reproach myself 
 with ; having with all my heart done my duty ; 
 and being hitherto blessed with more success than 
 ever was known before. My wishes and duty arc 
 the same ; but I can't say I have the same sanguine 
 prophetic spirit I did use to have ; for in all the 
 former actions, I did never doubt of success ; we 
 having had constantly the great blessing, of being of 
 one mind. I cannot say so now ; for I fear some 
 are run so far into villanous faction, that it would 
 give them more content to see us beaten. But if I
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 285 
 
 live I will be so "watchful, that it shall not be in 
 their power to do much hurt." 
 
 The siege proceeded with great vigour ; and the 
 besieged made several sallies. At length, after a 
 thousand instances of valour on both sides, the town 
 capitulated : the garrison being allowed to march out 
 with all the honours of war. The governor (Mons. 
 Albergotti) surrendered in consequence of learning 
 that preparations had been made for a general 
 assault ; while his force had dwindled down to only 
 4527 effective men. On entering the town, the next 
 day, the university presented addresses to the two 
 generals. 
 
 Any satisfaction, however, that Marlborough 
 might feel at the fall of Douay, was more than 
 counterbalanced by the mortification he derived 
 from what was passing at home. The duchess, as 
 the reader may remember, had solicited the queen, 
 some time before, for the transfer of the offices she 
 herself held, to her daughters. To this her majesty 
 had given consent : but the duchess became ap- 
 prehensive, that, in the present posture of affairs, 
 she would not adhere to her word. The duke, at 
 the last interview he had with the queen, had 
 alluded to this promise, and received an answer, 
 which he construed into acquiescence. On this, 
 after his departure, he wrote the queen a letter of 
 thanks. But the queen returning no answer, the 
 duchess wrote to her majesty again, expressing a 
 wish to know whether the duke had rightly interpreted 
 her meaning. The queen answered " I desire that 
 I may never be troubled any more on the sub- 
 ject!" 
 
 Upon this the duchess became greatly infuriated. 
 She, nevertheless, thought proper to solicit an
 
 286 LIFE OF 
 
 audience. The queen put her off several times. 
 At last the duchess obtained one ; and a very curious 
 scene took place between them. The queen listened; 
 but returned no other answer than " You desired no 
 answer, and you shall have none." We have no space 
 for the altercation. It may be seen in the " Conduct;" 
 and in Coxe's Memoirs. From that day no personal 
 intercourse ever took place between them. Her grace 
 wrote an account of it to the duke while he was 
 before Douay ; too late to remedy the duchess's in- 
 discretion. In answer, therefore, the duke in com- 
 passion to her infirmity, merel)' exhorted her to 
 refrain from putting herself in the way of any similar 
 mortification. 
 
 This imprudence, on the part of the duchess, put 
 a seal to her influence ; for the queen now began 
 to hate as warmly as she had before loved her. 
 Harley did not fail to take all the advantage of this 
 in his power ; and his first great effort to overthrow 
 the ministry was to get the Duke of Shrewsbury 
 appointed to the office of Lord Chamberlain ; a 
 man, so generally beloved, that the late king (Wil- 
 liam) gave him the designation of " king of hearts." 
 Though greatly beloved, it nevertheless appears he 
 could be deceptive. He became chamberlain, not 
 through the influence of Marlborough, to whom he 
 was to all appearance attached, but through Harley; 
 and that, too, after having written to a friend, with a 
 desire for that friend to show the letter to his grace, 
 thus : " I own it is hard at first to choose one's 
 friendships well ; but when they are once fixed upon 
 a merit like the persons you mention, and their 
 worth experienced by a long conversation, it is past 
 my comprehending how that should ever be lessened 
 or shaked; especially by the cunning insinuations of
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 287 
 
 one, who, every step she advances towards it, must 
 discover the basest ingratitude imaginable to a bene- 
 factor, who has made her what she is." 
 
 The real reason, perhaps, why Shrewsbury fell 
 into the net, which Harley had spread for him, 
 arose out of the circumstance of the queen's having 
 offered very marked attention to his wife ; she 
 having been an Italian countess, who had stooped 
 to live with him as his mistress ; and had, in conse- 
 quence, on her arrival from Rome, been treated with 
 neglect by the duchess and her friends.* Let the 
 cause, however, have been as it might, Shrewsbury 
 joined the cabal ; and in place of the Earl of Kent, 
 to whom the queen promised a dukedom, was ap- 
 pointed chamberlain, without Godolphin's knowing 
 any thing of the matter. When the queen wrote to 
 him to say what she had done, the ill-used minister 
 answered, 
 
 " What consequence can this possibly have but to make 
 every man, that is now in your cabinet-council, except 
 the Duke of Somerset, to run from it, as they would from 
 the plague? and I leave it to your majesty to judge what 
 effect this entire change of your ministers will have among 
 your allies abroad, and how well this war is like to be 
 carried on in their opinions, by those who have all along 
 
 * The Duke of Shrewsbury had communicated this mar- 
 riage to Marlborough immediately on its taking place. Shrews- 
 bury's letter has not been preserved ; but Marlborough's reply 
 has been found among the Shrewsbury manuscripts. It was to 
 this effect. " My Lord, I received the honour of your grace's 
 letter, and must confess, I was not a little surprised at what you 
 are pleased to tell me, though I agree entirely with you, that we 
 ought to marry to please ourselves, and not others. I am infinitely 
 obliged for the early information you give me, which I take as a 
 particular mark of your friendship, and dare venture to assure you, 
 no man living can wish your grace more satisfaction and content in 
 it, than I do."
 
 288 LIFE OF 
 
 opposed and obstructed, and who will like any peace the 
 better, the more it leaves France at liberty to take their 
 time of imposing the Pretender upon this country.'' 
 
 Notwithstanding this ebullition, Godolphin assured 
 her majesty, towards the close of his letter, that he 
 would never give the least obstruction to her mea- 
 sures, or to any ministers she might be pleased to 
 employ. 
 
 When all this came to the ear of the duke, he was 
 greatly surprised and mortified. This was soon after, 
 however, in some degree mitigated by a letter from 
 Godolphin : 
 
 " There being no possibility of receiving foreign letters 
 before the post, I shall begin this with giving you an 
 account of a visit, which I had the honour of this morn- 
 ing from the Lord Chamberlain. He was extremely full 
 of professions to you, to me, and to Lady Marlborough ; 
 and that by whatever door he came in, it was always with 
 an intention and a desire to live well with us three, and 
 not only so, but with all others we would have him live 
 well with ; not doubting, he added, that it would have been 
 done much sooner, if you and I had been entirely 
 master of it ; and that, perhap*, it was as well for us 
 that it happened in this manner, considering the jealous 
 humour of the Whigs." 
 
 Not . being able to prevent what had happened, 
 Marlborough made up his mind to it ; resolved on 
 acting according to the advice of the Lord Treasurer, 
 and in full concert with Somers, Sunderland, and 
 whomever they should think proper ; "not only 
 now," said he, " but in all the actions of my life." 
 A line of action w T hich appears very extraordinary, 
 to say the least of it. Indeed, at this crisis, the 
 Lord Treasurer and the Commander-in-chief appear 
 to have been greatly wanting to themselves. Thev
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 289 
 
 ought immediately to have resigned. According to 
 some, however, it was the height of patriotism not 
 to have done so. 
 
 There are many things totally incapable of expla- 
 nation in the lives of statesmen ; and among these 
 several in regard to Marlborough. For instance, it 
 would be difficult, after what he is stated to have 
 felt upon the appointment of Shrewsbury, to find 
 him, soon after, requesting this very same person to 
 assist in gaining the Garter for Lord Orford. The 
 honour was refused, and the medium having been 
 so equivocal, it must be confessed, the refusal was 
 merited. " He is a man," said the duchess, in a 
 letter to Mainwaring, " that t'other day they would 
 have thrown over the top of the house, if any one 
 had proposed his coming into employment. Sure 
 their bottom is not very strong, or else we appre- 
 hend shadows." 
 
 A few days after forcing the French lines, Marl- 
 borough wrote to the queen, recommending several 
 officers to her majesty's notice for promotion. In 
 this list, the names of Colonel Hill and Captain 
 Masham were omitted. The queen was greatly 
 mortified at this, and no slight inconvenience took 
 place. The duke consented to the promotion of 
 Masham, but declared his firm resolution to refuse 
 gratifying the queen in respect to Colonel Hill. 
 One reason for which was, that there were many 
 German and Dutch officers, who might, possibly, 
 refuse to serve under him ; and, therefore, that his 
 appointment might give rise to no small perplexity. 
 Learning, however, that any support he might 
 receive from the Whigs, was very problematical, he 
 thought it best not to insist ; and this gave her 
 majesty so much satisfaction, that the duchess was 
 u
 
 290 LIFE OF 
 
 advised to the hope, that the breach between the 
 queen and herself might be closed. Her grace was, 
 therefore, recommended to make her appearance at 
 court. But this advice she received and rejected 
 with great indignation. 
 
 The queen now gave evident indications, that she 
 was resolved on dismissing Marlborough's son-in-law, 
 Lord Sunderland. To this she was prompted by 
 Harley and the favourite ; seconded by the Duke of 
 Somerset, the instigator of all evil against the duke 
 and the duchess, and the secret manoeuvres of the new 
 lord chamberlain. The effect of this on Marlborough's 
 mind may be seen by what he wrote to her grace. 
 " If I were to make the choice, I would much rather 
 be turned out, than Lord Sunderland should be 
 removed ; so that I hope all my friends will struggle 
 with all their might and power ^ for if this point be 
 carried, there is nothing disagreeable and ruinous but 
 must be expected." He even applied to the Duke 
 of Shrewsbury to enjoin him to use his influence with 
 the queen to prevent it. This application, however, 
 was so far from being likely to be successful, that 
 only a short time before it was written, Shrewsbury 
 had sent a message to the treasurer, stating that her 
 majesty was exceedingly pressing that Sunderland's 
 affair should be brought to a conclusion. On this 
 the treasurer waited upon the queen, and represented 
 to her majesty the uneasiness that this matter might 
 create to the duke. "The Duke of Marlborough," 
 answered the queen, " is too reasonable to suffer a 
 tiling of this kind to do so much prejudice to himself 
 and the whole world, by taking it to heart; and 
 surely no one knows better than the duke and your- 
 self the repeated provocations, which I have received 
 from Lord Sunderland."
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARYBOROUGH. 291 
 
 It was now evident, that the dismissal of Sunder- 
 land was resolved upon. We find Somers, therefore, 
 writing to the duke, urging him on no account to 
 let this indignity, however galling, drive him from 
 the service. "Whatever way I turn my eyes," said 
 he, " I can discern no hopeful appearance, but from 
 the army, which your grace commands, and for no 
 longer time than till that army must go into winter 
 quarters. You have donp wonders for us, and I 
 hope you are reserved to complete them ; and, there- 
 fore, I beg that you will have that just regard to the 
 glory, you are possessed of, as not to let any resent- 
 ment, or any contrivance, how artful soever, put you 
 out of the way of carrying it on, to all the perfection 
 it is capable of receiving. That will be to gratify 
 your enemies. The most effectual and the most cer- 
 tain way of finally disappointing them and punishing 
 them is. to take no notice of what they do; but to go 
 on to make the utmost use of the opportunity ; that 
 so, by God's blessing, you may bring peace with you, 
 and come home crowned with laurels ; and then you 
 may despise them, and restore us once more to our 
 senses." 
 
 How deeply the duke felt in regard to Sunderland, 
 may be seen from what he wrote to the duchess. 
 Sunderland was, nevertheless, abandoned by the 
 whigs ; few of whom appear to have had any 
 inclination to risk their places for his benefit. The 
 duke wrote to the treasurer to request the queen 
 to suspend the dismissal, if it must be, to the end 
 of the campaign ; and the treasurer acted as he 
 was required ; but the queen still held strong to her 
 resolution ; and in a few days received the seals from 
 Lord Sunderland and gave them to Lord Dart- 
 mouth. 
 
 u2
 
 292 LIFE OF 
 
 Godolphin, nevertheless, thought it useful to the 
 public service to retain his office; and a meeting hav- 
 ing been held at Devonshire house, it was resolved, 
 that the resignation of Maryborough, at that particu - 
 lar time, would be attended with inevitable destruc- 
 tion. The fact was, that the duke and Godolphin 
 had threatened to resign so often, and still retained 
 their offices, that any threat or feeling in regard to it 
 was now almost unfelt by. her majesty. It is, never- 
 theless, not to be doubted, that, at this period, 
 Marlborough would have resigned his command, had 
 not the principal members of the administration 
 signed a memorial, exhorting him to forego all resent- 
 ment at what had occurred ; for that the welfare not 
 only of England but of all Europe depended on his 
 genius, courage, and wisdom ; and that his resigna- 
 tion would be the greatest favour he could confer 
 upon his enemies. This memorial was not signed by 
 the Dukes of Somerset and Shrewsbury ; they being 
 too deeply implicated with Harley and the favourite; 
 but the other ministers did. These were Cowper, 
 lord chancellor ; Godolphin, lord treasurer ; Somers, 
 lord president; the Duke of Newcastle, lord privy 
 seal ; the Duke of Devonshire, lord high steward ; 
 Orford, first lord of the admiralty ; Halifax, audi- 
 tor of the exchequer; and Mr. Secretary Boyle. 
 Before this memorial could be received, however, 
 Marlborough had written to Godolphin, " I am not 
 conscious of any fault I have ever committed to the 
 queen ; but I fear many towards God ; and if that 
 be allowed for, by mortification to me in this world, 
 I ought cheerfully to submit. God forbid, that any 
 action of mine should turn to the prejudice of the 
 queen, or the public welfare of Europe." 
 
 The day before this he had written thus : " God
 
 JOHX, DUKE. OP MARLBOnoUGH. 293 
 
 knows what we shall be able to do more in this country. 
 As it is like to be my last campaign, I hope he will 
 bless us with some further success, and that things 
 may be made easier for those that shall succeed me : 
 for as it now is, my head is perpetually hot. This, 
 joined with the disagreeable things I receive from 
 England, makes me wish every minute to be a hermit. 
 When you have read this, pray burn it ; for my 
 desire is, that nobody should know my complaints ; 
 but that the world may continue in their error of 
 thinking me a happy man ; for I think it better to 
 be envied than pitied ; for there is no such thing as 
 good-humour left in this world." The memorial 
 was answered, as may be anticipated, with a com-* 
 pliance. 
 
 The dismissal of Sunderland was hailed as a 
 triumph, and a signal one, by the tories. Addresses 
 poured in, like a torrent, from every quarter, promising 
 the queen support from all " republican, traitorous, 
 factious, and schismatical opponents," and the queen 
 was complimented on her rescue from enthralment. 
 Though the whig leaders were supposed to be apa- 
 thetic, yet their party in the kingdom was large ; 
 and in it were comprised most of the leading monied 
 men. These caught alarm ; the funds became de- 
 pressed ; and public credit, therefore, affected. A 
 deputation, in consequence, waited on the queen to 
 represent to her the injuries, likely to arise from the 
 removal of Lord Sunderland. The queen's answer 
 was to this effect : " I have, for some time, resolved 
 to remove the Earl of Sunderland ; and that for par- 
 ticular reasons of state. I have no intentions to make 
 any further changes ; but, should I alter any of my 
 ministers, it shall be no prejudice either to the Bank 
 or the common cause." It was, also, stated to the
 
 294 LIFE or 
 
 confederates, that no further changes would take 
 place ; and that her majesty was equally resolved, as 
 she had all along been, to support the allies, and to 
 carry on the war with the same vigour as before. 
 
 The duchess had been greatly moved at the medi- 
 tated disgrace of her son-in-law ; and she took an 
 opportunity, which the transmission of an official 
 letter from the duke to Godolphin afforded her, of 
 writing a very long and acrimonious remonstrance. 
 In this, and a subsequent letter, she expatiated on the 
 services of a man, who, she said, had won ten sieges, 
 anl six pitched battles, and who was exposing his 
 life every day in her majesty's service : she enlarged, 
 also, on her own services ; and deprecated the conse- 
 quences, that would ensue on her son-in-law's dis- 
 missal. As to her own disgrace, she attributed it to 
 the frankness with which she had given her opinions ; 
 particularly those she had delivered in favour of those 
 persons, who had placed her on the throne ; and in 
 disfavour of those, who were in the interest of the 
 Prince of Wales. She then adverted to the favourite ; 
 declaring it her opinion, that the conduct of the 
 queen arose out of the fear she was in, that she might 
 lose her : concluding a long and acrimonious letter 
 by desiring her majesty to return a letter, she had 
 sent her, of the Duke of Somerset, " which, for non- 
 sense, ingratitude, and good spelling," she considered, 
 *' was worthy of preservation, as a great curiosity, 
 and as being the production of so eminent a politi- 
 cian." 
 
 On the day preceding Sunderland's dismissal, the 
 queen answered this epistle; and referring to the 
 letters, which she had formerly written to her, 
 desired the duchess to return them. This her grace 
 did not comply with ; but expressed her surprise
 
 JOHN, DUKE "OF MAULBOROUGH. 295 
 
 that the queen had not returned that, she had sent 
 her, written by the Duke of Somerset ; for though 
 the letter seemed to have no effect upon her majesty, 
 she conld, by showing it, make other people ashamed 
 of him. " My concern for Lord Marlborough's 
 honour and reputation in the world," she concluded, 
 " and the great trouble he expresses on this occasion, 
 brings me to beg of your majesty, upon my kneeS^ 
 that you would only defer this thing till there is a 
 peace, or an end of the campaign' ; and after such an 
 expression, your majesty can have no doubt of my 
 ever entering into any thing, that can displease you." 
 This was the last letter, that ever passed between 
 the queen and the duchess ; and a copy of it reached 
 Marlborough at the same moment, in which he 
 received the notification, that his son-in-law had 
 been dismissed. 
 
 We must now return to Marlborough as a general. 
 On the surrender of Douay, his intention was -to 
 besiege Arras ; but in this being baffled by the skil- 
 ful operations of Villars, the two generals determined 
 on investing Bethune, a town about six leagues 
 distant from Lisle and Douay, and five from Arras. 
 Since the year 1645, at which time it fell into the 
 hands of France, Louis XIV. had bestowed a con- 
 siderable expense on the fortifications of it ; and it 
 was, at this time, defended by M. de Vauban, 
 nephew of the celebrated engineer with a garrison 
 of about 9000 men. The trenches were opened in 
 the middle of July. On the 3 1st, the French, under 
 Marshal Villars, came out of their intrenchments ; 
 but avoided a battle ; and employed themselves in 
 casting up new intrenchments ; and then, having left 
 Avhat strength he thought proper, Villars abandoned 
 them to their own force; and having no intention to
 
 296 LIFE OF 
 
 risk the fortune of France by an engagement, 
 marched, to cover Cambray on the one side, and 
 Arras and St. Omer on the other. The siege lasted 
 till the 28th of August, when the garrison having 
 been greatly weakened, with a prospect of falling 
 short not only of provisions and ammunition, but in 
 flints and ball, Mons. de Vauban beat the cha- 
 made, hung out two flags, one at the great breach 
 of the castle, and the other on the ravelin, desiring 
 to capitulate. The "next day, the town surrendered ; 
 2000 men having been sacrificed in the defence of it. 
 The loss, on the part of the besiegers, however, was 
 still greater ; there being 3365 killed arid wounded. 
 
 We must now again return to England ; for 
 while Marlborough was engaged in the field, his 
 mind was often compelled to travel home. Harley 
 was now beginning to reap the fruit of his intrigues; 
 the whigs, many of them, being now ready to fall, 
 one by one, into his net : amongst whom, Halifax. 
 Harley's party had represented, that Lord Town- 
 send, who had been appointed with Marlborough 
 joint plenipotentiary was little better than an in- 
 strument in the hands of Marlborough to obstruct 
 the conclusion of a peace. Halifax was, therefore, 
 joined with Townsend in that commission. 
 
 This was a new outrage on the feelings of the duke ; 
 and he bore it with the less patience since he had 
 begun lately to suspect every one. Even his friend 
 Somers did not escape ; and the lord treasurer was 
 doomed to the consciousness, that the name of minister 
 alone remained. The power was gone ! " Neglect," 
 says Mr. Coxe, "followed neglect ; insult was heaped 
 on insult ; many of his applications to the queen 
 were contemptuously rejected : and his devoted ad- 
 herents dimissed from their offices, not only without
 
 DUKE OP MAfcLBOROtJGH. 297 
 
 ail apology, but without a previous communica- 
 tion." 
 
 Instances occurred often. Lord Coningsby was 
 removed from the vice-treasurership of Ireland, and 
 the Earl of Anglesey put in his place : an English 
 peerage was refused to Lord Dorchester; Lord Kaby 
 was refused a seat at the board of trade ; and Lord 
 Galway was permitted to transfer his command in 
 Portugal, without any previous communications to 
 Lord Portmore. It is even supposed that the queen, 
 or rather Harley, in order to gain the next heir to 
 the throne, had been induced to offer the command 
 of the army in Flanders to the Elector of Hanover ; 
 and this for no other end than to relieve herself from 
 the ascendancy of the Duke of Marlborough. This 
 it would have been almost impossible to believe ; 
 had not letters been found among the Marlborough 
 papers in which were several from the Elector, in 
 which he expressly assures the duke that he would, 
 on no account, accept the command. It required all 
 the patriotism both of Godolphin and the duke; 
 therefore, to remain in office under such circum- 
 stances. They clung, however, to the hope of being 
 able to avert evils, which they considered inevitable, 
 if they resigned. The queen, in the mean time, 
 had little fear in regard to it. She looked upon the 
 struggle going on as a mere personal contest, in 
 which both whigs and tories were endeavouring to 
 serve their own interests, and with which Europe 
 had little or nothing to do. She earnestly desired a 
 dissolution, therefore, of the parliament ; thinking, 
 that a new one would support her favourites 
 Harley, Mrs. Masham, the Duke of Somerset, and 
 the Duke of Shrewsbury ; and that, by their 
 management, she would be relieved from what her
 
 298 LIFE OF 
 
 favourites chose to style the tyranny of the whigs. 
 The time, however, had not yet arrived for a dissolu- 
 tion ; for Harley and his confederates not being sure 
 of a preponderance, the queen postponed that mat- 
 ter, in order to have time to dismiss Godolphin, 
 before a general resignation could take place. 
 
 Marlborough knew but too well how little reliance 
 he could place upon the whigs. Harley, in the mean 
 time, had made interest with many of them ; never 
 letting them into the arcana of his own management 
 and designs : but artfully giving them to understand, 
 that all the changes that had taken place were 
 merely changes to soothe the feelings of the queen ; 
 and by no means intended to aft'ect the principles on 
 which they acted. In this manner he, lulled their 
 apprehensions and soothed their hopes. They, in 
 return, suspected and confided, till their whole power 
 was lost ! 
 
 One day, at a meeting of the council, an alterca- 
 tion took place between Shrewsbury and Godolphin. 
 The next day, Godolphin had an audience, at which 
 no allusion was made to this quarrel ; Godolphin 
 having many subjects to confer with her majesty 
 about ; one of which was, that Marlborough had 
 written to inform him, that he had discovered a plot 
 to poison her majesty by some princess at the court 
 of France. For this the queen testified her satis- 
 faction ; but her manner was, nevertheless, so cold 
 upon the whole, that Godolphin was led to inquire 
 whether it Avas the will of her majesty, that he 
 should go on, that is, whether he should continue 
 to carry on the government ? The queen answered 
 " yes ;" and with this impression he took his leave. 
 What was his surprise and mortification, then, the 
 next morning, to receive a letter which, lie was
 
 JOIIX, DUKE OF MARLBOROL'GH. 299 
 
 informed, had been left with his porter by a servant 
 in the royal livery ! This letter was from the 
 queen : 
 
 " Kensington, A tig. I. 
 
 " The uneasiness you have showed for some time, has 
 given me very much trouble, though I have borne it ; and 
 had your behaviour continued the same it was for a few 
 years, after my coming to the crown, I could have no dis- 
 pute with myself what to do. But the many unkind 
 returns I have received since, especially what you said to 
 me personally before the Lords, makes it impossible for 
 me to continue you any longer in my service ; but I will 
 give you a pension of four thousand a year ; and, I desire, 
 that, instead of bringing the staff to me, you will break it; 
 which, I believe, will be easier to us both." 
 
 Having done this, the queen wrote to Marlborough 
 to inform him what she had done ; assuring him, at 
 the same time, that the army should want for 
 nothing. 
 
 The dismissal of Godolphin would have been a 
 very great inconvenience to him in a private sense, 
 for his means were very limited, had he not, soon 
 after, succeeded to the fortune of his elder brother. 
 As to the pension, though the queen promised him, it 
 was never paid ; and he was always too dignified and 
 high-minded a person ever to demand it. Let no one 
 throw the charge of ingratitude on republics only. 
 
 Lord Poulett was put at the head of the treasury ; 
 and Harley succeeded to the chancellorship of the 
 exchequer, with all the powers of the government. 
 Though sensible of the insult passed on himself, 
 Godolphin wrote to the duke, exhorting him to con- 
 tinue. " The object of life," said he, " is our country; 
 not one particular division of it." The conduct of 
 Marlborough, too, is greatly to be admired. The
 
 300 
 
 disgrace of his friend affected him in a very sensible 
 manner : but his resolution centred at last in the de- 
 termination to remain fixed and firm to the duty owing 
 to his country and the allies, which interest he had 
 undertaken to defend. " I have formed my resolu- 
 tion," said he, in a letter to Godolphin, "of troubling 
 my head as little as possible in politics ; but apply 
 my thoughts how to finish this campaign to the best 
 advantage. * * * I hope and beg you will 
 think so well of me, that, after this campaign, we 
 may yet, for some few years, live in more quietness 
 than these new vipers would have us." " I am 
 vexed," he wrote to the duchess ; " but be assured 
 that I shall not do my health any prejudice ; for 
 whilst you are kind and some few friends just, I shall 
 contemn the barbarous usage I meet with." 
 
 The great whig leaders were at last fully convinced 
 of their folly in playing a double part ; and equally 
 of their imbecility in persuading Godolphin and his 
 friend not to act upon a decided plan, when both 
 were disposed. They now, therefore, concurred 
 in acting cordially with Marlborough. They saw 
 their error, too, in leaving Sunderland to fall without 
 an effort. They lamented, also, their puerile jealousy 
 in regard to the treasurer. They, nevertheless, 
 lingered still upon the threshold of power ; and did 
 not thoroughly awake, till the time came, when 
 they thought proper to resign in a body, on which 
 there was a formation of a new ministry. 
 
 We must here give insertion to a letter from Mr. 
 Craggs to the Duchess of Marlborough : 
 
 "May 18,1710. 
 
 " It is enough to distract one to consider, that Mr. 
 Harley and Mrs. Masham, and their creatures, shall reap
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROTJGH. 301 
 
 the benefit of the greatest and most glorious actions, that 
 ever were performed, wherein they were no more in- 
 strumental than their coach-horses. But when we con- 
 sider who wears the crown, and perverts that power, 
 which those victories have given it, to support sycophants 
 land flatterers, who had no other way of making their 
 fortunes, it is not enough to say, the prince is ungenerous 
 or ungrateful, and the counsellors are base and perfidious 
 villains. But, certainly, wise men and true patriots would 
 leave no stone unturned to attempt the prevention of such 
 dreadful consequences, as must attend such false and fatal 
 councils." 
 
 The tories were now in power; and Harley, to all 
 intents and purposes, prime minister, though only 
 chancellor of the exchequer. The only person the 
 queen seems to have been anxious to retain, was the 
 lord chancellor (Cowper). But he could not be 
 induced to continue, although her majesty placed the 
 seals in his hands no less than three times. " Thus 
 ended," says Mr. Coxe, " the most glorious adminis- 
 tration, which had ever directed the affairs of the 
 country since the reign of Elizabeth. However we 
 may lament the want of harmony and consistency, 
 which reigned amongst the members of this great 
 and glorious body ; yet their defects, which were 
 merely personal, and inherent in human nature, are 
 lost in the consideration of their public merits ; and 
 heighten, instead of abating, our regret at their fall." 
 
 The consequences we have still the melancholy 
 duty to relate ; and these will shortly be alluded to 
 for, from this time, Maryborough can be considered' 
 as having been little better than an agent, acting at 
 the will of others, and no longer master of his own 
 designs. How he was situated, may be guessed by 
 one small sentence. " As every thing is now, I dare 
 attempt nothing but what I am almost sure must
 
 20'2 LIFE OF 
 
 succeed ; nor am I sure that those in power would 
 keep my secret." As to the consequences of the 
 change, in the court of Louis, we may easily under- 
 stand them by the circumstance of De Torcy having 
 triumphantly exclaimed, "What we lose in Flanders, 
 we shall gain in England." 
 
 Maryborough having consented to retain the com- 
 mand of the army, when all or most of his friends 
 had been dismissed, gave some colour for suspicion, 
 that he would listen to proposals, in case they should 
 be made, from the tories. Proposals were, therefore, 
 offered by some of that party ; but so infamous were 
 the terms offered, that had Marlborough accepted 
 them, he must have been stigmatised and for ever 
 disgraced, not only as a politician, but as a man. 
 For what were they? Bolingbroke must answer: 
 "lie was to abandon the whigs, his new friends, and 
 take up with the tories, his old friends ; to engage 
 heartily in the true interests, and no longer leave his 
 country a sacrifice to rapine and faction. lie was. 
 besides, to restrain the rage and fury of his wife. 
 These offers were coupled with threats of an impeach- 
 ment ; and boasts that sufficient evidence could be 
 adduced to carry a prosecution through both houses." 
 
 The duke's answer to these propositions, we be- 
 lieve, is not on written record, but it must have been 
 sufficiently energetic ; for, from that moment, we are 
 told, the ministry singled him out as a perpetual 
 object of persecution and hostility, open and secret : 
 and two instances soon after occurred to confirm 
 Maryborough's apprehensions of them. These were 
 an order, sent to the Duke of Argyle, to return 
 home, without any communication with his com- 
 mander-in-chief ; and the sudden dismission of three 
 officers, who were so devoted to his service, that he
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOUOUUH. 303 
 
 always kept them near his person. These were, 
 Macartney, Honeywood, and Meredith. In a mo- 
 ment of conviviality, these gallant officers had toasted 
 their commander, with confusion to his enemies; and 
 used some contemptuous expressions against the 
 ministers, Harley in particular. For this they 
 were cashiered," without the ceremony of a court- 
 martial. 
 
 The enemy still continuing to decline an engage- 
 ment, the duke and Prince Eugene resolved to make 
 the best of the remaining part of the favourable sea- 
 son, by laying siege to St. Tenant and Aire, both at 
 the same time, to secure the navigation of the Lys ; 
 and thus open a wider communication with Tournay, 
 Lille, and Ghent. While, however, they were en- 
 gaged against these towns, and expecting a convoy 
 from Menin, news came that that town had been 
 surprised by the enemy and destroyed. M. Le 
 Blanc, having received intelligence that this convoy 
 was on its way, despatched 4,000 men, horse, foot, 
 and dragoons, from Ypres, to attack it. With this 
 superior force, M. Ravignan met and fell upon it with 
 great vigour, defeated the guard, killed 200 men, 
 took 600, blew up some boats laden with ammuni- 
 tion, sunk others, laden with ball and bombs, to put 
 a stop to the navigation of the river ; and then re- 
 treated with so much skill and haste, that none of 
 the confederates could come up to him in time. 
 The shock, occasioned by blowing up the boats laden 
 with powder, cannon, and grenadoes, was so terrible, 
 that the village of St. Eloyvive was overthrown, as 
 if there had been an earthquake ; and the river Lys 
 was divided into two currents across the country. 
 
 This accident delayed the siege of these two places 
 for some days, It was the first bad news, Marl-
 
 304 LIFE OF 
 
 borough had had to report to the government during 
 nine years. St. Venant, however, unable long 
 to make head against the besiegers, soon after 
 capitulated. The siege of Aire took longer time. It 
 was attended with many difficulties, and the loss of 
 a considerable number of men, on account of the 
 strength of its situation ; being among morasses and 
 inundations; and so bad was the weather, that the sol- 
 diers of the confederates were often up to their knees 
 in water and mud. Added to all which, the garrison 
 made a very gallant defence. At last, however, the 
 governor beat a parley, and the town capitulated. 
 What the loss of the enemy, during this siege, was, 
 we are not correctly informed ; but it cost the con- 
 federates rather dear ; being at the expense of 7,000 
 men ; exclusive of the sick. This was the last 
 military transaction during the campaign (1710) ; 
 both armies, soon after, going into winter quarters. 
 
 The new ministry was actuated by a very dif- 
 ferent spirit from the last ; their object appearing 
 directed to the purposes of insisting that the con- 
 federates should furnish their exact contingents, which 
 Marlborough knew they would have done, if they 
 could. This the ministry intended, not with any view 
 of carrying on the general cause with alacrity and 
 spirit, but to excite a feeling of anger in each parti- 
 cular party; of which they might avail themselves in 
 order that they might make a separate peace with 
 France, if Louis thought proper to tempt them. 
 And here we must not omit to state, that the cor- 
 respondence between St. John and Marlborough was 
 far from being carried on as it had been with Marl- 
 borough and Godolphin ; St. John assuming an air 
 of dictation : a manner, the more difficult to tolerate, 
 as St. John had been the very creation of Marl-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII, 305 
 
 borough. He it was who introduced St. John to 
 office ; and he it was, also, who had so effectually 
 recommended him to his most intimate friends and 
 acquaintances. Marlborough might well say, " I 
 have been ruined by those I have made." 
 
 As a further illustration of the want of gratitude 
 in most persons connected with political affairs, we 
 may instance the conduct of the King of Spain. His 
 majesty had, several times, offered to Marlborough's 
 acceptance the government of the Netherlands. The 
 duke had as often declined it ; thinking it might 
 excite jealousy in the minds of the Dutch, and cer- 
 tain others of the confederates: Now, however, he 
 thought he might accept it without consequences of 
 that description. He wrote, therefore, to the king, 
 stating his willingness and wish to have that honour 
 conferred upon him. But mark the sequel ! The 
 king had received intelligence of the change about to 
 take place in the ministry of England ; he knew 
 from that, and other circumstances, that Marlbo- 
 rough's influence was declining; and he gave him, 
 therefore, an answer, that prevented the duke from 
 ever seeking it again. It was to the following 
 effect, as given by Mr. Craggs, who was, at that 
 time, the British envoy in Spain : "His majesty 
 made the following answer ; that to speak the truth, 
 iipon your grace's resigning your pretensions, he had 
 immediately put that affair out of his own disposition, 
 into the hands of the imperial court ; that Count 
 Zinzendorf had informed him, your grace had spoken 
 to him of it, and that he would write to him to con- 
 fer with you about it ; that if he thought your grace 
 desirous of that government, he would do his utmost 
 to have it conferred upon you, so it might be with 
 the general consent, and particularly of the Dutch."
 
 30G LIFE OF 
 
 A plan, in the mean time, had been laid by Marl- 
 borough against Boulogne or Calais ; but the rains 
 prevented ; he, therefore, now repaired to the Hague 
 to concert with Eugene and the States in regard to 
 the next campaign. There we will leave him for a 
 moment, and proceed to make a few observations on 
 the results of the last campaign in Flanders, Spain, 
 and Italy. That in the Netherlands was, assuredly, 
 not so splendid as previous ones had been. Two 
 towns, however, of great importance, had been taken ; 
 and two others of less consideration. On the other 
 hand, it must be confessed, that the enemy had car- 
 ried their chief point, after the surprising of their 
 lines; which was to cover Arras, and thereby to 
 stop their adversaries from penetrating into Picardy, 
 as they otherwise might have done. In regard to 
 Spain, Philip had retreated to Lerida, and, soon after, 
 re-entered Madrid in triumph : while the Portuguese 
 refused to form any junction with the forces of 
 Charles; and towards the end of the year, there was 
 a loss to the Austrians of all their conquests except 
 Balaguer, Tarragona, and Barcelona. 
 
 It is remarkable, that in this campaign the insta- 
 bility of human prosperity is made evident in a sur- 
 prising manner. Both parties were conquerors, and 
 both were conquered, in their turns. Philip had the 
 advantage in the end; and how well Charles deserved 
 of his friends has already been shown by the manner 
 in which he evaded Maryborough's request in regard 
 to the governorship of the Netherlands. In respect 
 to Portugal, nothing important occurred; and nothing 
 worthy of notice in Piedmont. Nor did the affairs 
 of Italy sustain any visible alteration. In regard to 
 a plan, which had been laid by Marlborough in 
 concert with De Seissan, of landing a force in Langue-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 307 
 
 <loc, it certainly had not the success expected ; but 
 it had that of preventing the Duke de Noailles from 
 joining Philip, and gave the confederate troops, in 
 the neighbourhood of the Garonne, an opportunity of 
 reinforcing Charles, which enabled him to gain two 
 victories ; the one at Almenara, the other at Sara- 
 gossa. 
 
 Maryborough and Eugene left the army on the 
 16th of November, and after visiting Tournay, 
 Ghent, and Brussels, arrived at the Hague on the 
 28th. During their stay there, Marlborough was 
 complimented by all the ministers of the grand 
 alliance; who earnestly desired him, on no account 
 whatever, to give up his command. The safety of 
 the whole, they said, depended upon him ; and so 
 earnest in this representation was Prince Eugene, 
 that he declared publicly that if Marlborough re- 
 signed, he would himself no longer act in the Nether- 
 lands. On the llth of December, the Prince set off 
 for Vienna ; and on the 23d of the same month, the 
 duke embarked for England. 
 
 In the meantime, the parliament had met (Nov. 
 25) ; and now it was easy to perceive how much 
 Marlborough had lost by the change of ministry : 
 for not one word was said, as had been usual, in the 
 queen's speech, in reference to his successes in Flan- 
 ders. Nor were they so much as hinted at in the 
 addresses either of the Lords or of the Commons. 
 On the 28th, however, the Earl of Scarborough 
 made a motion, that the thanks of the House should 
 be voted to the duke : but fearing, from the manner 
 in which the House received it, that it was more 
 than probable that, if persisted in, it would be lost, 
 the duke's friends adopted the policy of dropping the 
 motion, on the ground that when the duke came 
 - x2
 
 308 
 
 home it would be time enough to speak of that 
 matter. The duke arrived on the day this conduct 
 was adopted. At his entrance into the city, about 
 five in the evening, his coach was attended by a great 
 number of persons with links and flambeaux, who, 
 by their acclamations, expressed great joy at his 
 return, calling out, " No popery !" " God bless the 
 Duke of Marlborough !" " No wooden shoes." Being, 
 however, at all times, averse to making himself an 
 object of popularity, though at the present time it 
 might be considered politic, he ordered his coachman 
 not to drive to St. James's, as he had been accus- 
 tomed, but to Montague House ; whence, after 
 having rested an hour or two, he went out at a pri- 
 vate door. On arriving at the palace, the queen gave 
 him a very gracious reception, and discoursed with 
 him for nearly half an hour. 
 
 A storm had some time been gathering against the 
 duchess ; and the duke was known to have formed 
 a determination to resign upon the instant, if the 
 ministry proceeded so far as to remove her. The 
 duke was, previous to his return, fully aware that an 
 attempt would soon be made. " I believe you judge 
 right," said he in a letter to his w r ife, "that the 
 queen has deferred her resolution of putting you out 
 till my return. But if there be any pretence given, 
 they will do it before; for they are impatient of 
 having that blow given. The queen is as desirous 
 and as eager in this remove as Mr. Harley and Mrs. 
 Masham can be. * I am of opinion, that the 
 
 only good, you can do, is to be quiet ; by which you 
 will give them no handle to use you ill before my 
 return." The duchess, however, was of a temper 
 not to be controlled, and not often to be advised. 
 She ardently wished for a reconciliation with the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 309 
 
 queen ; but would not, and could not, take the 
 means to ensure it. Indeed, matters bad gone too 
 far for any such consummation. There was only one 
 thing remaining, which, if managed properly, might 
 have effected an apparent reconciliation ; and this 
 was the dread, the queen had, of the duchess publish- 
 ing her private letters. The duchess was equally in 
 dread of her majesty's giving any public indication 
 of her displeasure. Her grace sought to carry her 
 point by threats and intimidation ; while her majesty 
 threatened at one time and soothed at another. At 
 length her majesty resolved, if possible, to know 
 whether the duchess was determined to carry into 
 execution what she threatened. The Duke of 
 Shrewsbury was employed in this matter ; and he, 
 in turn, employed Mr. Mainwaring, her grace's secre- 
 tary. All that could be gleaned, however, was this : 
 that the duchess declared an aversion to publishing 
 the correspondence; but signified her resolution to 
 keep the letters, in case she should be compelled to 
 publish them by certain persons, in the employ of the 
 ministry, who, from day to day, had for a long time 
 charged her with corrupt sales of offices, and of pecu- 
 lation in several important transactions. 
 
 It must be confessed, that the duchess had given 
 too great a sway to her own natural insolence of dis- 
 position ; and that it was nearly next to an impossi- 
 bility, that her majesty could be desirous of again 
 receiving into her favour a person, who had so often 
 shocked her prejudices, insulted her dignity, and 
 wounded her feelings. At this particular time, how- 
 ever, the duchess seems to have been so hardly dealt 
 with, that it was impossible for her not to attempt 
 some measure either of conciliation or of retaliation : 
 for Swift, in one of the Examiners (Nov. 23, 1710,)
 
 310 LIFE OF 
 
 had not only accused the duke of receiving 500,000/. 
 per annum, while the pay of a Roman general had 
 been merely 904^. 11 s. ; but hinted that the duchess 
 had, during the whole time she had been mistress of 
 the robes, absolutely purloined not less than 22,000^. 
 every year. No name was mentioned; but the persons 
 meant, it was impossible to mistake. This paper 
 the duchess sent to the queen, with a long letter in 
 vindication of herself against such an atrocious charge. 
 The queen read both ; and, when she had done so, 
 fully justified her grace in the remark she made to 
 Sir David Hamilton, who had presented them, 
 " Every one knows, that cheating is not the Duchess 
 of Marlborough's fault." 
 
 The duke, soon after this, having arrived in town, 
 as we have before stated, matters were now fast 
 hastening to a crisis. At the second interview, 
 which he had with the queen, her majesty was, in 
 the first instance, conciliating ; having assured the 
 duke, that she hoped he would continue in her ser- 
 vice ; and that she would answer -for the proper 
 conduct of all the ministers towards him. But at 
 the end she became more candid than it was possible 
 not to be deeply moved with : " I must request your 
 grace," said her majesty, " that you will not suffer 
 any vote of thanks to you to be moved in parlia- 
 ment this year, because my ministers will oppose 
 it." To which the duke calmly answered " I shall 
 always be ready to serve your majesty ; if what has 
 recently passed should not incapacitate me." 
 
 On his arrival, he had been visited by most of the 
 ministers. Harley, however, met him first at the 
 council ; and the queen is supposed by some to have 
 entertained thoughts of removing all coldness between 
 them. We find St. John, however, writing in a
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 311 
 
 very curious and suspicious manner to Mr. Drum- 
 mond. " The great man (as he invidiously calls 
 him) had been gratified in every point, which re- 
 garded him, as Duke of Marlborough, or as a general." 
 He adds : 
 
 "He has been told by the Duke of Shrewsbury, by Mr. 
 Harley, and by your humble servant, that since the queen 
 agrees to his commanding the army, it is our duty, and also 
 our interest, to support him if possible, better than he ever 
 yet was ; and that he may depend upon this. He has seen 
 in other instances, that we are able to see and to pursue that 
 which was right ; why should he think us so capable of 
 judging on this occasion so wrong ? He was told at first that 
 he had nothing to reproach us with ; that his wife, my Lord 
 Godolphin, and himself, had thrown the queen's favour 
 away, and that he ought not to be angry if other people 
 had taken it up. He was told that his true interest con- 
 sisted in getting rid of his wife, who was grown to be 
 irreconcileable with the queen, as soon as lie could, and 
 with the best grace which he could. He has been told 
 that he must draw a line between all that is past, and all 
 that is to come, and that he must begin entirely upon a 
 new foot ; and that if he looked back to make complaints, 
 he would have more retorted upon him than it was possi- 
 ble to answer ; that, if he would make his former conduct 
 the rule of his future behaviour, he would render his 
 interests incompatible with those of the queen. What is 
 the effect of all this plain dealing 1 He submits, he yields, 
 he promises to comply ; but he struggles to alleviate Mere- 
 dytn's disgrace, and make the queen make a less figure 
 by going back, than she could have done, by taking no 
 notice at all of the insolence of him and his comrades. 
 He is angry at the Duke of Argyle's being appointed to 
 command in Spain, and would, I suppose, have him 
 punished, for acting on a plan, which we have all, the 
 queen herself even, been concerned in. In short, to finish 
 this description, I doubt, he thinks it possible for him to 
 have the absolute power, which he was once vested with ; 
 and believes perhaps, that those who serve the queen, are
 
 312 LIFE OF 
 
 weak enough not to see the use, that he would make of it. 
 Once more, by all the judgment which I can form, the 
 exterior is a little mended, but at heart'the same sentiments 
 remain, and these heightened and inflamed by what he 
 calls provocation. We shall do what we can to support 
 him in the command of the army, without betraying our 
 mistress ; and unless he is infatuated, he will help us in 
 this design ; for you must know the moment he leaves the 
 service, and loses the protection of the court, such scenes 
 Mill open as no victories will varnish over." 
 
 The ministers were, nevertheless, greatly appre- 
 hensive, that the duke would throw up his command. 
 In fact he had resolved to do so, should the duchess 
 be removed. Her grace, however, earnestly desired 
 him not to sacrifice the public good for her : at the 
 same time she wished him to lose no time in ascer- 
 taining what the designs of the queen were. The 
 Duke of Shrewsbury, at the same time, knowing 
 that the queen's intention was to demand her grace's 
 key of office, advised him to try the effect of his own 
 personal solicitations, before it was demanded. 
 
 Thus advised, his grace took the benefit of an 
 audience he had solicited (Jan. 17, 1711), to pre- 
 sent her majesty with a letter, couched in very 
 humble terms, from the duchess. The queen received 
 the letter with great coldness, and, for some time, 
 refused to open it. At length, however, she did so, 
 and, having read it, she assured his grace she would 
 not change her resolution. On this the duke, in 
 rather, as we think, too abject a manner, entreated 
 the queen to remember the services of both; how 
 once she had regarded them ; how she had in earlier 
 years loved the duchess ; that her grace was sorry 
 for any offence she had unwittingly given her, and 
 that she would never be guilty of the like again. 
 To these entreaties and exhortations, the queen
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 313 
 
 returned no favourable answers; but, on the con- 
 trary, insisted, in a very peremptory manner, that 
 the gold key should be given up within three days. 
 
 Hearing this, the duke still further forgot what 
 was due to his own honour and services. He threw 
 himself upon his knees ! and in a most moving 
 manner intreated for a suspension of ten days. The 
 queen made no other answer, than that she insisted 
 upon the duchess giving up the key in two days 
 instead of three. On this the duke resumed his feet 
 and began talking of the cruelty he had experienced, 
 in regard to the dismissal of his favourite officers, 
 when the queen interrupted his exhortation by " I 
 will talk of no other business, till I have the key." 
 
 When the duchess became acquainted with all 
 this, she exhorted the duke to lose no time, but to 
 go at once and deliver up the key. After some hesi- 
 tation, he did as the duchess required. He went, 
 the same evening, and delivered it into her majesty's 
 hands. 
 
 His grace had frequently declared, that the 
 duchess and he would fall together. This resolution, 
 however, he did not reduce to practice ; and if we 
 are to attribute his not doing so to a deep sense of 
 what was due to the public good, as we are assured 
 it was, no words, our language can furnish, were 
 adequate to the expression of our gratitude and 
 admiration. That such was his motive, there can 
 be no honest or reasonable doubt. But that he did 
 not fulfil his threat is deeply to be lamented. In an 
 evil hour he listened to the earnest exhortations of 
 his friends at home, and his allies abroad ; and " con- 
 tinued in the command/' as Mr. Coxe truly states, 
 " only to encounter the disgrace and persecution 
 with which he had been threatened, and to lament
 
 314 LIFE OP 
 
 the conclusion of that dishonourable peace, which he 
 so much deprecated." 
 
 The duchess being dismissed, her place of lady of 
 the wardrobe was conferred on the Duchess of 
 Somerset ; and that of keeper of the privy purse on 
 the favourite, Mrs. Masham ; and now we have to 
 record two instances of meanness and impropriety, 
 on the part of the duchess, not to be vindicated, and 
 scarcely to be credited. In making up her accounts, 
 she claimed and received 2,000/. a year (for nine 
 years), which the queen had offered her, and she had 
 herself declined to accept ; and when she gave up her 
 apartments, which she had, in virtue of her places, 
 at the palace, she ordered the locks, and the marble 
 chimney-pieces, which she had put on, to be taken off 
 and sent away. These orders were given ; but that, 
 in respect to the chimney-pieces, was not persisted 
 in. It is to be remembered, too, that her grace 
 retained the rangership of Windsor Park ; that 
 appointment having been given to her for a certain 
 term of years. 
 
 At all times the duke had been subject to unwar- 
 rantable aspersions and calumnies : but, at the 
 change of ministers, these aspersions became much 
 more numerous. One thing, however, was fortunate ; 
 they at length assumed a tangible shape. Neither 
 Marlborough nor Godolphin had shown any regard 
 to literature or science. They were, in fact, almost en- 
 tirely ignorant of the influence which some men have 
 upon public affairs, whose temples are their closets. 
 Their successors, more especially Harley and St. John, 
 had a full sense of the force, which this vast engine of 
 of policy could throw into their scale. "Wit and hu- 
 mour were the scythes they moved ; and Prior, and, 
 above all, Swift, were the hands that used them.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MAKLBOROUGH. 315 
 
 These instruments were exercised in the endea- 
 vour to bring the parsimony of Godolphin into 
 contempt ; and to throw the mantle of prejudice 
 over the victories of Marlborough. The effects of 
 all this are thus stated by Smollett : " Marlbo- 
 rough, who, a few months before, had been so highly 
 extolled, and caressed, by the representatives of 
 the people, was now become the object of par- 
 liamentary hatred and censure, though no sensible 
 alteration had happened in his conduct or success. 
 That hero, who had retrieved the glory of the 
 British arms, won so many battles, subdued such a 
 number of towns and districts, humbled the pride 
 and checked the ambition of France, secured the 
 liberty of Europe, and, as it were, chained victory to 
 his chariot wheels, was, in a few weeks, dwindled 
 into an object of contempt and derision. He was 
 ridiculed in public libels, and reviled in private con- 
 versation. Instances were everywhere repeated of 
 his fraud, avarice, and extortion ; of his insolence, 
 ambition, and misconduct ; even his courage was 
 called in question ; and this consummate general was 
 represented as the lowest of mankind." 
 
 Such was the effect, even in parliament, of these 
 libels, that, on the 12th of January, among other 
 things, which passed in the House of Lords, the late 
 ministry were censured, as having contributed to all 
 the misfortunes, which had occurred in Spain ; by 
 being, in a great measure, the cause of the war in 
 that country having been carried on offensively; a 
 plan decidedly in opposition to the opinion of the 
 Earl of Peterborough. That general was, in conse- 
 quence, thanked by the House ; thereby saddling an 
 imputation on the Earl of Galway. On this Marl- 
 borough made an observation, " that it was some-
 
 316 LIFE OF 
 
 what strange that generals, who had acted to the 
 best of their understandings, and had even lost their 
 limbs in the service, should be examined, like 
 offenders, about insignificant things." There was, 
 as is but too frequent in political debates, no truth 
 or justice considered. Peterborough, being a tory, 
 was supported by the tories ; and Galway, being a 
 whig, was supported by the whigs. The fact, 
 however, was, that Peterborough deserved the thanks 
 for what he had done; and Marlborough and Galway 
 deserved equal thanks for what they had advised. 
 
 An ordinary man would have been so disgusted 
 with the conduct and pretensions of the present 
 ministry as to have resigned his command, and 
 left the state to finish the war, as seemed best to the 
 persons by whom it was governed. Not so Marl- 
 borough. He desired to finish what he had begun. 
 Insults wounded, but they did not command him. 
 He was pledged to forego his own feelings, and to 
 fulfil obligations he had contracted with elevated 
 parties. These were the Emperor, the Duke of 
 Savoy, the Elector of Hanover, the States, and 
 Prince Eugene. Though slighted, mortified, insulted, 
 and betrayed, he still retained his wonted control 
 over his own passions. His motives, however, as 
 usual, were, by thousands, misinterpreted and 
 maligned. Nothing, according to them, kept him in 
 subjection but insatiable avarice ; and, therefore, he 
 preferred surrendering his wife's places, in order to 
 make his own the more secure ! 
 
 Previous to his leaving London, the queen wrote 
 to the States, assuring them of her unqualified sup- 
 port ; in proof of which, she said, she would order 
 the Duke of Marlborough in whose conduct she 
 had the greatest confidence and satisfaction to
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 317 
 
 repair to Holland, according to their desire. Lord 
 Townsend was recalled from the Hague, and Lord 
 Raby appointed in his place; : and, to Marlborough's 
 great mortification, Mr. Hill, Mrs. Masham's bro- 
 ther, was appointed envoy to the States, instead of 
 his excellent friend, Cadogan. But Hill pleading 
 illness, Lord Orrery was named ; a person with whom 
 the duke had some reason to be dissatisfied. 
 
 Marlborough, having taken leave of the queen, 
 when her majesty condescended to give strong pro- 
 fessions in regard to her confidence in his zeal and ser- 
 vice, with an earnest assurance as to her resolution to 
 support the general interest, left London, and arrived 
 at the Hague on the 4th of March, greatly to the 
 satisfaction of the confederated powers. He was, 
 however, no longer plenipotentiary. He was no 
 longer armed with discretionary powers. He was but 
 a phantom of what he had been. He was not even 
 admitted behind the scenes. A clandestine intercourse 
 was going on between France and the ministry, in 
 regard to which he could only every now and then 
 glean some imperfect particulars. Previous to their 
 being in power, Louis had made overtures to the 
 tories. Now they were in power, they acknowledged 
 those overtures. Marlborough was confined to mi- 
 litary operations. These were put upon a respectable 
 footing. The emperor and the Duke of Savoy had 
 made up their differences ; and the troubles in Hun- 
 gary having been allayed, the emperor was enabled 
 to support the war in the Netherlands more strenu- 
 ously, than he was ever before enabled to do. Prince 
 Eugene, therefore, and the duke assisted each other 
 in laying a plan of operations, which should con- 
 quer, as they declared and hoped, the monarchy of 
 Spain in the bosom of France.
 
 318 LIFE OF 
 
 In the meantime, the king of that country was 
 not dismayed by the storm he saw gathering round 
 him. The fact, indeed, was, he hoped to gain the 
 object he sought, not in the field, but in the cabinet. 
 The parties, however, from whom he hoped, were at 
 present but a bunch of reeds. A faction was formed 
 against Harley and his associates by a considerable 
 number of Jacobites and violent tories, with Rochester 
 at their head. This created a system of affairs so 
 intricate and dangerous, that even Swift was com- 
 pelled to make an extraordinary confession : " The 
 kingdom is certainly ruined as much as bankrupt 
 merchants. We must have peace, let it be a bad or 
 good one, though nobody dare talk of it. The nearer 
 I iook upon things, the worse I like them : the con- 
 federacy will soon break to pieces, and our factions at 
 home increase ; the ministry are upon a narrow bot- 
 tom, and stand like an isthmus, between the whigs 
 on one side, and the violent tories on the other. They 
 are able seamen ; but the tempest is too great." 
 
 Now, also, began a new system of intrigue. The 
 queen began to perceive, that in her late conduct, she 
 had gone too far ; and Harley and St. John began 
 adopting a series of courtships towards the duke. 
 Their especial organ, Swift, was employed to flatter 
 and to dispose him to their toils. He had taunted 
 his grace, and insulted him in a thousand paragraphs. 
 He now sought to neutralize those insults. " Nobody, 
 that I know of," said he, in the Examiner, (Xo. 28) 
 " ever did dispute the Duke of Maryborough's cou- 
 rage, conduct, or success ; they have been always 
 unquestionable, and will continue to be so, in spite 
 of the malice of his enemies, or what is yet more, the 
 weakness of his advocates. The nation only wishes 
 to see him taken out of ill hands, and put into better."
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 319 
 
 The two ministers themselves acted the same part. 
 St. John wrote to his grace, assuring him of the 
 queen's favour ; and, having done so, made use of 
 an exceedingly artful expression : " I hope never 
 to see again the time, when I shall be obliged to 
 embark in a separate interest from you." 
 
 This language, however, did not deceive Marlbo- 
 rough. He knew the writer, at length, well. He was 
 assured, that it proceeded merely from fear. " I 
 know all of them," he wrote to the duchess, " so 
 perfectly well, that I shall always be upon my 
 guard." " Be careful in what you write." " As I 
 love you with all my heart and soul, and could ven- 
 ture my life to give you ease, I hope what I so earn- 
 estly desire for my own quiet, may not be uneasy to 
 you my thoughts are, that you and I should endea- 
 vour all we can not to have enemies ; for if we flatter 
 ourselves with the having many friends, it is not to 
 be expected, when favour is lost, as ours is entirely." 
 He then goes on to observe " Our affairs are in so 
 bad a condition, that I almost despair of having any 
 good success this summer ; so that I fear I shall 
 have no other prospect than torment and vexation. 
 But what may happen, or become of me, may God 
 Almighty bless you, and make you happy, as much 
 as may be possible in this world." 
 
 The ministers now felt assured, that if they wished 
 to stand, they must court the whigs with as much 
 solicitude, as they had before violated their faith to 
 them and calumniated their characters. This was 
 their consciousness, when an incident occurred, which 
 rendered Harley an object of consideration through- 
 out the whole country. The Marquis de Guiscard 
 had been employed by Maryborough ; and subse- 
 quently by Harley and St. John. He knew, there-
 
 320 LIFE OF 
 
 fore, several state secrets. These lie offered to betray 
 to the French government ; and his offer being de- 
 tected, he was arrested on a charge of high treason. 
 On the 8th of March he was -taken before a com- 
 mittee of the privy council. At first he boldly 
 denied his guilt ; but certain of his letters being pro- 
 duced, he was roused to such fury, that he escaped 
 from the messenger, ini^o whose custody he had been 
 committed, and rushed forward with a view of 
 stabbing St. John with a knife he had contrived to 
 secrete. St. John being seated on the opposite side 
 of the table, Guiscard was unable to reach him ; 
 upon which he turned suddenly to Harley, and struck 
 him in the breast, exclaiming, "A toi, done!" The 
 knife, lighting on the bone, broke about half an inch 
 from the handle. He then proceeded to give another 
 blow with the broken blade, when St. John and other 
 members of the council rushed upon him with their 
 swords drawn, and, after receiving several wounds, 
 the marquis was secured, and conveyed, the same 
 day, to Newgate, where he soon afterwards died of 
 the wounds he had received in the rencontre. 
 
 The marquis's motives for this attempt have been 
 variously stated. What he stated himself, a little 
 before his death, was, that his first object was to 
 stab St. John ; and that as he could not accomplish 
 that, he thought it would be some consolation to 
 stab him, whom he thought St. John loved best. 
 His true reasons, however, have never been ascer- 
 tained. 
 
 This incident was of great service to Mr. Harley. 
 All parties united in execrating the perpetrator of 
 this deed. Harley' s door was besieged from morning 
 till night with anxious enquirers after his health : 
 even the public business was suspended ; and all
 
 JOHN, DTTKE OF MARLBOROTIGH. 321 
 
 things seemed to hang upon Mr. Harley's recovery. 
 This was at no great distance. His wound was soon 
 pronounced not mortal ; and he was, after a few 
 weeks, so far recovered as to give notice, that he 
 should be in the House of Commons in a few days. 
 Indeed this incident was so productive of good to 
 Harley, that some persons went even so far as to 
 conjecture, and then to assert, that part of Mr. 
 Harley's illness was feigned ; and that it was not 
 impossible that the whole was no other than a scene, 
 got up for the purpose of rendering Mr. Harley an 
 object of interest to the whole kingdom. Such, 
 however, was not the opinion of parliament : for 
 when he was expected to be in the House of Com- 
 mons in a few days, the House came to the unani- 
 mous resolution, that the Speaker should, in the 
 name of its members, congratulate Mr. Harley on 
 his recovery from " the barbarous and villanous 
 attempt, that had been made upon him by the Sieur 
 de Guiscard," 
 
 No one was more shocked at this attempt than 
 Marlborough ; and his letters to Harley in conse- 
 quence were dictated in terms, evidently indicative, 
 that he no longer felt for his former ingratitude. 
 
 Shortly after this the Emperor ( Josephl.) was taken 
 ill of the small-pox. The whole of Europe, therefore, 
 was about to sustain a signal change. The emperor 
 died in a few days after he was seized with the ill- 
 ness. He died at Vienna in the thirty-fourth year 
 of his age, and the seventh of his reign, on the 16th 
 of April, at eleven in the morning. Prince Eugene, 
 in consequence of this, was immediately sent for to 
 take the command of the empire as marshal. His 
 highness took with him all his cavalry and a consi- 
 derable part of his foot.
 
 322 LIFE OF 
 
 Charles having now become heir of the house of 
 Austria, became a candidate for the throne of the 
 empire. Jealousies, however, had been, and were 
 still, excited against the increasing power of this 
 house ; lest it should, in the person of Charles, unite 
 its hereditary dominions with the Spanish monarchy, 
 and thereby consolidate a power equal to that which, 
 under Charles V., had, so long and in so fatal a 
 degree, threatened the liberties of Europe. France, 
 however, secretly prompted the aspiration of Charles, 
 and openly supported that of the Elector of Bavaria : 
 and this conduct was far from being unwelcome to 
 the British ministry. 
 
 The French had been busily employed, during the 
 autumn and throughout the winter, in forming and 
 strengthening a series of lines, extending from Namur 
 to the coast of Picardy near Montreuil ; and so 
 firmly did Villars rely upon the strength of these 
 defences, that he publicly boasted of having, at last, 
 brought Maryborough to his ne plus ultra. The 
 departure of Eugene, also, filled him with such joy, 
 that he sent to tell the duke, that he should be 30,000 
 men at least stronger than all the allies put together. 
 Upon this Marlborough wrote to Godolphin, and, in 
 allusion to this message, said, " I know not what 
 projects the emperor's death may put them upon, on 
 the side of Germany ; but if their superiority be as 
 great as he says it will be, I should not apprehend 
 much from them, but that of their being able to 
 hinder us from acting ; which, to my own particular, 
 would be mortification enough ; for since constant 
 success has not met with approbation, what may I 
 not expect, when nothing is done ! As I rely much 
 on Providence, so shall I be ready of improving all 
 occasions that may offer." " I have already told
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 323 
 
 you," said he in a letter to the duchess, " that we are 
 very considerably weaker, and the enemy much 
 stronger, than the last campaign; so that God only 
 knows how this may end." 
 
 Whatever superiority of numbers the French might 
 have possessed, the king* was now playing too sure a 
 game with the British cabinet, to hazard any chances 
 in the field : Villars, therefore, received positive 
 instructions not to risk an engagement. Marlborough 
 offered him battle on the plains of Lens ; and Villars 
 threw eighteen bridges over the Scarpe, as a demon- 
 stration of acceptance ; but he was too wise to act in 
 contradiction to the instructions he had received. 
 
 The negociation, opened by Louis with the British 
 ministry, now began to assume some real and positive 
 shape ; and Lord Raby, with a hint that he should 
 make no communication to the general, received from 
 St. John a sketch of articles, which, as preliminaries, 
 had been offered by the French king, as the founda- 
 tion of a general treaty of peace ; an option being 
 allowed to the British ministry, whether they chose 
 to treat in conjunction with the ministers of all the 
 confederates, or with the Dutch alone : The place 
 of congress to rest with the queen ; whether at Liege, 
 or Aix-la-Chapelle. 
 
 While this was transacting., Harley brought for- 
 ward his celebrated scheme for satisfying the public 
 debt; a plan which the parliament did him the 
 honour to approve, without entering any way into 
 a consideration of it. It was hailed as a great effort 
 of financial genius, and eagerly embraced. Harley 
 was, therefore, at the zenith of popularity ; and, as 
 if to secure that elevation the more permanently, 
 his most powerful rival for the favour of her majesty, 
 Lord Rochester, died on the very day, on which 
 y 2
 
 324 LIFE OF 
 
 this memorable scheme was laid before parliament. 
 He was now, therefore, sole regent, as it were ; the 
 idol of no small portion of the public ; paramount in 
 the cabinet ; almost absolute in the Commons ; of 
 great authority in the Lords ; and, to add to his 
 pride, vanity, and consideration, he was raised to 
 the peerage by the title of Baron Harley of Wig- 
 more, Earl of Oxford and Mortimer. He was, 
 also, a few days after, constituted Lord High Trea- 
 surer ; while the person, who was to act as Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer, was so much of a cipher, 
 that his name is almost entirely forgotten : nor shall 
 we assist to redeem it from oblivion. 
 
 Harley's elevation was the signal for attack upon 
 his timid, but virtuous predecessor, who, with others 
 of the late administration, were charged with pecula- 
 tion and plunder. The censure was general ; but it 
 was evident to see, that Godolphin was the person 
 principally aimed at ; the general charge being, 
 that 35,302, 107 remained unaccounted for; of a 
 great part of which no accounts had ever been so 
 much as laid before the auditor. If this had been 
 true, we should have had no difficulty in judging of 
 the motives which, for so long a period, had induced 
 the late ministers to submit to such a series of 
 insults, rather than resign their stations. The effect 
 was instantaneous and electrical. The whigs became 
 objects of universal censure and fury. But Oxford, 
 as we must now call him, did not enjoy his elevation 
 without some drawbacks. St. John had become 
 his rival ; not in the queen's favour, but in political 
 ambition ; and what his feeling had some time been, 
 may, perhaps, be ascertained from what he wrote to 
 Lord Orrery: " Since his recovery, Mr. Harley has 
 not appeared at the council, or at the treasury at all;
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 325 
 
 and very seldom in the House of Commons. We, 
 who are reputed to be in his intimacy, have few 
 opportunities of seeing him, and none of talking 
 freely with him. As he is the only true channel, 
 through which the queen's pleasure is conveyed, so 
 there is, and must be, a pei'fect stagnation, till he is 
 pleased to open himself, and set the water flowing." 
 Oxford was too discerning not to understand on 
 what precarious footing all ministers stand. He 
 resumed, therefore, we are told, " his former policy of 
 cajoling all parties, and endeavoured to sustain his 
 credit and power by luring their cupidity, or exciting 
 their mutual antipathies." We cannot follow him 
 in all these manoeuvres. We can only say a few 
 words, and those chiefly in respect to the death of 
 Newcastle, and the appointment of his successor. 
 The duke having died unexpectedly (of an apoplexy), 
 great interest was made by a variety of parties for 
 the office, his grace had left vacant : viz. that of lord 
 privy seal. Amongst others were the Dukes of 
 Shrewsbury, Buckingham, and Leeds ; the Earl of 
 Nottingham, and his brother, Lord Guernsey ; the 
 Earls of Clarendon and Jersey ; and the Duke of 
 Somerset recommended Lord Somers. Thus en- 
 tangled, Oxford scarcely knew whom to choose. At 
 length he fixed upon the Earl of Jersey ; but that 
 nobleman dying suddenly, on the very day on which 
 he was to be appointed, the office was, unexpectedly 
 by all parties, and without any precedent for its 
 justification, conferred on Dr. Robinson, Dean of 
 Windsor ; register of the order of the garter ; and 
 soon raised to the bishopric of Bristol. To lessen 
 his difficulties, and to add to his strength, too, Oxford 
 looked towards the Duke of Marlborough, his first 
 patron ; the man he had calumniated, and whose
 
 326 LIFE OF 
 
 interests he had betrayed; and one from whom he had 
 received a thousand benefits. Marlborough felt the 
 injuries, he had sustained from this artful and 
 unworthy man ; but he saw, also, that his interests 
 might be advanced from affecting not to see. lie 
 therefore adopted the flattering style of the new lord- 
 treasurer. " Your lordship's last letters give me 
 so much encouragement to correspond with you, for 
 the future, in terms of confidence and friendship, 
 that I cannot forbear to offer to you such thoughts, 
 relative to the service, as occur to me." The duk^ 
 then goes on to inform him, that the enemy had 
 brought forward a large train of artillery, with all 
 sorts of ammunition and other necessaries for a siege, 
 to Cambray, where they were then actually erecting 
 magazines, as w r ell as at Valenciennes and Bouchain. 
 The duke then informs him that he had a plan to 
 propose in regard to the operations, he wished to 
 undertake ; and towards the close he states that, if 
 agreeable to his lordship, he would send over Lord 
 Stair to communicate with him : Lord Stair being 
 already fully acquainted with the desire he had to 
 live with the minister in the strictest friendship that 
 might be' ! 
 
 Oxford's answer being equally flattering, Lord 
 Stair was sent over ; and being admitted to the 
 council, he explained the whole of Marlborough's 
 mind, which was to the effect, that he wanted to be 
 permitted to resign his post to one more agreeable to 
 the queen and her ministry, who would carry on the 
 war to the objects wished by the confederates : or 
 continue at the head of the army, provided he could 
 regain the confidence of her majesty, and live with 
 the present lord treasurer on the same friendly foot- 
 ing, he had done w r ith the last. His plan w r as then
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 327 
 
 laid before the council. Its scope was this : to 
 keep the greatest part of the army in the situation in 
 which it then was during the whole winter. This 
 would oblige the enemy to do the same. But the 
 expense would be much greater to the French, than 
 to the allies : the chief good resulting from which 
 would be, that the allies would be in a condi- 
 tion to take the field so early in the spring, that the 
 enemy would not be able to prevent an attack either 
 upon Arras, or upon Cambray, as might be thought 
 most conducive to the common cause. 
 
 This project having received the approbation of 
 the queen and the ministers, Marlborough began 
 operations preparatory to the investment of Bou- 
 chain. 
 
 His great anxiety was, lest the enemy should 
 take permanent possession of Arleux. If he took it 
 himself, he knew that Villars would take it again, 
 as soon as he had withdrawn his troops to a distance. 
 He, therefore, resolved to take it, and then to put it 
 in a state of defence : with a view of making the 
 French general think, that he thought it of great 
 importance as a place of defence. This he accom- 
 plished. He took the town ; put it in the state he 
 wished ; then withdrew, leaving a small garrison. 
 Villars, seeing the allies remove, sent part of his 
 army to retake it ; when Marlborough finding the 
 enemy had fallen into his trap, by their division of 
 the army, got within their lines without the loss of 
 a single man ! those lines, which Villars had repre- 
 sented to his sovereign as the ne plus ultra of Marl- 
 borough. 
 
 This was the finest operation of the whole war ; and 
 we should have been happy to have described it in 
 detail ; but the space, to which we are limited, renders 
 it impossible.
 
 #28 LIFE OP 
 
 The allies would have willingly " bought these lines 
 at the expense of thousands of men," says Lediard ; 
 " hut by Maryborough's wisdom they became masters 
 of them, with no other cost but that of a little fatigue, 
 and a diligent and assiduous march of their troops." 
 Villars now endeavoured to allure them to a battle, 
 as the only means of wiping off the disgrace he had 
 sustained ; and even the Dutch deputies were so 
 elated with this great and unexpected success, that 
 they urged the general to attack the enemy. Marl- 
 borough, however, thought better ; resolving to wait 
 the arrival of the rear-guard and the fatigued troops. 
 At the rising of a council, which had been held, 
 therefore, the army advanced almost within cannon- 
 shot of Cambray ; and this movement alone was 
 sufficient to prevent Villars from attempting, as he 
 had meditated, and as Marlborough had foreseen, the 
 passage of the Scheldt. 
 
 Bouchain was now open to a siege. All around 
 Marlborough, however, advised him not to undertake 
 that operation ; but he had laid his plan and taken 
 his measures so well, that he felt certain of success, 
 and therefore was resolved to venture it, amidst all 
 the impediments that stood in his way. He first, 
 however, wrote home to give an account of what 
 had been accomplished. News of it was sent, also, 
 to the States by the Dutch deputies. When it 
 arrived at the Hague, no encomiums were thought too 
 great for the general, who had, with such ease,* 
 accomplished so difficult an operation. But the 
 satisfaction and joy were far from being so great and 
 
 feneral in England. The ministry especially St. 
 ohn inquired of Cadogan why the general had 
 not ventured to fight, since Villars had invited him 
 to it ? There were some in Holland, too, who thought
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLIJOROUGH. 329 
 
 it ought to have been risked : and Marlborotigh, think- 
 ing it possible, that the same sentiment might prevail 
 at Vienna, wrote letters in vindication of the conduct 
 he had adopted ; in these be states, that one reason, 
 why he had not accepted the invitation, was. that it 
 was " an impossibility." And in the certainty that, 
 in the position in which he was, the duke's opinion 
 was better than that of all others, we pass on. " God 
 be thanked," said he, at the close of his letter to 
 Count Zinzendorff ; " we have succeeded in closing 
 the communication between the army of M. Villars 
 and the town of Bouchain, and in two or three days 
 we shall open the trenches." 
 
 The duke now laid siege to Bouchain ; the armies 
 being so near that the besiegers were bombarded by 
 the enemy ; and the sentinels of the two armies had 
 frequent conversations with each other. The only 
 advantage Villars gained by this was, that he had, 
 after a while, the mortification of seeing the garrison 
 march out as prisoners of war. Before this, how- 
 ever, something having occurred to alarm them, the 
 Dutch deputies urged the duke to relinquish the 
 siege : and this with as much earnestness, as they 
 had recently displayed for an ill-timed engagement. 
 Maryborough, nevertheless, determined on going on, 
 and several acts of gallantry are recorded on both 
 sides ; amongst which this : A young ensign of the 
 regiment Ingoldsby, who was at the head of fifteen 
 grenadiers, seeing, when they were advanced some 
 part of the way in the water, that he must drown, 
 or give up his share of the enterprise and return, 
 chose rather to get upon the shoulders of one of his 
 grenadiers, all of whom were nearly up to the chin 
 in water, till they came to the parapet, when he was 
 one of the first to get into the enemy's works. Had
 
 LIFE OF 
 
 he chanced to have been the son of a nobleman, his 
 name had, doubtless, been preserved. 
 
 Previous to taking the town we find, that Prince 
 Eugene sent the duke advice, according to his wish, 
 that he should do so. " I am of opinion, that your 
 highness ought to spare no pains to strengthen your 
 intrenchments on both sides of the river as much as 
 possible, so that they may be defended with fewer 
 troops, and that the remainder may be employed 
 wherever it may be necessary. This being executed, 
 nothing more remains to be done than to press the 
 siege, collect forage, and secure the convoy; and 
 from what I know of yours and the enemy's situa- 
 tion, this appears to be practicable. Your highness 
 will please to excuse this liberty, which I have only 
 taken in obedience to your commands, and to the 
 desire you have been pleased to express of knowing 
 my sentiments. I trust I need not repeat, that no 
 one is more interested, than I am, in what concerns 
 you, or wishes you more success in the remainder of 
 the campaign, which may contribute to a good peace." 
 
 On the 12th of September the garrison of Bouchain 
 signified a wish to surrender. About noon on that 
 day, the besieged, seeing that the breaches were wide 
 enough, and that all things seemed to indicate a 
 general assault, beat the chamade, and hostages being 
 exchanged, the French, who were conducted to Ge- 
 neral Fagel's quarters, whither the duke and the 
 deputies had repaired, began to propose articles of 
 capitulation. They were, however, immediately 
 answered by the duke stating that he would not 
 read them. " Since the governor has waited to the 
 last extremity," said he, " he has no other terms to 
 expect, but to become prisoners of war. This you 
 will be pleased to communicate to your commander,
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBORCUGII. 031 
 
 and if he will not accept these conditions, the hostages 
 must be sent back." 
 
 When the governor heard this, he refused to 
 comply. Hostilities, therefore, immediately recom- 
 menced with great fury on both sides. The besieg- 
 ers made such terrible execution with their cannon, 
 mortars, and small shot, that the besieged were 
 compelled at length to hang out the white flag and 
 beat a parley. Hostages were again exchanged ; 
 but the governor still proposing terms, which Marl- 
 borough thought him not entitled to, the fire recom- 
 menced even with greater fury than before, and at 
 length the garrison, (to the amount of 3000 men) con- 
 sented to become prisoners of war on the duke's own 
 terms ; though in sight of Villars' army, then con- 
 sisting, it is stated, of not less than 100,000 men. 
 
 On the capture of Bouchain, Marlborough deter- 
 mined on laying siege to Quesnoy. We must here, 
 however, allude to a circumstance, that took place 
 after the surrender of Bouchain/ viz. : that having 
 done so, complaints were made to Villars, by Count 
 de Ravignan, late governor of the town, that the 
 terms, on which he had capitulated, had not been 
 implicitly observed. Villars wrote to the duke, 
 complaining of breach of faith. On this the duke 
 summoned the deputies, and the complaint having 
 been proved entirely groundless, he wrote an answer, 
 to which were appended the attestations of the depu- 
 ties, which as Villars and the court of France consi- 
 dered strictly satisfactory, we shall only select one 
 passage from the correspondence ; and that is, wherein 
 the British general says " My manner of acting 
 with many of the general officers, on so many occasions 
 of this nature, ought to be to the king and the whole 
 world as so many pledges of my upright proceeding ;
 
 332 LIFE OF 
 
 and I flatter myself they will do me the justice to 
 believe, that nothing was done, in the treatment that 
 garrison met with, contrary to the capitulation that 
 was granted them." 
 
 "We must now give insertion to an anecdote, highly 
 illustrative of Marlborough's character. The estate 
 of Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray, being exposed 
 to plunder but we will copy the account, given by 
 Mr. Coxe, because it is rendered in a manner worthy 
 of a person of so much learning and taste : " The 
 character of Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray, is too 
 well known to need any delineation. The estates of 
 his see being exposed to the plunder of the troops, 
 Marlborough ordered a detachment to guard the 
 magazines of corn at Chateau-Cambresis, and gave 
 a safe-conduct for their conveyance to Cambray ; 
 and when even this protection, in consequence of 
 the scarcity of bread, was not likely to be respected 
 by the soldiery, he sent a corps of dragoons, with 
 waggons to transport the grain, and escort it to the 
 precincts of. the town. Thus did our illustrious 
 general pay homage to the Christian philosopher, 
 who honoured letters by his genius, religion by his 
 piety, France by his renown, and human nature by 
 his virtues ; and thus did he, by his conduct towards 
 the author of Telemachus, imitate Alexander at the 
 capture of Thebes, when, in the language of our sub- 
 lime poet (Milton), 
 
 ' The great Emathian conqueror did spare 
 The house of Pindarus, when temple and tower 
 Went to the ground.'" 
 
 We have now though with reluctance to record 
 an almost unparalleled instance of duplicity .on the 
 part of Oxford, and those with whom he acted. 
 While he was writing to Marlborough in the most
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 333 
 
 friendly terms, promising all manner of supplies for 
 carrying on the war with vigour, he was deliberately 
 deceiving him, and had, at this very moment, brought 
 a secret negociation with France almost to a conclu- 
 sion. Preliminaries were, indeed, actually agreed upon. 
 They had, in truth, ample reason for such secrecy ; for 
 they well knew, they could never hope to have the 
 sanction of Marlborough to such a peace as they were 
 on the point of making. As long as the duke was at the 
 head of the army, the scheme could never be effected. 
 
 To answer the overtures from the French monarch, 
 Matthew Prior (the once celebrated poet) was sent 
 over with all imaginable secrecy : and the true cause 
 of his being selected was, that he was personally 
 acquainted with the Marquis de Torcy, the projector 
 of this negociation. At the expiration of six w r eeks, 
 lie had brought the preliminaries to a consistence, 
 and was returning with the same secrecy as he had 
 set out, in company with the marquis's secretary, when, 
 not being provided with passports, they were both 
 arrested as spies by the mayor, on their arrival at 
 Dover ; and a packet, Prior had brought, was kept, 
 till an order from the court arrived to set him free : 
 and by this accident the secret came to be known. 
 
 Hearing of this, Marlborough wrote to Lord Oxford 
 to request to know what all this meant, and to be 
 informed of what was passing. The wily minister 
 wrote an evasive reply ; and to give him no cause of 
 complaint, or rather to lull the duke's suspicions, made 
 use of several flattering expressions ; amongst which 
 these : " And now, since I must shake off myself, I 
 can say no more than this, that I shall leave it to my 
 actions to speak for me ; and so give your grace de- 
 monstration, that I am the same man towards you, 
 as I was the first day I had the honour of your
 
 834 LIFE OF 
 
 acquaintance ; and I shall as heartily promote every- 
 thing under your care, as I did, or would have done, 
 in any time since I have been known to you." 
 
 St. John kept up the same deception. Both af- 
 fected to approve of his plan of besieging Quesnoy ; 
 fully assured, at the same time, that the Dutch would 
 neither consent to, nor advance any money towards 
 a design, not likely to be carried into execution. 
 At length Maryborough was instructed, that a nego- 
 ciation was going on with France ; but that nothing 
 would be done without the concurrence of the States : 
 that the queen would enter into no separate treaty, 
 nor would receive any proposition without commu- 
 nicating it to the States. Notwithstanding these 
 assurances, no official communications were made of 
 the preliminary articles, proposed by the French 
 court ; although they were signed on the 27th of 
 September by M. Mesnager, who had accompanied 
 Prior to England, on the part of France ; and by the 
 two secretaries of state, in virtue of a warrant from 
 the queen. 
 
 In this "dishonourable instrument," says Mr. 
 Coxe, " the only specific propositions were, the 
 acknowledgment of the queen's title and the pro- 
 testant succession by the King of France, and his 
 engagement to take all just and reasonable measures, 
 that the crowns of France and Spain should never 
 be united on the head of the same prince, from a per- 
 suasion that this excess of power would be contrary 
 to the good and quiet of Europe. Thus, with a 
 siugle stroke of the pen, was overturned the leading 
 principle of the grand alliance, that no Bourbon 
 prince should ever fill the throne of Spain. A 
 secure and convenient barrier was, indeed, pro- 
 mised to the States, the empire and the house of
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 335 
 
 Austria ; but without the mention of any precise 
 cession. Dunkirk was to be demolished, but a proper 
 equivalent was to be settled on in the conferences ; 
 and the pretensions of the allies were to be dis- 
 cussed londjide and amicably, and nothing omitted to 
 terminate them to the satisfaction of all parties." 
 
 An official copy of these preliminaries was sent 
 over to the States, and their consent demanded in a 
 manner sufficiently peremptory. They were, how- 
 ever, received with so much indignation, that Buys, 
 pensionary of Amsterdam, was sent to England to 
 remonstrate. 
 
 The Dutch having signified great dislike that the 
 siege of Quesnoy should be undertaken, Marlborough 
 gave up the thought, and made preparations to close 
 the campaign, by sending his troops into winter 
 quarters. He quitted Bouchain, Oct. 25 ; having 
 first put it in a good posture of defence ; and then 
 went to Tournay, where he was hospitably enter- 
 tained by Lord Albemarle, governor of that fortress. 
 On the 3d of November he arrived at Antwerp, 
 attended by several general officers, under a triple 
 discharge of artillery. He there supped with the 
 Cardinal de Bouillon, and dined, the next day, with 
 the Marquis de Terracina, governor of the citadel, 
 who had invited all the people of quality and con- 
 sideration to a feast, in honour of his imperial ma- 
 jesty (Charles VI.), who had been some time before 
 elected to that dignity, in room of his brother, the 
 late Emperor Joseph. On the 5th, he arrived at the 
 Ha-oTie ; where he entered into consultation with the 
 States-general, as well relating to peace as the pro- 
 secution of the war. 
 
 Marlborough was one of those superior spirits, 
 who are appreciated everywhere better than in their
 
 336 LIFE OF 
 
 own country ; and at no period of his career did 
 party attempt to lessen his merits more than at this. 
 He was sensibly affected by this malice : and became 
 more so on learning, on his arrival at the Hague, 
 that he was accused, not only of extortion, but of 
 fraud and embezzlement of the public money. 
 
 Mr. Lockhart had reported from the commissioners, 
 who had been appointed the preceding year to take 
 and report the accounts, some practices, which they 
 had discovered, relating to the affairs of the army. 
 Among these was one which more particularly re- 
 garded the Duke of Marlborough ; viz. the deposition 
 of Sir Solomon Medina, proving that great sums had 
 been taken by the Duke of Marlborough, and Mr. 
 Cardonnel, his secretary, on account of contracts for 
 bread and bread-waggons, in the Low Countries. 
 These depositions the clerk of the house was ordered 
 to keep very carefully, and to let no person have 
 them, on any account, out of their hands; but that 
 he should deliver copies to any member of the house 
 who should desire to have them. From this report 
 it appeared, that the duke had received, on account 
 of the bread and bread-waggon contracts, from Sir 
 Solomon de Medina, 332,425 guilders; and from 
 Antonio Alvarez Machabo, other sums ; in all 
 amounting to .63,319. 
 
 The affair having been treated rather mysteriously, 
 the public became greatly excited. Marlborough 
 was held up to the world in a very odious light ; and 
 considered, though the evidence was sufficiently 
 suspicious, as a public defaulter. On learning 
 this, the duke made no delay, but instantly entered 
 on his defence. "Gentlemen," said he, in a letter to 
 the commissioners, " having been informed, on my 
 arrival here, that Sir Solomon de Medina has ac-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOUOUGII. 337 
 
 quainted you with my having received several sums 
 of money from him, that it might make the less 
 impression on you, I would lose no time in letting 
 you know, that this is no more than what has been 
 allowed as a perquisite to the general, or commander- 
 in-chief of the army in the Low Countries even before 
 the Revolution, and since ; and I do assure you, at 
 the same time, that whatever sums I have received 
 on that account have been constantly employed for 
 the service of the public, in keeping secret corre- 
 spondence, and getting intelligence of the enemy's 
 motions and designs." 
 
 The duke wrote also to the lord treasurer, in 
 which, among several interesting expressions, are 
 these : " When you have taken the pains to read 
 the enclosed copy, pray be so kind as to employ 
 your good offices, so that it may be known I have 
 the advantage of your friendship. No one knows 
 better than your lordship the great use and expense 
 of intelligence, and no one can better explain it ; and 
 'tis for that reason I take the liberty to add a further 
 request, that you would be so kind as to lay the 
 whole, on some fitting opportunity, before the queen; 
 being well persuaded her majesty, who has so far 
 approved, and so well rewarded my services, would 
 not be willing they should now be reflected on." 
 " My lord," continued he, " you see I make no 
 scruple to give you a little trouble, which, to a tem- 
 per like yours, rather increases than diminishes the 
 pleasure of doing a good office. I do, therefore, 
 boldly claim the benefit of your friendship, and am 
 so sanguine as to expect the good effects of it, which 
 I shall make it my constant business to deserve. 
 The endeavours of our enemies to destroy the friend- 
 ship between us will double mine to continue and 
 z
 
 338 LIFE OP 
 
 improve it, and I have now the greater desire to be 
 at home, that I may explain to you what I cannot 
 so well write, I mean the true sincerity wherewith I 
 am, &c. &c." 
 
 " I wish I had your good temper and judgment," 
 he wrote to Lord Godolphin ; " for then I should 
 not be vexed, as I am now, at the villanous libels, 
 which appear every day ; but of this more when I 
 have the happiness of being with you." 
 
 Soon after writing these letters, the duke returned 
 to England, and arrived at Greenwich on the day in 
 which it was then customary for the mob to burn 
 the effigies of the Pope, the Devil, and the Pretender. 
 Not choosing to be thought countenancing this absurd 
 matter, he stopped at Greenwich till the next day, when 
 he passed through London and proceeded to Hampton 
 Court, to pay his respects to the queen, who was 
 pleased to receive him in a very gracious manner. 
 
 The next few days were devoted to visiting the 
 principal ministers of the government ; amongst 
 whom, to show that he entertained no personal dis- 
 satisfaction, he paid his compliments to the Earl of 
 Oxford. He was, at the same time, greatly averse 
 to the treaty that was carrying on with the French 
 ministry; and this annoyed St. John. " I hear," 
 said he, in a letter to one of his friends, " that, 
 in his conversation with the queen, the Duke of 
 Marlborough has spoken against what we are doing. 
 In short, his fate hangs heavy upon him ; and he has 
 of late pursued every counsel, which was the worst 
 for him." The duke's opposition was the less taste- 
 ful to the ministry, since peace was now the universal 
 subject of conversation, and her majesty had named 
 her plenipotentiaries, and given commission to the 
 Bishop of Bristol, lord privy seal, and the Earl of
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 339 
 
 Straftbrd ; for whom instructions were actually draw- 
 ing up. 
 
 The time for opening the parliament approaching, 
 pains were taken by many persons to persuade the 
 members to agree to the measures the court were in. 
 It was said, that the duke had spoken very plainly 
 to her majesty ; but that he found her so possessed, 
 that what he said made no impression ; so he de- 
 sired to be excused going to the council. 
 
 In the mean time his friends were not idle ; and 
 amongst other defenders was found Sir Robert Wal- 
 pole, who, in a very masterly manner, exposed the 
 fallacy of the charge brought against the duke, in a 
 pamphlet, entitled The Thirty -five Millions accounted 
 for ; and to this work we refer our readers for a full 
 answer to the charge. 
 
 Maryborough, the whigs, and the Earl of Notting- 
 ham, were now united as it were in one body ; and 
 several of the continental powers remonstrated against 
 the negociation ; amongst which no one more power- 
 fully than the Elector of Hanover. 
 
 Parliament met on the 7th of December, when the 
 queen, in her speech from the throne, stated that both 
 the place and the time were appointed for a general 
 peace, in concert with her allies, the States-general, 
 (whose interest she looked upon as inseparable from 
 her own,) notwithstanding the arts of those who de- 
 lighted in tear. She said, the ready concurrence of 
 the States showed that they reposed an entire confi- 
 dence in her ; and she promised to do her utmost to 
 procure reasonable satisfaction for all her allies. She 
 asked the necessary supplies for carrying on the war ; 
 but expressed her assurance, that no good Protestant 
 would envy her the glory of ending a tedious and 
 expensive war by a just and honourable peace. 
 z 2
 
 340 LIFE OP 
 
 The reference here made to the States-general ill 
 this speech, was a palpable untruth ! for the States 
 were decidedly against the treaty. The expression 
 of " the arts of those who delighted in war," was 
 evidently levelled at the Duke of Marlborough. 
 
 On leaving the house, her majesty took off her 
 royal robes ; and expecting (as it happened) that 
 very warm debates would arise, she returned incog- 
 nita into the house, hoping by her presence to 
 restrain the heats of it. The expedient, however, 
 proved ineffectual ; for .the Earl of Ferrers having 
 made the customary motion for an address, the Earl 
 of Nottingham suddenly arose, and in a long and 
 elaborate speech, opened an attack against the minis- 
 ters ; and closed with moving that a clause be added 
 to the address, that it was " the humble opinion and 
 advice of the house, that no peace could be safe 
 or honourable to Great Britain, or Europe, if Spain 
 or the West Indies should be allotted to any branch 
 of the house of Bourbon." 
 
 On this, a warm debate ensued ; and some peers 
 having stated that they were not prepared to speak 
 to the motion, Lord Sunderland answered smartly, 
 " What ! my lords, is it possible that any member of 
 this illustrious house should be unprepared to debate 
 an affair which, for these ten years past, has been the 
 principal subject-matter of our consultations ? Do we 
 not sit in the same house ? and are we not the same 
 peers, who have constantly been of opinion, and have 
 often represented to her majesty, that no safe or 
 honourable peace can be made, unless Spain and the 
 West Indies be recovered from the house of Bourbon ? 
 It is true, that I see some new faces among us ; but 
 even the noble lord w r ho sits upon the woolsack," (the 
 lord treasurer,) " may well remember that, in the
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 341 
 
 late reign, four lords were impeached for having made 
 a partition treaty." 
 
 The Earl of Anglesea, who had arrived but that very 
 day in London, together with the Duke of Ormond, 
 from Ireland, represented the insufferable burden 
 under which the nation groaned, and the necessity 
 there was of making a peace ; the conclusion of which 
 ought, in his opinion, to be left entirely to her ma- 
 jesty's wisdom ; adding, " We might have enjoyed 
 the blessing of peace soon after the battle of Ramil- 
 lies, had it not been designedly put off by some per- 
 sons, whose interest it was to prolong the war." 
 
 Hearing this, the duke, conceiving these obser- 
 vations to be levelled at him, instantly rose : " I 
 appeal to the queen," said his grace, " whether I did 
 not constantly, while I was plenipotentiary, give her 
 majesty and her council an account of all the proposi- 
 tions that were made, and whether I did not desire 
 instructions for my conduct on this subject ? I can 
 declare, with a good conscience, in the presence of 
 her majesty, of this illustrious assembly, and of God 
 himself, who is infinitely superior to all the powers 
 of earth, and before whom, by the ordinary course of 
 nature, I shall soon appear, to render an account of 
 all my actions, that I was very desirous of a safe, 
 honourable, and lasting peace ; and was always very 
 far from prolonging the war for my own private ad- 
 vantage, as several libels and discourses have most 
 falsely insinuated. My great age, and numerous 
 fatigues in war, make me ardently wish for the 
 power to enjoy a quiet repose, in order to think of 
 eternity. As to other matters, I had not the least 
 inducement, on any account, to desire the continu- 
 ance of the war for my own particular interest, since 
 my services have been so generously rewarded by
 
 342 LIFE OP 
 
 her majesty and her parliament ; but I think myself 
 obliged to make such an acknowledgment to her 
 majesty and my country, that I am always ready to 
 serve them whenever my duty may require, to obtain 
 an honourable and lasting peace. Yet I can, by no 
 means, acquiesce in the measures, that have been taken 
 to enter into a negociation of peace with France upon 
 the foot of some pretended preliminaries which are 
 now circulated; since my opinion is the same as 
 most of the allies, that to leave Spain and the West 
 Indies to the house of Bourbon will be the entire 
 ruin of Europe; and this I have, with all fidelity and 
 humility, declared to her majesty, when I had the 
 honour to wait on her after my arrival from Hol- 
 land. I therefore support the motion for inserting 
 the proposed clause in the address." 
 
 So solemn a declaration, made in the presence of 
 her majesty, delivered in so pathetic a manner, and 
 before so august an assembly, produced a great sensa- 
 tion. Out of doors it removed the prejudice, con- 
 ceived against him by many; and in the eye of 
 posterity has entirely cleared him of a charge laid 
 against him, with so little appearance of truth, 
 though kept up then by the clamour of the giddy and 
 unthinking vulgar. The clause was warmly supported 
 by Cowper, (late lord- chancellor,) Halifax, and Bishop 
 Burnet, and only feebly opposed by the subordinate 
 members of the government. A motion for the 
 previous question was lost by the casting vote of 
 Nottingham, and the clause itself carried by a majo- 
 rity of sixty- four to fifty-two. On the address, with 
 this alteration, being presented to the queen, her 
 majesty was pleased to answer " I take your 
 thanks kindly, but should be sorry, that any one 
 should think I would not do my utmost to recover
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGII. 343 
 
 Spain and the West Indies from the house of Bourbon." 
 When, however, a similar clause was proposed in the 
 House of Commons, it was rejected with disdain, by 
 a majority of 232 against 106. 
 
 The preponderance being so great in the House of 
 Peers, in opposition to the ministry, the members of 
 it exercised no small ingenuity and industry to divide 
 their opponents. The queen, however, began to be 
 alarmed, notwithstanding the majority in the House 
 of Commons. " Her aversion to the whigs," adopt- 
 ing the language of Mr. Coxe, " her dislike of the 
 Duchess of Marl borough, and the opposition she had 
 encountered in the disposal of civil and military 
 offices, together with the revived attachment to her 
 family, had induced her to dismiss her late ministers, 
 and to appoint an administration nominally composed 
 of tories. But the difficulties, which occurred in the 
 negociations abroad, the shame of deserting the 
 principles of the grand alliance, and the checks she 
 experienced, even from the ministers of her choice, 
 in the nomination to the officers of her own house- 
 hold, excited frequent fits of discontent. Indeed the 
 tories managed so ill with her majesty, that she was 
 often heard to exclaim, that, if she was to be kept in 
 bondage, she might as well have retained her former 
 ' guardians ' as the present. The ministry felt 
 accordingly exceedingly insecure; and the whole 
 party became, by the division of its chiefs, and the 
 successful progress of the whigs, agitated with 
 despondency and doubt. Added to all this, they felt 
 greatly indignant, that Marlborough should have 
 occasioned them so signal a defeat in the House of 
 Lords. They, by their negociations with France, 
 hoped to have no occasion for his services. They 
 determined to give full scope to their revenge. They
 
 344 LIFE OF 
 
 gave, therefore, immediate importance to the charges 
 of the commissioners of accounts, in respect to the 
 deposition of Sir Solomon Medina. An attack had 
 been made before on Lord Godolphin, in respect to 
 moneys unaccounted for ; but which were afterwards 
 explained. They now determined to exact a further 
 explanation from Marlborough ; affecting to consider 
 his letters from the Hague as incomplete and unsatis- 
 factory." 
 
 It is now unnecessary to enter fully into the parti- 
 culars of this charge ; the time being gone by in which 
 it was believed ; and we having little space left. The 
 duke's letter to the commissioners, which we inserted 
 a few pages back, having been published in a news- 
 paper, called the Daily Courant, was so favourably 
 received by the unbiassed and unprejudiced, that 
 many began to censure the House of Commons for 
 their proceedings against his grace. To meet this, 
 the ministers caused the commissioners' report to be 
 published. The leading feature in this memorable 
 report, as the reader may remember, was the deposi- 
 tion of Sir Solomon Medina ; from which it was 
 computed, that Marlborough had received and ap- 
 propriated, in the space of ten years, the sum of 
 o63,319. 3*. Id. On the publication of these docu- 
 ments, the ministry resolved to take full advantage 
 of the accusation. They waited not one moment. 
 The means, they employed, were worthy of the men. 
 Without waiting for a substantiation of the charge, 
 vague and unfounded as it was, they induced the 
 queen to order the following entry to be inserted in 
 the council book : " Being informed that an inform- 
 ation against the Duke of Marlborough was laid 
 before the House of Commons by the commissioners 
 of the public accounts, her majesty thought fit to
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 345 
 
 dismiss him from all his employments, that the 
 matter might undergo an impartial investigation." 
 
 This resolution the queen communicated to the 
 duke in a private letter, the next day. On receiving 
 this letter, he threw it immediately into the fire in a 
 transport of indignation : and nothing is known of it 
 but what may be learnt from the answer he instantly 
 wrote. 
 
 "MADAM, I am very sensible of the honour your 
 majesty does me, in dismissing me from your service, by 
 a letter of your own hand, though I find by it, that my 
 enemies liave been able to prevail with your majesty, to 
 do it in the manner that is most injurious to me. And if 
 their malice and inveteracy against me had not been 
 more powerful with them lhnn the consideration of your 
 majesty's honour and justice, they would not have influ- 
 enced you to impute the occasion of my dismission to a 
 false and malicious insinuation, contrived by themselves, 
 and made public, when there was no opportunity for me 
 to give in my answer, which they must needs be c onscious 
 would fully detect the falsehood and malice of their asper- 
 sions, and not leave them that handle for bringing your 
 majesty to such extremities against me." 
 
 On the day on which the report was published, 
 and the following one, Marlborough made his appear- 
 ance at court; but " oh the great gods the meanness 
 of the mighty!" no one spoke to him ! He was 
 treated with every neglect and contempt. "When the 
 King of France heard all this, he triumphantly wrote 
 to his agent in London " The dismission of Marl- 
 borough will do for us all we can desire." 
 
 -The great difficulty now was, how to get all this 
 sanctioned by the House of Lords. Oxford, however, 
 soon showed that he was not at a loss. He and his 
 compeers stretched the royal prerogative to a great
 
 346 LIFE OF 
 
 limit. They issued patents, calling no less than 
 twelve peers to the House at once ! When these 
 peers, however, took their seats, they were received 
 by the whig lords with groans. " The tories, 
 indeed, exulted," says Cunningham ; " but the sober 
 wliigs cast their eyes to the ground, as if they had 
 been invited to the funeral of the peerage." 
 
 The report of the commissioners was taken into 
 consideration on the 24th of January (1712). A 
 violent debate, lasting above eight hours, ensued. 
 The ministry was supported by several speakers of 
 great ability; amongst whom were St. John, Sir 
 William Windham, and Sir Thomas Hanmer. 
 Maryborough was defended by Sir Richard Onslow, 
 Sir Peter King, Sir Charles Hedges, Mr. Brydges, 
 and Mr. William Pulteney. The issue was, by a 
 majority of above 100 votes, that the taking several 
 sums of money from the contractors for furnishing 
 the bread and the bread- waggons, in the Low 
 Countries, was unwarrantable and illegal. Another 
 motion, also, passed by a great majority ; viz., that 
 the two-and-a-half per cent., deducted from the 
 foreign troops in her majesty's pay, " is public money, 
 and ought to be accounted for." 
 
 These resolutions were voted to be laid before the 
 queen, and her majesty's answer was to this effect : 
 " Gentlemen, I have a great regard for whatever is 
 represented to me, by my Commons, and will do my 
 part to redress what you complain of." 
 
 An impeachment ought to have followed this ; but 
 the party contented themselves with an order from 
 the queen for the attorney-general to prosecute the 
 duke ; a " forbearance," says Cunningham, " which 
 arose not from any tenderness to his grace, but from 
 a resolution to continue the very perquisites, which
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 347 
 
 they had so severely reprobated, to their creature,, 
 the new commander-in-chief." 
 
 Marlborough was urged to appear in the House 
 of Commons against the decision, which had been 
 given, as Lord Somers had done ; and, like him, to 
 enter into a detailed refutation of the calumnies, 
 contained in the report. To this, however, he would 
 not submit : but he caused a" vindication of himself 
 to be drawn up and publicly circulated. They had 
 accused him of peculation ; whereas he had merely 
 received the same perquisites, which had always 
 been allowed to the commander-in-chief in those 
 countries, for secret service money; which he had 
 been privileged to receive, moreover, and to employ 
 without account, by the queen's royal warrant ; and 
 which, as he said in his defence, " from time to time 
 had been used for intelligence and secret service, and 
 with such success, that next to the blessing of the 
 Almighty and the bravery of the troops, we might, in 
 a great measure, attribute most of the advantages of 
 the war in the Low Countries, to the timely and good 
 advice procured with the help of the money." For 
 the whole defence, however, we must refer to Lediard's 
 copy, where the reader will find it at large ; and also 
 to the various magazines and journals of the day. 
 Something of the malignity of the opposite party, 
 however, may be learned from the equivocal manner 
 in which they wrote. " No general," said they, " in 
 the Low Countries had ever received the perquisite, 
 before the Duke of Marlborough." What was the 
 fact ? No British general, before him, had ever 
 commanded there ! 
 
 Maryborough's defence was allowed to pass un- 
 noticed. If it had contained untruths, the ministry 
 must, according to every principle of prudence, equity
 
 348 LIFE OF 
 
 and policy, have voted it a libel. Added to this, 
 several of the foreign princes esteemed the resolution 
 of the House of Commons as an infringement on their 
 lights. They, in consequence, by their ministers in 
 London, represented to the British government, that 
 they had offered the contribution to the new com- 
 mander-in -chief, as their own free gift. " It was 
 accepted," says Mr. Coxe, " without any scruple of 
 conscience, and not marked by any disapprobation 
 from parliament." 
 
 At this period Prince Eugene arrived in London, 
 to arrest, if possible, the progress of the disgraceful 
 treaty of peace, that was now going on. To his 
 coming, the ministry had a strong and decided 
 objection. Finding, however, that they could not 
 prevent it, they, all of a sudden, turned round, and 
 sullenly acquiesced. At the same time, they took 
 care to apprise him, that the less attention he paid 
 to Maryborough, the more agreeable it would be to 
 the queen. This intimation was first given by letter. 
 It was afterwards verbally insinuated by Drummond, 
 a dependant of St. John, sent to receive him. How 
 did the prince repel this insinuation? " It is a mis- 
 take," said he, with great surprise and mortification, 
 " to suppose that I am come to England with an 
 intention to give the least disturbance to the 
 ministry; but it is wholly inconsistent with my 
 honour and temper, to be wanting in respect to a 
 friend, in his adverse fortune, for whom I always 
 professed so much regard in the time of his pros- 
 perity." 
 
 The prince being the most illustrious hero, next to 
 Maryborough, that Europe at this time could boast 
 of, it w r as thought very extraordinary, that persons 
 should be sent to receive him, when he landed (at
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 349 
 
 Greenwich), of no higher rank than this Drummond 
 and Mr. Brisden ; the former a broken stock-jobber, 
 and the latter an oculist, but a private agent of St. 
 John's. 
 
 The prince being, the evening after, introduced to 
 the queen, he delivered a letter to her majesty from 
 the emperor, and requested her to read it, since it 
 would explain the purport of his visit. " I am sorry," 
 said the queen, after slightly glancing over the letter, 
 " that the state of my health does not permit me to 
 speak to your highness as often as I wish ; but" 
 (pointing to Oxford and St. John, the only persons 
 present) " I have ordered these gentlemen to receive 
 your proposals, whenever you think proper." This 
 said, Eugene took his leave. 
 
 The prince was received in a very flattering 
 manner by all ranks of people. He visited both 
 parties ; and treated every one with kindness and 
 consideration ; giving, however, his confidence only 
 to the whigs. He even assisted at their meetings. 
 Though he had not the good fortune, as will shortly 
 be seen, to succeed in the object of his mission, he had 
 no reason to complain of his treatment ; for never 
 was so much respect paid in England to a foreigner 
 before. Vast multitudes crowded to see him, and 
 attended him with loud acclamations wherever he 
 went. His prudent carriage endeared him to every 
 one. The higher classes vied with each other, who 
 should have the honour of entertaining him, with the 
 greatest splendour. Amongst these may be particu- 
 larly mentioned the Dukes of Marlborough, Ormond, 
 Montague, Shrewsbury,- Buckingham, Devonshire, 
 and Richmond ; Earls Poulett, Sunderland, Port- 
 land, Stair, Wharton, Rivers, and Orkney. Lord 
 Oxford too : and here we must not omit an anecdote,
 
 350 LIFE OF 
 
 recorded of his illustrious guest. On the day on which 
 his highness dined at Oxford's house, his lordship, 
 among other components, told him, that he looked 
 upon that day as the happiest in the whole course 
 of his life ; since he had the honour to see, in his 
 house, the greatest captain of the age. To this the 
 prince shrewdly and wittily replied, that " if indeed 
 it were so, he was indebted for it to his lordship." 
 Meaning to imply, as most people interpreted, that 
 his lordship having been the author of the duke's dis- 
 grace, he had ridhim of a competitor in military glory. 
 
 Nor was the queen backward in testifying her 
 respect to the illustrious person ; for on her birth- 
 day she presented him with a sword, enriched with 
 diamonds, of no less value than 5,000/. And here 
 we may record a remarkable reflection made by 
 Prince Eugene to Bishop Burntt. " In one of 
 the scurrilous papers," says the bishop, " wrote 
 on design to raise the rabble against the Duke 
 of Marlborough, one of the periods began thus : 
 ' He was, perhaps, once fortunate.' I took occasion 
 (continues he) to let Prince Eugene see the spite 
 of these writers, and mentioned this passage : upon 
 which he made this pleasant reflection : that it 
 was the greatest commendation that could be given 
 to him ; since he was always successful : so this 
 implied, that in one single instance he might be for- 
 tunate ; but that all his other successes were owing 
 to his conduct. Upon that (adds the bishop,) I 
 said, that single instance must be then his escaping 
 out of the hands of the party, which took him when 
 he was falling down the Maese, in a boat." 
 
 Finding that the conduct and motives of the em- 
 peror were not understood in England, Prince Eugene 
 presented a memorial in vindication of his sovereign.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUCH. 351 
 
 Receiving, however, only an equivocal reply, lie 
 wrote a second memorial, requesting a categorical 
 answer. On this the secretary (St. John) im-> 
 parted the proposal, made by the emperor, in a mes- 
 sage from the queen to the House of Commons ; 
 stating, that he had orders from her Majesty to 
 communicate to them a proposition made by Prince 
 Eugene, in the emperor's name, for supporting the 
 war in Spain ; viz. that the emperor judged that 
 40,000 men would be sufficient for that service; and 
 that the whole expense of the war in Spain might 
 amount to four millions of crowns, towards which 
 his imperial majesty offered to make up the troops, 
 he had in that country, to 80,000, and to take one 
 million upon himself. 
 
 This message produced no effect ; no one made any 
 ^observation upon it, good or bad. Seeing, by this, 
 that no hope was left, the prince took his departure; 
 not, however, without first taking an affectionate leave 
 of his friend and partner in glory. And here we 
 may refer the reader to a beautiful paper in the 
 Spectator (No. 340), in which Addison gives a 
 noble character of this illustrious person, finish- 
 ing with these words : " This I thought fit to 
 entertain my reader with, concerning a hero, who 
 never was equalled but by one man (meaning the 
 Duke of Maryborough) ; over whom, also, he has 
 this advantage, that he had an opportunity to mani- 
 fest an esteem for him in his adversity." He em 
 barked at Greenwich on the 17th of March, and 
 returned to Holland, deeply lamenting the disgraceful 
 state of parties ; and the policy he had seen practised 
 in England. In regard to the libels, which were 
 heaped upon him, during his stay, and the plots, in 
 which he was accused of being concerned, as they
 
 352 LIFE OP 
 
 were mere party libels, with not the slightest foun- 
 dation, we will not disgrace these pages by noticing 
 them further. 
 
 In the mean time the conferences for a negociation 
 of peace were opened at Utrecht. The principle of 
 the alliance had been already abandoned; and instead 
 of embodying, in one general series of articles, the 
 united interest of the whole confederacy, each party 
 was left to prosecute its own interest. In conse- 
 quence of this, France rose in her demands ; and, 
 instead of attempting to treat on the terms formerly 
 proposed, her plenipotentiaries delivered a new series 
 of proposals. Oaf learning this, not only the wliigs 
 but many adherents of the government became, the 
 former infuriated, the latter alarmed. The ministry, 
 also, felt so excessively embarrassed, that St. John 
 wrote to the British plenipotentiaries, " The French 
 will see, that there is a possibility of reviving the love 
 of war in our people, by the indignation which has 
 been expressed at the plan given in at Utrecht." 
 
 In the midst of these difficulties Louis had the mis- 
 fortune to lose the dauphin, the dauphiness, and their 
 elder son : leaving to the unfortunate, but hitherto un- 
 feeling, monarch a sickly infant in the cradle the only 
 heir to his throne. In this infant, therefore, the powers 
 of Europe saw the only bar to the union of the crowns 
 of France and Spain on the head of Philip, the presump- 
 tive heir. To prevent the union of these two crowns in 
 the same person, the queen now demanded, that Philip 
 should renounce either Spain or France. Philip refused 
 to relinquish Spain ; and Louis and his ministers de- 
 clared, with one voice, that, by the French law, he 
 could not abandon his title to the succession of 
 France. This declaration produced new embarrass- 
 ments ; but the clandestine intercourse between Eno--
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 353 
 
 land and France was still carried on ; and the British 
 ministry accepted the promise of a renunciation of the 
 French crown, by Philip, and agreed to an eventual 
 cessation of amis, on the delivery of Dunkirk. Pre- 
 parations were, nevertheless, made by the separate 
 parties for the ensuing campaign ; and the Duke of 
 Ormond, the successor of Marlborough, arrived at 
 the Hague : and not being informed of what the 
 ministers were doing in the cabinet, he gave the 
 States -general the, strongest assurances, that he was 
 commanded to co-operate with the confederates ; the 
 queen having resolved on prosecuting the war with 
 redoubled energy and strength. He nevertheless 
 soon after received a letter from St. John, in which 
 he said, " Her majesty, my lord, has reason to 
 believe, that we shall come to any agreement upon 
 the great article of the union of the two monarchies, 
 as soon as a courier, sent from Versailles to Madrid, 
 can return. It is, therefore, the queen's positive com- 
 mand to your grace, that you avoid engaging in any 
 siege, or hazarding a battle, till you have further 
 orders from her majesty. I am at the same time 
 directed to let your grace know, that the queen 
 would have you disguise the receipt of this order ; 
 and her majesty thinks that you cannot want pre- 
 tences for conducting yourself so as to answer her 
 hands, without owning that which might at present 
 have an ill effect, if it was publicly known. The 
 queen cannot think with patience of sacrificing men, 
 when there is a fair prospect of attaining her purpose 
 another way, and; besides, she will riot suffer herself 
 to be exposed to the reproach of having retarded, by 
 the events of the campaign, a negotiation which might 
 otherwise have been as good as concluded, in a few 
 days." 
 
 A A
 
 354 LIFE OP 
 
 Prince Eugene had been appointed to the command 
 of the Dutch forces. He suspected the treachery of 
 the British ministry ; and resolved to put their 
 honesty to the test. A fit opportunity having pre- 
 sented itself, he sent to request the Duke of Ormond 
 to concur in an attack upon the enemy's camp. The 
 duke was confounded by this invitation ; and, to get 
 rid of it, sent a request to the prince, that he would 
 postpone his design for some days. The army was 
 greatly indignant at this ; and when Eugene sent an 
 expostulation to England, the indignation there was 
 equally great. Marlborough and the whigs, on hear- 
 ing of it, instantly resolved to arraign the ministry 
 in parliament ; the breach of faith being too fla- 
 grant. The attack was led by Lord Halifax ; and, 
 at the conclusion of his speech, Marlborough rose, 
 and spoke in the following manner : " After w r hat 
 has been said by the noble lord, nothing remains, for 
 me or any other person, but to second the motion ; 
 yet I will venture to trouble your lordships with a 
 few observations on this subject. Although the ne- 
 gotiations for peace may be far advanced, yet I can 
 see no reason which should induce the allies or our- 
 selves to remain inactive, and not push on the war 
 with the utmost vigour, as we have incurred the 
 expense of recruiting the army for the service of an- 
 other year. That army is now in the field, and it 
 has often occurred, that a victory or a siege produced 
 good effects, and manifold advantages, when treaties 
 were still farther advanced than is the present ne^o- 
 tiation. And as I am of opinion that we should 
 make the most we can for ourselves, the onlv infal- 
 lible way to force France to an entire submission, is, 
 to besiege and occupy Cambray or Arras, and to 
 carry the war into the heart of that kingdom. But
 
 , DUKE OF MAULBOROUGH. 355 
 
 as the troops of the enemy are now encamped, it is 
 impossible to execute this design unless they are 
 withdrawn from this position ; and as they cannot 
 be reduced to retire for want of provisions, they must 
 be attacked and forced. For the truth of what I 
 say, I appeal to a noble duke, (looking at the Duke 
 of Argyle,) whom I rejoice to see in the house, be- 
 cause he knows the country, and is as good a judge 
 of these matters as any person now alive. These 
 observations I have deemed fit to represent to your 
 lordships, and hope they will induce your lordships 
 to agree to the motion, which I second very heartily." 
 The duke's speech was answered by the Duke of 
 Argyle, who, hating his benefactor, took occasion to 
 be greatly severe on his former commander. Many 
 speeches were made ; and the Duke of Devonshire 
 declared that, by proximity of blood, he was more 
 concerned for the Duke of Ormond's reputation than 
 any other; and, therefore, he could not forbear ob- 
 serving, that he was surprised to hear any one dare 
 make use of a nobleman of the first rank, and of so 
 distinguished a character, as an instrument of so dis- 
 graceful a proceeding. " No one," answered the 
 Earl of Poulet, u can doubt the Duke of Ormond's 
 bravery ; but he does not resemble a certain general, 
 who led troops to the slaughter, to cause a great 
 number of officers to be knocked on the head, in a 
 battle, or against stone walls, in order to fill his 
 
 O t t - 
 
 pockets, by disposing of their commissions. 
 
 The debate went on ; Maryborough looking on in 
 silent contempt. As soon as the house rose, however, 
 he sent Lord Mohun to the Earl of Poulet, to inform 
 him, that the duke wished him to go and take the 
 air in the country. Poulet inquired if he were to 
 take that invitation to mean a challenge. " The 
 A A2
 
 356 LIFE OF 
 
 message requires no explanation," answered Lord 
 Mohun ; " I shall accompany the Duke of Marlbo- 
 rough, and your lordship will do well to provide a 
 second." Lord Poulet was so greatly affected at 
 this, that he could not conceal it from his wife: the 
 consequence of which was, that a hint was imme- 
 diately communicated to Lord Dartmouth, secretary 
 of state, who went immediately to the duke and de- 
 sired him not to stir abroad. At the same time his 
 lordship ordered two sentries to be placed at Lord 
 Poulet's house ; and having informed the queen of 
 the whole matter, her majesty sent him back to the 
 Duke of Marlborough, to desire that this affair might 
 go no further. Thus ended the first instance on 
 record, of a party duel. "It is sufficient punishment 
 for this slanderer, (Lord Poulet',)" says an elegant 
 and powerful writer, " that he is remembered in 
 history for this, and this only : so easily may the 
 coarsest and meanest mind purchase for itself a per- 
 petuity of disgrace." 
 
 The outlines of the treaty of peace being published, 
 great was the surprise and indignation of the better - 
 informed portion of the public in respect to them ; 
 since they regarded them as involving the " sacrifice 
 of public honour and the dereliction of public prin- 
 ciple." But the tory and Jacobite parties hailed 
 them with exultation and delight : an address was, 
 therefore, carried in the Commons by acclamation. 
 In the Lords, however, notwithstanding the recent 
 creations, the peers in opposition made a vigorous 
 stand. The arrangement which provided for the 
 protestant interest, was received with approbation ; 
 but the dishonourable portions of the treaty were 
 stigmatised as they richly deserved. Marlborough 
 was so indignant, that, in a strain which may be
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 357 
 
 regarded as prophetic, he declared, that the mea- 
 sures pursued in England for the last year, were 
 directly contrary to her majesty's engagements with 
 her allies ; that they sullied the triumphs and glories 
 of her reign ; and would render the English name 
 odious to all other nations. It is certain, that Marl - 
 borough had, of all men, the most right to complain; 
 for the treaty "foiled his plans, frustrated his hopes, 
 and rendered all his victories vain." The Earl of 
 Strafford followed in debate. " Some of the allies, 
 (the Dutch,)" said his lordship, "would not show such 
 backwardness to a peace as they had hitherto done, 
 but for a member of this illustrious house, (the Duke of 
 Marlborough,) who has maintained a secret corres- 
 pondence with them, and endeavoured to persuade 
 them to carry on the war, feeding them with hopes 
 that they should be supported by a strong party 
 here." This was answered by Lord Cowper ; and 
 because Lord Strafford had not expressed himself 
 with all the purity of the English tongue, his lord- 
 ship took occasion thence to say, " The noble lord 
 has been so long abroad, that he has almost forgot 
 not only the language but the very constitution of 
 his own country. According to our own laws, it 
 ought never to be suggested as a crime, in the mean- 
 est subject, much less in any member of this august 
 assembly, to hold correspondence with our allies ; 
 such allies, especially, whose interest her majesty 
 had declared to be inseparable from her own, in her 
 speech at the opening of this session ; whereas it 
 would be a hard matter to justify and reconcile, 
 either with our laws, or the laws of honour and 
 justice, the conduct of some persons, in treating 
 clandestinely with the common enemy, without the 
 participation of the allies."
 
 358 LIFE OF 
 
 The duke's observations were supported by several 
 excellent speeches from Lords Nottingham, Cowper, 
 and others; yet they had, at that time, no effect. 
 The address was carried by 81 votes against 35. 
 Marlborough and other peers, it is true, signed pro- 
 tests ; but they were afterwards expunged from the 
 journals ; and this was the last public act of the 
 duke during the queen's reign. 
 
 We must here say a few words in regard to the 
 army on the continent under the command of the 
 Duke of Ormond, Marlborough's successor. He 
 had received orders, as we have already stated, to 
 avoid an engagement. This was discovered by 
 Prince Eugene. On the 1 1th of July the British 
 troops separated from the confederate army. But 
 great was the disappointment of Ormond, when he 
 arrived at the end of the first day's march, to find 
 that, instead of being grateful for having been de- 
 livered from the customary toils of a campaign, his 
 troops received him with hisses and murmurs. " The 
 British soldiers," says Cunningham, " were so en- 
 raged at this unworthy conduct, that they were 
 observed tearing their hair, and rending their clothes, 
 with furious exclamations and execrable curses 
 against the Duke of Ormond, as a stupid tool, and a 
 general of show. The colonels, captains, and other 
 brave officers, were so overwhelmed with vexation, 
 that they sat apart in their tents, looking on the 
 ground through very shame, with downcast eyes, 
 and for several days shrunk from the sight even of 
 their fellow-soldiers; for it grieved them to the 
 heart, to submit to the disgrace of laying down their 
 arms after so many splendid victories. Some left 
 their colours to serve among the allies, and others 
 afterwards withdrew ; and whenever they recol-
 
 JOHX, DTJKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 359 
 
 looted the Duke of Marlborough and the late glorious 
 times, their eyes flowed with tears." 
 
 In the mean time, new difficulties having arisen at 
 Paris, St. John (recently created Viscount Boling- 
 broke) went to France, where he contrived to arrange 
 the points in dispute between the two governments. 
 
 Marlborough having been compelled to retire from 
 public business, was now so harassed with libels 
 and insults, that, to avoid them, he determined on 
 leaving England. For though he seemed, externally, 
 to bear them with all the calmness of Christian 
 fortitude, he was, in reality, but too sensitive in 
 respect to them. He lived now at St. Alban's, his 
 palace at Blenheim not being completed ; and there 
 died, (of the stone,) about this time, his best and 
 most attached friend, Lord Godolphin ; who, after a 
 long administration, and many false charges of cor- 
 ruption, left his heirs in comparative poverty : his 
 whole property not exceeding 12,000. 
 
 The reader, perhaps, will be pleased to learn what 
 the duchess's opinion was in regard to this celebrated 
 character. " He was a man of few words, but of a 
 remarkable thoughtfulness and sedateness of temper ; 
 of great application to business, and of such dispatch 
 in it, as to give pleasure to those who attended him 
 upon any affair ; of wonderful frugality in the public 
 concerns, but of no great carefulness about his own. 
 He affected being useful without popularity; and 
 the inconsiderable sum of money, above his paternal 
 estate, which he left at his death, showed indeed, 
 that he had been the nation's treasurer, and not his 
 own, and effectually confuted the vile calumnies of 
 his enemies and successors." 
 
 This melancholy event fully determined the duke 
 in quitting England : for it had released him from
 
 S60 LIFE OF 
 
 the strongest tie that bound him to his (then) un- 
 grateful country ; for lie was unwilling to leave one 
 the most faithful of his friends, labouring under 
 the severest sufferings of a mortal disease. He gave 
 way, therefore, to his inclinations ; for he found, 
 that all the great and glorious deeds he had wrought, 
 were no more thought of than if they had never 
 been ; and that it had become even meritorious to 
 insult him. As to his palace at Blenheim, notwith- 
 standing the promises of the lord treasurer to obtain 
 warrants from the queen, and to expedite the com- 
 pletion of the structure, large arrears were due to 
 the workmen, and considerable sums were claimed 
 by those, who had advanced loans for the same 
 purpose, amounting in the whole to 80,000/. Ad- 
 ded to this, several prosecutions were going on 
 against him, which we shall take notice of at the 
 proper time. 
 
 Thus determined to go, for the present, into exile, 
 he applied, through Mr. Mainwaring, for a passport 
 to Lord Oxford. " I desire," said his lordship in 
 reply, " that you will, with my most humble service, 
 assure your friend, that there have been endeavours 
 from both sides to obstruct granting the pass desired ; 
 yet I shall have the honour of putting it into his 
 hands. I did not think it worth while to trouble 
 you with the obstruction one meets with ; for when 
 I undertook it, I was resolved not to be deterred 
 from finishing it. I am, with great sincerity, &c. &c." 
 
 The objections, above alluded to, are supposed to 
 have been raised by Bolingbroke and several others, 
 on the ground, that Maryborough might be more 
 dangerous abroad than at home. The pass, however, 
 was at length sent ; and Marlborough received, also, 
 a letter from the queen, in which her majesty was
 
 DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 361 
 
 pleased to say, that she should be " well pleased to 
 hear the honourable reception his grace would every- 
 where meet with ;" and, some time after, in a 
 conversation with the Duchess of Hamilton, she 
 condescended to say, that the duke "had acted wisely 
 in going abroad." 
 
 The pass was honourably worded ; and is thus 
 epitomized by Mr. Coxe. " It permits his grace to 
 go into foreign parts, whithersoever he may think 
 fit, together with his suite, and recommends him to 
 the good offices of all kings, princes, republics, and 
 her majesty's allies, as well as to commanders, &c.,her 
 own subjects ; allows him to go freely and commo- 
 diously .wherever his need requires, and states that 
 such good offices shall be acknowledged and returned, 
 when opportunity serves. Windsor Castle, 30 Oct. 
 1712. Countersigned, BOLINGBROKE." 
 
 Before quitting England, having become sus- 
 picious that the party now in power, might, at the 
 death of their mistress, let in the Stuart family in 
 preference to that of Hanover, he thought it prudent 
 to invest 50,000^. in the Dutch funds, as a means 
 of subsistence, in case of that event. He embarked 
 at Dover on the 14th of November : his suite con- 
 sisting of 2 gentlemen, 3 valets-de-chambre, 1 cook, 
 3 footmen, coachman, postilion, helper, and 2 grooms: 
 the duchess remaining in England to superintend 
 some few affairs, that required personal attention. 
 
 Marlborough did not leave England, without the 
 regret of thousands, among whom may be par- 
 ticularly noted the celebrated Dr. Garth ; who 
 addressed to him some energetic lines, from which 
 the following is an extract. 
 
 " Go, mighty prince! and those great nations see, 
 Which thy victorious arms before made free ;
 
 362 LIFE OF 
 
 View that fam'd column where thy name, enprav'd, 
 Shall tell their children who their empire sav'd ; 
 Point out that marble where thy worth is shown 
 To every grateful country but thine own. 
 O censure undeserv'd! unequal fate, 
 Which strove to lessen him who made her great. 
 Which, paniper'd with success, and rich in fame, 
 Extoll'd his conquests, but condemn'd his name ! 
 But virtue is a crime when plac'd on high, 
 Though all the fault's in the beholder's eye. 
 Yet he untouch'd, as in the heat of wars, 
 Flies from no dangers but domestic jars ; 
 Smiles at the dart which angry envy shakes, 
 And only fears for her whom he forsakes. 
 He grieves to find the course of virtue crost, 
 Blushing to see our blood no better lost; 
 Disdains in factious parties to contend, 
 And proves, in absence, most Britannia's friend." 
 
 He left Dover on board the North Briton packet 
 as a private passenger; receiving no other honours 
 than that which he received from the voluntary 
 , salute of the master of the vessel. This, however, was 
 made up to him on his arrival at Ostend : for the 
 captainhaving hoisted an ensign on the top-mast head, 
 the town took this as a signal of his grace's being on 
 board, and made a salute of all the cannon towards 
 the sea; and, on the packet-boat entering the harbour, 
 of three rounds of all the artillery on the ramparts, 
 and along the whole road to Aix-la-Chapelle, Though 
 he endeavoured to avoid notice as much as possible, 
 by taking the most private ways, he was entertained 
 with the highest marks of respect and affection by 
 governors, garrisons, magistrates, and people of all 
 ranks. " A finer tribute," says an elegant writer, 
 " was never paid to true greatness. They blessed 
 him as their deliverer, and mingling exclamations 
 against the British cabinet with their expressions of 
 admiration and gratitude towards him, many of 
 them shed tears of indignant feeling, and said, that
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 36i> 
 
 it were better to be born in Lapland than in Eng- 
 land ; for that no nation had ever fallen so unac- 
 countably from such a height of glory and esteem, 
 into such contempt and degradation." They were 
 full of astonishment at the sight of him, and said, 
 " his looks, his air, his address, were full as con- 
 quering as his sword." Even a Frenchman was 
 heard to exclaim " Though the sight is worth a mil- 
 lion to my king, yet, I believe, he would not, at 
 such a price, have lost the service of so brave a man; 
 particularly at such a time.". 
 
 Aix-la-Chapelle was the place Marlborough had 
 selected for a residence till the duchess should join 
 him. The day after his arrival, his levee was 
 crowded by all the persons of rank and distinction 
 in the town, who, though of different nations and 
 interests, were unanimous in their expressions of 
 esteem. Amongst these was the Marquis of Les- 
 disguieres, who, on his return from visiting him, said 
 to the Abbot de Gulistre, " I can now say, that I 
 have seen a man, who is equal to the Marshal de 
 Turenne in conduct, to the Prince de Conde in 
 courage, and superior in success to the Marshal de 
 Luxembourg." 
 
 The duke, after his first arrival, lived in great 
 privacy, expecting the duchess from day to day, but 
 her grace not arriving so soon as he expected, he 
 quitted Aix, because he had some suspicion of a 
 design to seize his person, and went to Maestricht ; 
 where the duchess having soon after joined him, 
 they repaired to Erankfort on the Maine, where they 
 lived several months : at the expiration of which he 
 took the duchess to his principality of Mindelheim, 
 where he was received with all the honours due to 
 a prince of the holy empire.
 
 364 LIFE OP 
 
 On returning to Frankfort, news came, that the 
 commissioners had reported some farther charges 
 against him. These he immediately answered in a 
 letter which he sent to one of the peers, requesting 
 him to lay it before the House of Lords ; a duplicate 
 of it he sent, also, to Mr. Cragg, to be laid before 
 the House of Commons. This letter had so good an 
 effect, that from that time the public was, says Mr. 
 Coxe, " no longer deluded and unsettled by their 
 malicious and ungrounded accusations." This, how- 
 ever, was not the only grievance Maryborough had 
 to endure at this time. The builders of Blenheim-- 
 house had commenced an action for arrears. The 
 queen had given orders for building it with great 
 magnificence ; all the bargains with the workmen 
 were made in her name, and by authority from her ; 
 and in the preambles of the act of parliament, it Avas 
 said that the queen built the house for him. Yet 
 now, after the tradesmen had let run an arrear of 
 30,000/., the ministry let them proceed against the 
 duke, although he had never contracted with any one 
 of them. 
 
 The peace came at last ! and such a peace England 
 had never submitted to with a foreign power. It was 
 signed in the house of the Bishop of Bristol, Lord Privy 
 Seal, (one of the queen's plenipotentiaries,) on the 1 1th 
 of April, (1713). The ministers of France signed 
 about two in the afternoon ; those of the Duke of Savoy 
 about four ; those of Prussia about eight ; and those of 
 Portugal about twelve at night. The ministers of 
 the emperor and the empire gave the rest to under- 
 stand, that they should continue the war. They 
 would hazard all things, they said, rather than sub- 
 mit to the usage they had received. On the 5th of 
 May, it was proclaimed in London ; and thanks were
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 365 
 
 celebrated at St. Paul's ; but the queen, from illness, 
 was unable to assist. On the 16th of July, how- 
 ever, her majesty was sufficiently recovered to pro- 
 rogue the parliament to the 8th of August ; and on 
 that day it was dissolved. The two houses approved 
 the peace by voting an address, before they were 
 instructed as to the specific articles on which it was 
 granted : after it had been signed, the address in the 
 Commons was carried by a majority of 156 against 
 72. This was, after all their intrigues, the only 
 specific proof of approbation the ministers were able 
 to obtain. The war had lasted eleven years. 
 
 Party will assert anything. There are two ac- 
 counts as to the manner in which this peace was 
 received. But how the parliament regarded the 
 treaty at the time when George the First received 
 addresses from the two houses, may be seen by what 
 was said. The Lords stated that " the peace was, 
 by no means, to be imputed to the nation in gene- 
 ral," and the Commons declared " We are sensibly 
 touched not only with the disappointment, but with 
 the reproach brought upon the nation, by the unjus- 
 tifiable conclusion of a war, which was carried on 
 at so vast an expense, and was attended with such 
 unparalleled successes ; but as that dishonour cannot 
 in justice be imputed to the whole nation, so we 
 firmly hope and believe, that through your majesty's 
 great wisdom, and the faithful endeavours of your 
 Commons, the reputation of these your kingdoms 
 will, in due time, be vindicated and restored." 
 
 Marlborough received intelligence of the peace 
 during his residence at Frankfort ; soon after which 
 he removed to Antwerp, where he held a correspond- 
 ence with the Elector of Hanover and the leaders of 
 the Hanoverian interest in England, holding himself
 
 366 LIFE OF . 
 
 in readiness to embark for England, on the demise of 
 the queen, with as ample a body of troops as he could 
 collect together. 
 
 We must now, for a few moments, refer to the 
 affairs of Germany. The emperor, and the various 
 powers constituting what is called the empire, having 
 refused to sign the articles at Utrecht, continued the 
 campaign upon the Rhine ; but Prince Eugene hav- 
 ing received several checks and endured some reverses, 
 negotiations were entered into at Rastadt, and articles 
 of peace were, at length, entered into. We have no 
 room to state the terms of pacification, but the result 
 was rather unfortunate for Marlborough ; for the em- 
 peror, soon after, caused it to be notified to him that 
 the principality of Mindelheim had been restored to 
 the Elector of Bavaria. On learning this, Marl- 
 borough lost no time in transmitting a memorial to 
 the emperor, through Prince Eugene. All appeal, 
 however, was ineffectual. The only justice he could 
 obtain was a recognition of his being a prince of the 
 empire, and a promise of indemnification. This 
 indemnification Maryborough had never the good for- 
 tune to receive ; leaving the loss of it a stigma upon 
 the emperor, and all those, except the Elector of 
 Bavaria, who had any hand in the affair. David 
 might well exclaim, " Put not your trust in princes." 
 
 The queen had for some time been afflicted with 
 repeated illnesses, and it became evident that life 
 could be preserved but for a comparatively short 
 period ; a grand struggle, therefore, was expected 
 between the various parties of the state as to which 
 interest should prevail at her majesty's death tho 
 Stewart line and popery, or the Hanoverian line and 
 protestantism. 
 
 Oxford and Bolinojbroke had now become rivals.
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MAULBOROUQU. 367 
 
 Oxford was prime minister, enjoying the confidence of 
 the queen; Bolingbroke was, nevertheless, creeping fast 
 into her majesty's esteem *. A new parliament hav- 
 ing been chosen, Sir Thomas Hanrner was again chosen 
 Speaker. Oxford was supposed to he attached to the 
 protestant line ; Bolingbroke, to the popish one : biit 
 the parliament no longer consisted of two parties, ready 
 to sacrifice every thing to their prejudices, interests, 
 and principles. It was a fluctuating mass, the varied 
 opinions of which it was exceedingly difficult to ascer- 
 tain. Marlborough, in the mean time, was charged 
 with the folly of being at this moment corresponding 
 with the Pretender, and intriguing with Bolingbroke 
 to secure his succession. This calumny was soon 
 refuted. The queen, however, was supposed to be 
 inclined to the restoration of the exiled party ; and so 
 thoroughly was this believed, that we are informed 
 that men " were almost publicly enlisted for the ser- 
 vice of the Pretender ; and his health was openly 
 pledged at numerous meetings and clubs, held by 
 Jacobites of all ranks and denominations in the metro- 
 polis. The army was beginning to be new-modelled ; 
 colonels were removed from their regiments, and 
 replaced by others of the Stewart party ; governors 
 were deprived of their posts, and superseded by those 
 of adverse principles ; and the direction of affairs in 
 Ireland and Scotland was entrusted to the hands of 
 Jacobites." 
 
 * The Duchess of Marl borough endorses one of St. John's letters 
 thus : ' I need not say any thing of Mr. St. John's behaviour to 
 the Duke of Marlborough, when he got into power, by Ladv Abi- 
 gail ; but 'tis certain that the Duke of Marliiorough never "was so 
 kind to any man as to him : and I have heard my Lord Godolphin 
 say, that he never had any thing to reproach himself of, in the whole 
 time that he served the queen, but in complying with the Duke of 
 Marl borough in doing unreasonable things, in point of money, for 
 Mr. St. John, at the Duke of .Marlboro ugh's request."
 
 368 LIFE OF 
 
 Few things, therefore, were more dreaded by 
 Bolingbroke and his partisans than the return of 
 Marlborough. He was, however, too wise to return 
 at present ; since that return would only have ex- 
 posed him to further calumnies and renewed perse- 
 cutions ; and, so far was he from corresponding with 
 the Stuarts, he was actually planning, and coincid- 
 ing with others, in securing the succession of the 
 Elector of Hanover. He even offered to assist him 
 with a loan of twenty thousand pounds. " So gra- 
 tified, indeed," says Mr. Coke, " was the electoral 
 house with these proofs of his zeal, that, in return, 
 he was entrusted with a blank warrant, appointing 
 him commander-in-chief of the troops and garrisons, 
 on the accession of the Hanoverian line to the throne." 
 
 Soon after this, the elector's friends encouraged 
 Baron Schutz to apply for a writ of summons, to call 
 the electoral prince, who had already been created 
 Duke of Cambridge, to the House of Lords. The 
 application was answered by the Lord Chancellor, 
 that it was not usual to issue writs to peers, who 
 resided out of the kingdom. On this, the baron, to 
 the astonishment of the chancellor, answered : " My 
 lord, the prince intends residing in the kingdom, and 
 may be expected here even before the writ can be 
 issued." The writ was therefore granted ; but when 
 the queen heard of what had passed, she was so 
 agitated and alarmed, that the baron w r as forbid the 
 court; he therefore lost no time in returning. to 
 Hanover, with the writ in his pocket. 
 
 While communicating with the court of Hanover, 
 and labouring to advance its interests in England, 
 Marlborough was no less active in awakening the 
 States-general to a sense of the danger to which they 
 would be exposed, should the ministry of the queen
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROITGII. 369 
 
 succeed in overthrowing the British constitution. He 
 employed no small time and labour, too, in the endea- 
 vour to restore harmony between the States and the 
 emperor. 
 
 To disguise the plan of restoration more fully, the 
 ministry made great professions to the elector ; and 
 even sent over Mr. Harley to convey testimonies of 
 the queen's solicitude for the Protestant succession. 
 To counteract the effects that might arise from this 
 mission, Marlborough sent Mr. Molyneaux to the 
 elector, with a view of exposing the duplicity of the 
 lord-treasurer, and the danger of listening to his 
 overtures. At the same time, he urgently recom- 
 mended that the electoral prince should go immedi- 
 ately to England. " Luckily," said his grace, in a 
 letter to Mr. Robethon, " this session of parliament 
 is to continue for two months longer, as no supplies 
 are yet found ; so that the electoral prince will have 
 time enough, before the end of it, to arrive and take 
 his seat in parliament ; in which case, the balance 
 will incline entirely to your side, as it begins to do 
 already, upon the mere rumour of his coming; so 
 that you may judge what effect his presence would 
 produce. Accordingly, our friends write to me, in 
 that case the parliament will not rise before they 
 have settled pension of 40,0007. sterling, for a sub- 
 sistence for the prince, who will have nothing to do 
 but to make his court to the queen, and caress the 
 ministers, without meddling with any thing. By 
 this remedy, the succession will be secured without 
 risk, without expense, and without war ; and, like- 
 wise, it is very probable that France, seeing herself 
 prevented in that manner, will abandon her design 
 of assisting the Pretender." 
 
 At this period the Electress Sophia died; some 
 B B
 
 370 LIFE OF 
 
 suppose in consequence of the agitation she had 
 encountered on the state of affairs. She was a very- 
 remarkable personage ; eighty-four years of age ; 
 retaining her faculties both of mind and body in a 
 very striking degree ; and so animated with the am - 
 bition of being queen, that she was often heard ti> 
 say " Could I live to have Sophia, Queen of England, 
 engraven on my coffin, I should die content." Had 
 she lived only three months longer, her wishes had 
 been gratified. " Thus died this excellent princess," 
 says Lediard, " whom I frequently had the honour 
 of seeing with great satisfaction, and who was, to 
 the very day of her death, I think, the finest woman 
 I ever saw of her age." She was daughter of 
 Frederick, the unfortunate king of Bohemia, and 
 Elizabeth, only daughter of King James the First. 
 
 Oxford was now losing ground every day with 
 the queen. But he was not dismissed till he had 
 become no longer peculiarly useful to the court of 
 Versailles and St. Germain, who felt no longer able 
 to confide in his promises. Bolingbroke succeeded 
 as their agent. He was appointed minister. But 
 no other change was notified at the time the queen 
 resumed the white staff: for a violent altercation 
 took place between the rivals, in her majesty's pre- 
 sence. It was kept up till two in the morning. The 
 dispute was exceedingly warm, and Oxford per- 
 mitted himself to exclaim, that, " as he had been 
 wronged by lies and misrepresentations, he would 
 leave some people even as low as he had found 
 them." 
 
 The removal of the treasurer was so sudden, and 
 occasioned such confusion, that there was great diffi- 
 culty in determining how to supply his place, or to 
 fill up such other vacancies as naturally attended
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 371 
 
 his disgrace. The 29th of July, the cabinet council 
 was to have sat on this affair ; but their meeting 
 was put off to the next day, on account of the queen's 
 illness, which, probably, if not occasioned, was at 
 least increased, by these uneasinesses ; and she is 
 reported to have said to one of her physicians, " I 
 cannot outlive it ! " 
 
 The council sat the next day, when the Dukes of 
 Argyle and Somerset, having advice that her majesty's 
 life was in danger, repaired with all speed to Ken- 
 sington ; and, without being summoned, went into 
 the council chamber, where they found the lord- 
 chancellor, the Dukes of Shrewsbury and Ormond, 
 the three secretaries of state, the Bishop of London, 
 and some others, assembled in committee. On 
 entering the room, they stated that the cause of their 
 appearance arose from their having learnt that the 
 queen was in great danger ; and that they had 
 come, in consequence, to offer their assistance. The 
 Duke of Shrewsbury thanked them for their offer. 
 
 The physicians were called in ; and they having 
 reported that her majesty was in imminent danger, 
 it was resolved that the post of lord-treasurer should 
 be filled without delay. Bolingbroke acquiesced ; 
 and while he was expecting that the next motion 
 would place him at the head of the government, 
 great was his astonishment, when one of the council, 
 it is not stated who, proposed that the person 
 who should be recommended to her majesty, ought 
 to be the Duke of Shrewsbury. "Bolingbroke and 
 his partisans," says Mr. Coxe, "were thunderstruck!" 
 They made no opposition, however, and a deputation: 
 waited upon the queen to inform her what was the 
 unanimous opinion of the council, when her majesty 
 
 B B 2
 
 372 LIFE OF 
 
 was pleased to signify her assent by saying, that they 
 could not have recommended a person she liked 
 better. Then giving him the treasurer's staff, she 
 bade him use it " for the good of her people." The 
 duke, therefore, was at that moment not only lord- 
 treasurer, but lord-chamberlain, and lord-lieutenant 
 of Ireland. 
 
 Immediate measures were now taken to secure the 
 succession ; and an express dispatched to Hanover 
 to entreat the elector to lose no time in repairing to 
 Holland, where, on the demise of her majesty, a 
 fleet would be dispatched to convey him to England. 
 This letter was sent express by the younger Craggs ; 
 and by him, also, were dispatched orders to the Earl 
 of Strafford to urge the States-general to be in readi- 
 ness to perform the guaranty of the Protestant suc- 
 cession, if need should require. 
 
 The physicians, despairing of the queen's life, the 
 life-guards were summoned on duty, as well as the 
 herald of arms. When the queen died, therefore, 
 which she did at seven o'clock in the evening, (Aug. 
 1, 1714,) the Elector of Hanover was immediately 
 proclaimed under the title of George the First. Her 
 majesty was in the 50th year of her age, and the 13th 
 of her reign. 
 
 Previous to this event, Marlborough had signified 
 to the elector, as well as to his friends in England, 
 that it was his intention shortly to return to his 
 native land ; a country which the duchess loved so 
 much, that, in a letter to one of her correspondents, 
 she makes use of this ardent expression : " I had 
 rather die in a cottage in England than live in a 
 palace abroad." In a letter to Mrs. Clayton she 
 writes thus :
 
 JOHN, DUKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 373 
 
 " Ostend, July 30, 1714. 
 
 " I am sure, my dear friend will be glad to hear, that 
 we are come well to this place, where we wait for a fair 
 wind, and, in the mean time, are in a very clean house, and 
 every thing good but water. 'Tis not to be told, in this 
 letter, the affection and respect shown to the Duke of 
 Marlborough, in every place where he goes, which always 
 makes me remember our governors in a manner that is 
 natural to do ; and, upon this journey, one thing has hap- 
 pened that was surprising and very pretty. The Duke of 
 Marlborough continued it so as to avoid going into the 
 great towns, as much as he could, and for that reason went 
 a little out of the way, not to go through Ghent ; but the 
 chief magistrates, hearing where he was to pass, met him 
 upon the road, and prepared a very handsome breakfast for 
 all that were with us, where one of iheir ladies stayed to 
 do the honours ; and there was in the company, a very 
 considerable churchman that was lame, and had not been 
 out of his room for some time, but he would give himself 
 this trouble. This is to show you how the Roman Catho- 
 lics in these countries love those that have served them 
 well. Among the governors of this town, there were a 
 great many officers, that came out with them afoot ; and 
 I was so much surprised and touched at their kindness, 
 that I could not speak to the officers without a good deal 
 of concern,' saying I was sorry for what they did, fearing 
 it might hurt them. To which they replied very politely 
 or ignorantly, I don't know which, ' Sure it was not pos- 
 sible for them to suffer for having done their duty.' The 
 next day Mr. Sutton met us, with other officers, and did 
 a great many civilities in bringing wine, and very good 
 fruit ; but I was not so surprised at that, because he is so 
 well with the ministers, that he may do what he pleases. 
 The Duke of Marlborough has determined to stay here 
 till he has a very fair wind and good weather, and not to 
 be at London till three or four days after he lands at 
 Dover, because we have so many horses and servants, that 
 we can't travel fast. I long to embrace my dear Mrs. 
 Clayton, and I hope I shall never part from her again for 
 any long time, though I have as ill an opinion of public
 
 374 LIFE OF 
 
 affairs as ever, but I would fain end my life in England 
 with my friends, if I can, and must submit to popery or 
 any thing that cannot be helped. My humble service to 
 Mr. Clayton, and to anybody that you think cares to hear 
 of me." 
 
 This letter was written at Ostend, to which place 
 the duke had removed, in order to take his passage 
 to England. He was detained several days there by 
 contrary winds. At length he got out of port, 
 when, after a stormy passage, his grace and the 
 duchess landed at Dover on the 1st of August; 
 being the day on which the new king was proclaimed. 
 Previous to his landing, the vessel was boarded by 
 a messenger from the postmaster-general, who con- 
 veyed to him the intelligence that the queen had 
 expired, and that the Elector of Hanover had been 
 proclaimed as his successor. On the approach of the 
 vessel, though the mayor and jurats at that time 
 were unacquainted with the change that had ( taken 
 place, the thunder of artillery resounded from the 
 platform, and the corporation in a body, amid 
 thousands of spectators, hailed the duke with every 
 indication of exultation and joy. His grace lay that 
 night at the house of his devoted friend, Sir Henry 
 Furnese, whence he had taken his departure for his 
 voluntary exile. He proceeded thence to Sitting- 
 bourne, accompanied by a great many gentlemen ; 
 but he was there mortified by the intelligence, that 
 neither Lord Sunderland nor himself were included 
 in the list of the lords justices. He bore this with 
 his usual magnanimity, and passed on towards 
 London, intending to enter the metropolis in privacy; 
 but in this he failed ; for he was met by Sir Charles 
 Cox,. one of the members for Southwark, with about 
 200 substantial inhabitants, who escorted him through
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 375 
 
 the borough on horseback ; and as he passed through 
 the city to St. James's, he was again escorted by 
 many of the first merchants and others on horseback, 
 with several of the nobility and gentry, in coaches, 
 some of which were drawn by six horses. The peo- 
 ple every where crowded to see his grace, and thou- 
 sands made loud and joyful exclamations of " Long 
 live the king !" and " Long live the Duke of 'Marl- 
 borough !" 
 
 When the duke had made his last appearance at 
 court, no one had taken the slightest notice of him. 
 When he arrived at St. James's, however, on his 
 return from the continent, he was, the day after 
 his arrival, visited by most of the foreign ministers, 
 and many of the nobility, gentry, and officers of the 
 army. He was sworn of the privy council : and 
 immediately after made his appearance in the House 
 of Lords ; on his way to which his sedan was fol- 
 lowed through the Park by crowds of soldiers and 
 other persons, cheering him all the way with loud 
 huzzas. 
 
 The queen w r as still unburied, and the king had not 
 yet arrived. All business, therefore, rested with the 
 lords justices, who formed the regency. But the king 
 losing no time,his majesty arrived atGreenwich on the 
 18th; where he was greeted at the palace in the park 
 by a splendid assemblage of noblemen and gentlemen. 
 No one, at this greeting, appeared with more magnifi- 
 cence than the duke ; his late sufferings having added 
 anew lustre to that he had been accustomed to appear 
 in, when he returned, in glory and triumph, from 
 his victorious campaigns. Nor was there any per- 
 son, to whom the new king showed more distinguish- 
 ing marks of esteem and favour : and this though he 
 never forgot, or forgave him, for not having ccmmu-
 
 376 LIFE OF 
 
 nicated to htm his intended operations of that cam- 
 paign, in which Brabant and Flanders had been 
 recovered. The duke, also, attended the king on 
 his entry into the metropolis, and shared the accla- 
 mations of the populace with the new sovereign. 
 
 Previous to his majesty's arrival, Marlborough, at 
 the instance of the duchess, formed a resolution to 
 hold no official situation under the new government. 
 " I begged of the duke upon my knees," says her 
 grace, " that he would never accept of any employ- 
 ment. I said that every body, that liked the revolu- 
 tion, and the security of the law, had a great esteem 
 for him ; that he had a greater fortune than he 
 wanted ; and that a man, who had had such success, 
 with such an estate, would be of more use to any 
 court, than they would be of to him : that I would 
 live civilly with them, if they were so to me ; but 
 would never put it into the power of any thing to use 
 me ill. He was entirely of this opinion, and deter- 
 mined to quit all, and serve them only when he could 
 act honestly, and do his country service at the same 
 time." 
 
 A new ministry was appointed on the arrival of 
 the king. Lord Cowper was made lord chancellor : 
 Lord Wharton, with the dignity of a marquis, privy 
 seal ; the Duke of Shrewsbury lord chamberlain ; the 
 Duke of Somerset master of the horse, and the Duke 
 of Devonshire lord high -steward. Marlborough, 
 forgetting the resolution he had so recently formed, 
 was re-appointed captain-general of the land forces, 
 colonel of the 1 st regt. of foot-guards, and master of 
 the ordnance. His son-in-law, the young Lord 
 Godolphin, was made cofferer of the household, and 
 the Earl of Bridgewater, who held the same relation 
 to him, was made lord chamberlain to the prince's
 
 JOHN, DtTKE OP MARLBOROUGH. 377 
 
 household. His other son-in-law, Lord Sunderland, 
 was also appointed to the lord-lieutenancy of Ireland. 
 Marlborough, however, soon felt, that his authority 
 was reduced to a mere shadow of what it once had 
 been. 
 
 Nearly the first business of importance in the new 
 reign was to call Oxford and Bolingbroke to an 
 account for the late dishonourable peace. Oxford, 
 in consequence of an impeachment, was committed 
 to the tower : Bolingbroke, conscious of guilt, fled 
 from the justice of his country ; followed by the Duke 
 of Ormond, who was charged with having acted in- 
 correctly with the French general. The Duke of Marl- 
 borough assisted in these impeachments by his votes ; 
 but he took no part in the debates. 
 
 Not long after his re-appointment to the captain- 
 generalship, a circumstance occurred, which, though 
 trifling in itself, might have been of serious conse- 
 quence. The guards, of whom the duke was colonel, 
 had been supplied with clothing very coarse in qua- 
 lity. They were, therefore, so indignant, that as a 
 detachment of them marched through the city to 
 relieve guard at the Tower, they pulled out their 
 shirts and showed them to the shop-keepers and 
 passers by ; exclaiming " These are the Hanover 
 shirts." This coming to the ears of the court, Marl- 
 borough, who had known nothing about this coarse 
 linen before, ordered it to be burnt, and, three days 
 after, addressed his regiment in the following man- 
 ner : 
 
 "GENTLEMEN, I am much concerned to find your 
 complaints so just, about the ill state of your clothes. 
 I take this opportunity to tell you, that I am wholly inno- 
 cent of this grievance ; and depend upon it, no applica- 
 tion shall be wanting on my part, to trace out the measures
 
 378 LIFE OF 
 
 that have bren taken to abuse you and me: I am resolved 
 nothing sha'l prevent me from demanding forthwith, 
 (wherever it may happen to fall,) a satisfaction, and shall 
 think nothing too much, on my part, in regard to so much 
 merit. 1 have ordered you a new set of clothing, such as 
 will every way be becoming his majesty's first regiment of 
 foot-guards. 1 desire you will return these, and take your 
 old, till such time as the new can be com pleated, which, I 
 give you my word, shall be as soon as possible. I have 
 had the honour to serve with some of you, a great many 
 campaigns, and believe you will do me the justice to tell 
 the world, that I never willingly wronged one of you ; and 
 if I can be serviceable to any (the least) of you, you may 
 readily command it, and shall be glad of any opportunity 
 for that purpose. I hope I shall now leave you good sub- 
 jects to the best of kings, and every way entirely satisfied." 
 
 On hearing this, the soldiers signified their joy in 
 loud shouts ; and the duke gave to each company a 
 barrel of beer to drink his majesty's health. And 
 here we may go a little back, and state the duke's 
 opposition to two clauses, proposed in the House of 
 Peers to be inserted in the bill, then under discussion, 
 for the regulation of the land-taxes. One of these 
 clauses was to the effect of confining the regiments 
 to their stations in every part of the British domi- 
 nions. The duke argued to the effect, that " his 
 majesty having trusted his royal person and family 
 entirely in the hands of the nation, and, at the open- 
 ing of the sessions, told the parliament, that what 
 they should judge necessary for their safety, he 
 should think sufficient for his own, the least they 
 could do for his majesty was, to leave to his wisdom 
 and direction the disposal of the few troops that 
 were kept on foot." This clause was expunged : and 
 another, equally important and impolitic, shared the 
 same fate. This was a motion to exclude all foreign
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MAKLBOROUGH. 379 
 
 officers from the British service. " To exclude," 
 argued hia grace, " officers who, like the French 
 refugees, have, for above 25 years, served England 
 with disinterested zeal and untainted fidelity, would 
 be a piece of injustice unprecedented in the most 
 barbarous nations." 
 
 Though the Elector of Hanover had succeeded 
 quietly to the throne of England, he was not per- 
 mitted to enjoy it with the same tranquillity. Louis 
 still permitted the Pretender to remain in Lorraine ; 
 and Bolingbroke and Ormond so far instigated the 
 Jacobites in England and Scotland, that a rising in 
 favour of the exile was expected every day. A plan 
 was even laid for the embarkation and landing of 
 the hostile chief. A reward, therefore, of 100,000/. 
 was offered to whomsoever should succeed in seizing 
 him, dead or alive : and all necessary regulations 
 were established, both by land and sea, for resisting 
 foreign invasion and maintaining internal tranquillity. 
 
 We might now proceed to give account of the 
 breaking out, pursuit, and suppression of the re- 
 bellion ; but as that has been done by so many 
 already, we shall only observe, that the Duke of 
 Marlborough, as captain-general of the forces, gave 
 such orders for its suppression, as very soon brought 
 it to a termination. It is necessary, however, to 
 state, that Preston, which was the place where the 
 rebels received their overthrow, was the very spot 
 in which the duke had predicted they would receive 
 it. Louis XIV. having died in the interim, most 
 of the malcontents were inclined to suppose, the 
 subject was entirely at an end ; but, in the midst of 
 it, the; Pretender, loth to give up his hopes, em- 
 barked at Dunkirk, and arrived, incognito, a ^ Peter- 
 head on the 22d of December ; and a few days after
 
 380 LIFE OP 
 
 was hailed as king at Fetterose ; from whence he 
 proceeded to Dundee ; and thence to Scone. 
 
 On the 16th of January he there held a general 
 council of the clans. " The gracefulness of his per- 
 son," says Mr. Coxe, " the glowing energy of his 
 language, the recollection of his misfortunes, the 
 admiration excited by his courage, made a deep 
 impression on hearts burning with loyalty and de- 
 votion to the blood of their native princes. The 
 effect was heightened by the sublimity of the moun- 
 tain scenery, the romantic dress and arms of the 
 highlands, and the solemn grandeur of the royal 
 palace, which recalled to mind the splendid scenes of 
 Scottish glory." This beautiful delusion, however, 
 was soon at an end. Perceiving the impossibility 
 of success, the disappointed chief deserted his ad- 
 herents, and, embai'king clandestinely on board a 
 French vessel, gave up 'the enterprise. 
 
 This was the last scene of public action, in which 
 our illustrious hero acted a part : and here we must be 
 permitted to dwell, for a moment, on the griefs, which 
 clouded his latter days. His only surviving son he had 
 lost in the bloom and hilarity of youth. His third 
 daughter, the Countess of Bridgewater, he had lost in 
 the 26th year of her age. Soon after the return of him- 
 self and the duchess from the continent, they lost, 
 also, the duke's favourite daughter, Anne, Countess 
 of Sunderland. His grace had not recovered from the 
 shock he received from the loss, when he was seized 
 with so violent a paralytic affection, that he was 
 deprived of all speech and sensation. By the happy 
 skill of Sir Samuel Garth, however, he was soon 
 enabled to go to Bath, to drink the waters. On 
 approaching that city he was greeted by the peal of 
 bells, a numerous cavalcade, and shouting multitudes ;
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROFGH. 381 
 
 and the mayor and corporation waiting upon him 
 expressed many ardent wishes for his health. 
 
 His grace received great benefit from the waters, 
 and remained at Bath till he was enabled to proceed 
 to Blenheim, where he arrived on the 18th of Oc- 
 tober; and is said to have expressed great satisfac- 
 tion at seeing a palace, though still incompleted 
 which reminded him forcibly of former scenes of 
 action and glory. While here, he received another 
 attack ; and no one expected him to live. He re- 
 covered, however, so far as to be able to be conveyed 
 to Marlborough house, London. He still retained his 
 memory ; and his understanding was but little im- 
 paired. The passage of the poet 
 
 " From Marlborough's eyes the streams of dotage flow," 
 
 is a mere fable. Till within a few months of his 
 death, he was a frequenter of parliament, and occa- 
 sionally assisted in committees, appointed to draw up 
 addresses ; and Mr. Coxe assures us, that he per- 
 formed the functions of captain-general, and master 
 of the ordnance, with his accustomed regularity. 
 He, nevertheless, wished to resign those employ- 
 ments ; and did tender his resignation by Lord Sun- 
 derland : but the king refused to accept it. " Marl- 
 borough's retirement," said his majesty, " w T ould 
 give me as much pain as if a dagger should l:e 
 plunged into my bosom." It is stated, however, by 
 competent authorities, that though he was induced 
 to remain, he was, from this time, a mere cipher ; 
 and exposed to repeated slights and mortifications 
 even in his own departments. He interested him- 
 self, therefore, in few public acts ; but the impeach- 
 ment of Lord Oxford had his hearty concurrence. 
 Oxford, nevertheless, escaped from the charges of
 
 382 LIFE OF 
 
 which he was accused, by a trick of party ; and 
 though Marlborough may not be supposed to have 
 cared greatly in his present condition, Erasmus 
 Lewis asserts, that the duchess was " distracted with 
 disappointment." 
 
 During the time of the South-sea scheme, the 
 duke took several shares. The duchess, however, 
 afterwards, persuaded him to sell out. lie did so ; and 
 realised the sum of no less than" 100,000^. Some time 
 after which the duke was suddenly summoned to tho 
 house of his son-in-law, Lord Sunderland. When 
 he arrived, he was informed that a charge was going 
 the round of society, that the duchess was implicated 
 in a plot to restore the Pretender. On his return, 
 perceiving the duke somewhat chagrined, the duchess 
 inquired the cause. " I have been to Sunderland's," 
 answered his grace. " He accuses you of a plot to 
 restore the Pretender ; and of furnishing him with a 
 sum of money." The duchess treated this accusa- 
 tion at first with great contempt ; but she wrote 
 afterwards to the king respecting it, and also con- 
 descended to engage the friendship of the king's mis- 
 tress, the Duchess of Kendal ; but so little success 
 attended these applications, that she became, from 
 that period, alienated from the court, and soon fell 
 into violent opposition to the government. About 
 two years after this, lord Sunderland died, leaving 
 himself indebted to his father-in-law, in the sum of 
 10,000. His younger children were taken under 
 the protection of the duchess. 
 
 We must now say a few words in respect to 
 Blenheim. That noble estate was given the duke 
 by Queen Anne, on account of his victory, which it 
 will ever immortalise. We have no occasion to enter 
 into any detail in respect to it. Mr. Coxe has de-
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 383 
 
 voted an entire chapter to it ; and the issue is proved 
 to be that if Marlborough had not had it finished at 
 his own expense, this proud monument of national 
 glory would have remained in its ruins, a striking 
 monument of the queen's fickleness and of the mean- 
 ness of her ministers. From a strict investigation of 
 the accounts, it appears, that the expenditure on the 
 part of the public was 240,000^. ; and on those of 
 the duke and his widow G0,000/. more : making a 
 total of 300,000^. 
 
 In respect to the state of the duke's faculties at 
 this period, no authority can be so good as that of 
 the Duchess. " I think it proper in this place," says 
 her grace, " to give an account of the Duke of Marl- 
 borough's distemper. He was taken very ill at St. 
 Alban's, in May, 1716, with the palsy, but he reco- 
 vered it so much as to go to Bath. He lived till 
 June 15, 1722; and though he had often returns of 
 this illness, he went many journeys, and was in all 
 appearance well ; excepting that he could not pro- 
 nounce all words, which is common in that distemper ; 
 but his understanding was as good as ever." 
 
 The duke passed the last of his life sometimes at 
 Blenheim ; sometimes at Holloway-house, near St. 
 Alban's; and lastly at Windsor-lodge. His private 
 habits are described by Mr. Coxe : " His habits of 
 life were perfectly domestic, and did not bely the fond 
 anxiety he had manifested, while engaged in busier 
 scenes, for the society of his family and friends. His 
 favourite and constant exercise was riding, either in 
 a carriage or on horseback ; and whenever his health 
 permitted, in walking round his grounds, particularly 
 at Blenheim, where he delighted to contemplate his 
 own erection. His amusements consisted in the com- 
 pany of his friends, whom he was accxistomed to
 
 384 LIFE OF 
 
 receive without ceremony ; or in the recreation of 
 cards. He played at ombre, bisset, and picquet, some- 
 times with his grand-children at commerce ; but his 
 favourite game was whist." 
 
 He took great pleasure, also, in superintending the 
 education of his grand-daughter ; and the recreations 
 of his house were varied by dramatic exhibitions. At 
 length nature gave him notice, that he had but a few 
 days to live. He had been conveyed from Marlbo- 
 rough-house to Windsor-lodge ; where, towards the 
 beginning of June, he was again attacked by a violent 
 paroxysm of the palsy. He lay several days fully 
 sensible of his almost immediate dissolution ; and 
 prayers having been offered up at his bed-side, the 
 duchess asked him if he heard them ? " Yes," an- 
 swered his grace, " and joined in them." He was 
 lying on a couch ; but having signified his desire to 
 be conveyed to a bed, he was taken there ; when, 
 towards four in the morning, he calmly resigned his 
 spirit to Him that gave it : dying on the 15th of 
 June (1722) ; not completely seventy-three years by 
 seven days. 
 
 Thus closed the days of this immortal hero ; whom 
 five monarchs had employed in their armies and 
 councils. He was conveyed to Marlborough-house, 
 where he lay in state for some time, and was after- 
 wards taken to Westminster Abbey; his funeral 
 exhibiting a display seldom equalled ; passing through 
 St. James's Park, the Upper Park, thence through 
 Piccadilly, down St. James's-street, through Pall- 
 mall, and by Charing -cross, through King-street to 
 "Westminster Abbey : where it was interred with 
 every indication of honour and glory. This inter- 
 ment, however, was only for a time ; the body being 
 afterwards taken up and carried to the chapel at
 
 JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 385 
 
 Blenheim ; where it was deposited in a magnificent 
 mausoleum executed by Rysbrack, at the instance, 
 and under the superintendence, of her grace the 
 duchess. The duke died immensely rich ; so rich 
 that it is stated in the Gentleman's Magazine, for 
 1732, that the duchess subscribed 300,000/. on the 
 salt duty ; and Sir Robert Walpole says in a letter 
 to Lord Townshend, that she was able not only to 
 control the public loans, in some degree, but to affect 
 the rate of interest. The duke's income at his death, 
 besides what he enjoyed from the gifts of the Crown, 
 is stated to have been not less than 70,000^. per 
 annum. 
 
 The duke's will had been written about one year 
 before his death. We have no space for this docu- 
 ment ; and indeed it differs so little from other testa- 
 mentary papers, that it is only necessary to state, 
 that it shows the great affection he had for the 
 duchess ; and the anxiety he had to provide for the 
 welfare of those, who might succeed to his title.* 
 The trustees under the will were the duchess, his 
 three sons-in-law, the Dukes of Montagu and Bridge- 
 water, and Lord Godolphin; William Guydot, Wil- 
 liam Clayton, and John Hanbury, Esquires. 
 
 The duchess survived her illustrious husband not 
 less than twenty-two years ; dying at the age of 
 eighty-four, in 1744. The love she had for the duke 
 may in no small degree be imagined from the fol- 
 lowing anecdote : though sixty-two, she still pos- 
 sessed some attractions ; insomuch that she w r as 
 sought in marriage by Lord Coningsby and the Duke 
 
 * The duke \vas succeeded in his honours by his daughter, 
 Henrietta, married to Francis, Earl of Godolphin. This is the 
 Duchess of Marlborough, to whom Congrcve left 10,0007. ; and 
 not the first duchess, as is generally supposed. 
 
 c c
 
 386 LIFE OF JOHN, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGII. 
 
 of Somerset. What her answer was to the former 
 is,* we believe, nowhere upon record. That to the 
 Duke of Somerset is highly characteristic, and 
 greatly to be admired : " Marriage is very unsuit- 
 able at my age ; but were I only thirty, I would not 
 permit even the emperor of the world to succeed in 
 that heart, which has been, all my life, devoted to 
 John, Duke of Marlborough !"t 
 
 * Lord Coningsby proposed, about six months after tbe duke's 
 death. " To my dearest, dearest Lady Marlborough alone I could 
 open the inmost recesses of my loaded heart, and by her exalted 
 wisdom find relief! Whither to go, or how to dispose of a life 
 entirely devoted to you, I know not, till I receive your orders and 
 commands. * * * I live in hopes that the great and glorious 
 Creator of the world, who does and must direct all things, will 
 direct you to make me the happiest man upon the face of the caith, 
 and enable me to make my dearest, dearest Lady Marlborough, as 
 she is the wisest and best, the happiest of women !" 
 
 Of this ardent lover Godolphin had written to the duke thus : 
 " I have had a letter from Lord Coniugsby, whose judgment and 
 experience, in all the affairs of parliament, I value much." He is 
 also celebrated by Pope. 
 
 f In the latter part of her life her grace became bed-ridden ; 
 paper, pens, and ink, were placed beside her ; and her favourite 
 amusement consisted in noting down her opinions and recollections, 
 several of which have been published. " It is seldom," says Lord 
 Orford, who ranked her among his royal and noble authors, " that 
 the public receives information on princes and favourites from the 
 fountain-head ; flattery or invective is apt to pervert the relations 
 of others. It is from their own pens alone, whenever they are so 
 gracious, like the lady in questiou, as to have a passion for fame 
 and approbation, that we learn exactly how trifling, foolish, and 
 ridiculous, their views and actions were, and how often the rais- 
 cliief they did proceeded from the most inadequate causes." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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