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feed their hopes by assurances of a determined interference on his part in the accomplishment of that great object. Such reasoning fell not unheeded upon the ears of the men composing the statesgeneral. They began to assume a tone in their communications with the allies different from what they had hitherto employed, and serious fears were in consequence entertained that the dissolution of the league was not very remote.

The unpleasant sensations excited by this state of things were far from receiving relief from a consideration that Holland was disposed to regard England as too powerful, now that her great rival was weakened. The undisguised aversion, likewise, which she experienced and expressed towards the emperor produced much uneasiness at the court of St. James's: indeed, Godolphin himself appears, at one moment, to have regarded affairs as desperate, though he carefully maintained a tone of confidence in his correspondence with the pensionary. Marlborough alone continued sanguine. He had triumphed over too many difficulties to succumb under those which now pressed upon him; and his spirit and prudence led to the result which he had anticipated. With consummate skill he bent all the different parties to his own views. The states and the emperor were reunited; the former were solemnly engaged to stand or fall with the allies; and a negotiation which had for some time been in progress with the elector of Bavaria was abruptly broken off. Thus, as far as human foresight could extend, the most effectual measures were adopted to guard against the operations of treachery or self-interest, and the attention of all the powers was turned with apparent good will to the providing of adequate resources against the opening of a new campaign.

Perplexing as these matters were, they can hardly be said to have given Marlborough greater uneasiness than the state of parties and the cabals for office which went on at home. We have alluded elsewhere to the partial disgrace of the tories; to the nomination of Mr. Cowper as lord-keeper, and the appointment of lord Sunderland as ambassador at Vienna. The whigs, not content with obtaining a share in the patronage of the crown, now insisted upon the whole, and made their first attack by demanding that sir Charles Hedges should be removed from the office of secretary, and lord Sunderland appointed in his room. The duchess of Marlborough, with her usual violence and spirit, espoused the cause of her son-in-law. Godolphin, hopeless of support from the tories, took the same side, and both together overcoming the scruples of the duke, prevailed upon him likewise to interfere. The queen, however, swayed partly by her own feelings, and partly instigated by the secret advice of Harley and St. John, gave a steady refusal to the proposition. It was to no purpose that Godolphin threatened to resign, or that the duchess sought to alarm her mistress with assurances of the hostility of the party, and the neces

sary triumph of France, in the negotiations which she was known to conduct. Anne resolutely adhered to her determination of holding something like an even balance between the factions, and met every argument with reasons, which, if they failed to convince the judgments of her correspondents, left them no room to doubt of her own firmness. Even Marlborough's letters produced no effect; and though parliament was on the eve of meeting, and a fierce opposition was prepared, she persisted in excluding Sunderland from the situation which alone he would accept. It was this course of conduct on her part, coupled with certain ambiguous expressions in their own letters, that first led Godolphin and afterwards the duke to suspect the sincerity of their two protégés. By the duchess both Harley and St. John, but particularly the latter, had long been regarded with distrust; by Godolphin they were now viewed at least with suspicion: Marlborough alone attributing their equivocations to the force of circumstances rather than to the spirit of absolute treachery. Nevertheless they persisted in the line which they had adopted, keeping the queen steady in her opposition to the minister; nor was it till Marlborough arrived in London, and by a personal appeal overcame her antipathies, that she broke through the spell by which their counsels had bound her. This event, however, which occurred on the 18th of November, gave a novel turn to the whole course of public affairs. The queen's firmness gave way. Sunderland was appointed secretary, Mr. Cowper was raised to the peerage, and an administration formed on a basis avowedly whig. It is true that Marlborough and Godolphin still belonged to it, and that the latter was raised to the dignity of an earl; but they were equally become converts to whig principles, if not abstractedly, without doubt in practice. Harley and St. John, indeed, continued to keep their seats, but they were the only tories of note permitted to fill places of distinction and responsibility in the new cabinet.

It is scarcely necessary to state that the reception which Marlborough met from all ranks and classes of his countrymen was, on the present, as it had been on previous occasions, in the highest degree flattering. The houses of parliament voted him their thanks; the city of London feasted him; his trophies were carried in triumphal procession to St. Paul's, amid the shouts and plaudits of the people. Not only was the estate of Woodstock entailed, at his own desire, upon the title, but a bill was passed which rendered the honours and dignities conferred upon himself hereditary through the female line; the sons of his daughters, with their sons for ever, being appointed heirs according to their seniority. It is somewhat remarkable that, though sufficiently anxious on this head, Marlborough expressed no desire that the name of Churchill should be assumed by his successors. That dotage, if such it deserves to be termed, had ceased to actuate him for

some time; but he took care, besides securing to his duchess a life possession of the estate of Woodstock, to see that the pension of 5000l. a-year which had been granted to him and his heirs out of the revenues of the post-office, should likewise be enjoyed by her in the event of her widowhood.

It belongs not to the biographer of Marlborough, considered as a British general, to enter much at large into a consideration of the political questions which during the period of his eminent services agitated the parliament and the nation. Of the motives, for example, which directly guided the promoters of that great measure, the union between England and Scotland, different opinions may be held; but the measure itself must now be admitted on all hands to have brought incalculable benefits upon both countries. From the first moment of its suggestion, Marlborough cordially supported it. He saw that if any thing could put an end to the jealousies and mistrust which hindered one portion of the empire from perfectly coalescing with another, this and this alone would do so; and while he undervalued the difficulties which opposed themselves immediately to the undertaking, he took a comprehensive and just view of the benefits which in after-ages would arise out of it. Marlborough was not mistaken in the estimate which he had formed both for the present or the future. The church, of which the downfal had been confidently predicted, continued not less secure than ever; prejudices and antipathies long fostered gradually gave way; and the people, learning to regard themselves as one, rose both conjointly and separately to a height of prosperity to which, had no union taken place, they could not have attained. It is but an act of justice to the memory of Marlborough to state, that the part which he played in the discussion of this great question goes far to exculpate him from some charges of secret treachery and double-dealing. That he stands not free from blame at the commencement of his career, we have already taken occasion to show; but it is evident that no man, circumstanced as he was, would have laboured to effect the union, had he not fully made up his mind to stand or fall with the preservation of the protestant succession.

These great measures were yet in progress, and Marlborough, ever attentive to his duty, was at the same time making his arrangements for the next campaign, when not his attention only, but that of the allies in general, was somewhat painfully roused by the appearance of a new actor on the stage of public affairs. Charles XII. of Sweden, one of the most extraordinary men whom Europe has ever produced, was now in the full career of his successes. After vigorously defending his country against the attacks of its invaders, and compelling the king of Denmark to sign a disgraceful peace, he had burst into the Russian territories on the shores of the Baltic, where, with a disparity of numbers scarcely to be credited, he

overthrew the Muscovites in many battles. He marched next into Poland, and dethroned Augustus, that he might confer the crown upon Stanislaus Leczinski; after which he directed his course into Germany; and was now, with his victorious legions, in cantonments at Alt Ranstadt. From this point he commanded, rather than invited, the other powers to give their sanction to his proceedings. All eyes were instantly turned towards Charles. It was evident that, should he covet the distinction, he possessed ample means of becoming the arbiter of Europe; for into whatever scale he might choose to throw the weight of his power, its opposite must kick the beam. While, therefore, the eccentric warrior gave vent to his personal feelings, by charging the emperor Joseph with numerous political crimes, the rest of the confederates laboured under the painful impression, that the machinations of Louis, of which they remained not long in ignorance, had effectually gained him over to the side of France. Even Marlborough was far from feeling easy on a point so critical; and as he could not himself at this season of the year undertake a journey to the Swedish headquarters, he employed general Grumbkow, a Prussian officer, in whose penetration he reposed great confidence, to discover, if possible, the bent of Charles's inclinations. The letter which this gentleman addressed to the duke after his return from Liepzig, where he met the Swedish monarch, is too curious to be omitted ;

"My lord duke,

Berlin, Jan. 11, 1707. "I returned yesterday from Leipzig, and I deem it my duty to give your highness an account of my journey. Last Sunday week I departed from hence, and arrived the Monday at Leipzig. On the next day I waited upon the king at his dinner. I was much surprised at the manner in which the table was served; and I do assure your highness that the fare with which M. de Hompesch regaled you, was divine in comparison with this. On the following day I saw king Augustus at dinner with the king of Sweden: the latter appeared pleased and contented, the other disconcerted and pensive. The repast continued, according to cus tom, only a quarter of an hour, during which an unbroken silence was preserved, which I attributed to the consideration that there was only time to swallow some morsels in haste. On Saturday I visited count Piper, and after an hour's conference we sat down to dinner; and as his fare was much worse than that of his royal master, your highness may judge of my wretched situation. Count Piper is rude and boisterous, and has all the manners of a pedant, without his learning... I conversed with him on all subjects, and particularly dwelt on the confidence which your highness reposes in the word of the king his master. He said, 'That English lord is a brave and intelligent man; tho English and the allies are extremely fortunate that he is their general: the king my master esteems him

infinitely.' He then said that his master was not prodigal of promises, but kept his word most religiously; adding, that those who were not inclined to believe him, need only let him follow his own way.

"Having insensibly turned the discourse on the great designs of the king his master, he said, 'We made war in Poland only to subsist; our design in Saxony is to terminate the war; but for the Muscovite, he shall pay les pots cassés, and we will treat the czar in a manner which posterity will hardly believe.' I secretly wished that he was already in the heart of Muscovy.

"After dinner he conveyed me in his carriage to the head-quarters, and presented me to the king. His majesty was standing in a small apartment, dressed in the Swedish fashion. I made my bow, and having received proper instructions, accosted him boldly, that I esteemed myself very fortunate in paying my respects to a sovereign, who was so renowned in Europe for his distinguished actions, valour, and equity. He asked me whence I came, and where I had served. I replied, and mentioned my good fortune in serving three campaigns under your highness. He questioned me much, and particularly about your highness and the English troops; and you will readily believe that I delineated my hero in the most lively and natural colours. Among other particulars, he asked me if your highness yourself led the troops to the charge. I replied, that as all the troops were animated with the same ardour for fighting, your highness was not under the necessity of leading the charge; but that you were every where, and always in the hottest of the action, and gave your orders with that coolness which excites general admiration. I then related to him that you had been thrown from your horse; the death of your aide-de-camp Brinfield, and many other things. He took such pleasure in this recital, that he made me repeat the same thing twice. I also said, that your highness always spoke of his majesty with the highest esteem and admiration, and ardently desired to pay your repects. He observed, 'That is not likely; but I should be delighted to see a general of whom I have heard so much.""

There was nothing in this to satisfy the minds of those chiefly interested, as to the designs or dispositions of the Swedish monarch; nor did the future correspondence of the same officer, though filled with flattering guesses and surmises, allay their natural fears. Aware, as they were, that a confidential agent from Louis had visited Alt Ranstadt, and made acquainted, through one of those trusty spies whom Marlborough kept constantly in pay, with the very substance of his communications, they experienced the utmost uneasiness as to the result; nor would any thing satisfy either the emperor or the elector of Hanover, except a personal interview between Marlborough and Charles. Marlborough readily yielded to the

wishes of the crowned heads. Having obtained the sanction of his own court, he departed for the Hague, as soon after the close of the session as circumstances would allow; whence, after communicating his designs to the Pensionary, as well as to several leading men in the states, he set cut on the 20th of April towards the Swedish camp.

With consummate address, Marlborough adapted both his language and his manner to the peculiar temperament of Charles. He spared no degree of flattery, to which the Swedish monarch lay remarkably open; yet he never once committed either his own sovereign, or the other powers whom he represented; nay, even when Stanislaus was introduced to him, he contrived at once to gratify his host, and to avoid every thing approaching to a public recognition of the title of that prince. In like manner, while apparently entering into all the romantic views of Charles touching a protestant league, and the general redress of wrongs throughout Germany, he manag. ed to convince him that the moment for effecting these good works was not yet come; and that the balance of power must first be restored in Europe, ero the internal condition of any particular state could with propriety be taken into consideration. Voltaire has asserted that the English general, when first ushered into the presence of the Swedish monarch, found the latter attentively examining a map of Russia; and that, from this single circumstance, he became at once aware that Louis's intrigues had failed. This statement is altogether incorrect. No such spectacle was ever beheld by Marlborough, nor were any such conclusions drawn from it; it was to his own adroitness in diplomatic conversation, and to that alone, that he was indebted for the knowledge that Charles would not interfere in the contest between France and her enemies. He returned to the Hague, visiting Berlin and Hanover by the way, on the 8th of May, having been absent on this important mission not more than eighteen days.

Notwithstanding the successful issue of this delicate affair and the general assurances of support which he received from all quarters, Marlborough saw, with indescribable mortification, the summer months of 1707 one after another steal on, without an opportunity being afforded of effecting any thing worthy of his own renown, or correspondent to the zeal by which he was actuated. The Dutch had again relapsed into their old habit of distrust, and again empowered the fielddeputies to thwart the general in all his movements. They scarcely concealed, indeed, that in a further prosecution of the war they felt no interest; and if they did not positively receive overtures of peace from France, they acted as if to such a consummation their hopes were mainly turned. Though superior, or at least fully equal, to the enemy, both in the numbers and the quality of his troops, Marlborough was not allowed, during many months, to hazard a single aggressive move

ment. A variety of marches were, indeed, effected, for the purpose of covering the principal towns of Brabant; and more than once the duke cherished a sanguine hope of forcing his confederates to a battle; but just as the object of his combinations began to develope itself, the deputies interfered, and the enemy escaped from the toils. This was particularly the case on the 27th of May, when, after a series of able manoeuvres, he had succeeded in bringing the hostile armies into presence, near Nivelle. Because the pass of Ronquieres was strongly occupied, through which it would be necessary to penetrate, a council of war determined that a battle should not be hazarded; Marlborough was in consequence compelled to fall back to Beaulieu, that he might protect Brussels and Louvain from insult.

Having induced the enemy, by this movement, to relinquish their designs, Marlborough advanced again as far as Meldert, Vendome moving at the same time in a parallel direction towards Gemblours. These changes of ground occurred so early in the season as the 31st of May; yet it was not till the month of August that any serious effort was made, on either side, to bring matters to the crisis of a battle. On the one hand, Vendome, though both able and enterprising, held his adversary in too much respect, to risk the slightest opening, of which he could not but believe that advantage would be taken; on the other hand, Marlborough, harassed by the senseless opposition of the Hollanders, found his energies cramped, and his speculations useless. The consequence was, that the entire summer was permitted to pass in a species of armed truce, as distasteful to the feelings of the British commander, as it was injurious to the cause of which he stood forth the principal defender.

It was not, however, in the supineness of those with whom he more immediately acted, that Marlborough found ample cause of complaint, and fruitful sources of anxiety. In Spain the allies had suffered a fearful reverse, their army being almost entirely destroyed at Almanza; and the only chance of restoring matters lay in the immediate advance of the imperial troops into Provence, by the passes of the Apennines. This measure Marlborough ceased not to urge by every argument in his power, both upon Joseph and the duke of Savoy. But between these two personages an excessive jealousy had arisen. The emperor, looking to his own interests alone, preferred securing the conquest of the Milanese to every other consideration; while Victor Amadeus threatened to withdrew entirely from the league, were not his particular wishes consulted, and his views of aggrandisement realised. It was to no purpose that Marlborough impressed upon all parties the benefits likely to accrue upon the conquest of Toulon. With a jealousy of the maritime powers, as narrow as it was ill-timed and unjust, they both affected to treat the project as

tending to the benefit of England alone; and though they could not venture positively to pronounce against it, they nevertheless postponed its accomplishment from day to day. Nor were the shameful dissensions which prevailed among the different commanders in Catalonia subjects of trivial concern to Marlborough, Peterborough had long ago been suspended, and was now a wandering intriguer from court to court. Lord Galway, his weak and unfortunate successor, was become not less unpopular than he; and the temper of the king, as well as the state of his party, gave conclusive evidence that no British officer, at least, would be able to restore confidence or unanimity.

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In like manner the turn which affairs had lately taken in Germany was far from gratifying. The margrave of Baden, after a long and painful illness, died; and the army there being left without a commander, sustained a signal defeat. strong position of Stolhoffen was stormed and carried; and Villars, bursting into the Palatinate, spread horror and dismay around. Almost at the same moment the disputes between the emperor and the king of Sweden, which it had cost so much trouble to allay, were revived; nor were they finally settled, except by the assumption of a tone on Marlborough's part more decided than he had yet seen proper to employ. So many misfortunes befalling at one and the same moment preyed strongly upon the mind of the general; yet were they but as a drop of water to the sea, when compared with the uneasiness and chagrin which the intelligence received day after day from home occasioned.

Something has been said in another part of this sketch, touching the growing alienation of the queen from the duchess of Marlborough, and the unconquerable aversion experienced by her majesty towards the whigs. Over the latter feeling, the semblance of a victory had been gained during the last session of parliament; and so long as the duke remained in England, even the former seemed to be suspended; but he had scarcely quitted the court ere both the one and the other revived with increased violence. That Harley and St. John secretly encouraged the queen in her prejudices, lady Marlborough had long asserted, and Godolphin, if he refused to go along with her to the full extent of conviction, was not free from suspicion. It needed but the occurrence of an event in itself neither extraordinary nor important to attest the full truth of her assertions, and to convince even Marlborough himself that he no longer possessed the confidence of his sovereign.

Long before any positive coldness arose between them, lady Marlborough, weary of a continual attendance at court, had recommended to the queen a poor relative of her own, the daughter of a reduced gentleman, by name Abigail Hill. Mrs. Hill, educated in high tory principles, soon made herself agreeable to her royal mistress, and,

as usually happens in such cases, was not mindful in her prosperity that a debt of gratitude remained due to her first patroness. She not only encouraged the queen in resisting the political demands of lady Marlborough, but directed her attention, with very unnecessary minuteness, to all the most offensive expressions in her grace's letters, till in the end she succeeded in effecting an absolute transfer of the royal favour to herself. Harley was neither slow to perceive, nor backward to avail himself, of this circumstance. Being equally with the duchess related to Mrs. Hill, he found no difficulty in contracting with her the closest intimacy; and he contrived, through her influence, to establish an authority over the mind of the queen more despotic than he had hitherto exercised.

Though the designs of Harley and the new favourite were not concealed from the eyes of others, the duchess, either blinded by pride or confident in her own judgment, persisted in believing that there was nothing in their conduct capable of exciting alarm. Under this delusion she continued to labour till information unexpectedly reached her that Mrs. Hill, without condescending to consult her original patroness, had given her hand in marriage to a Mr. Masham, a gentleman in the queen's service, who, not less than herself, owed all his success in life to the duchess. Then, indeed, this high-spirited woman began to suspect that her relative had played false. She wrote warmly, and perhaps haughtily, to the queen; received a cold and caustic reply; and became aware that her suspicions were not groundless. Nor was it long ere other and more convincing proofs were afforded that the queen had thrown herself into the arms of a secret faction. Two bishoprics, with certain other valuable pieces of church preferment, fell vacant. The ministers, and among the rest Marlborough and Godolphin, recommended able men of whiggish principles for promotion: their advice was not only not adopted, but sir William Dawes and doctor Blackhall, both of them avowed tories, not free from suspicion on the score of jacobitism, were nominated to the sees. It was in vain that Marlborough and Godolphin remonsurated warmly against such appointments, holding out threats that, should they take place, their own resignation must follow. The queen persisted in asserting her right to exercise the prerogative according to her own will; and the two friends were completely baffled.

The consciousness of loss of influence which followed upon this proceeding was not the only nor the most harassing evil which rose out of it. The whigs, who had never reposed absolute confidence in Marlborough, avowed their belief that he was now deceiving them, and gave loose to the animosity which they had for some time suppressed, but had never been able to overcome. chanced that to the repeated applications of lord Halifax for some office which he might hold to

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gether with the auditorship of the exchequer, Marlborough had steadily opposed himself. A great deal of altercation had taken place between them, producing its customary effect, coldness and alienation. An open rupture now occurred, which led to consequences exceedingly painful to the feelings of Marlborough. His brother, admiral Churchill, a jacobite at heart, and, as such, abhorred by Halifax and the whigs, became exposed to prosecution on a charge of neglect of duty; nor were the intercessions of the duke in his favour, though made in a tone more humble than might have been assumed, so much as honoured with a reply.

Undermined by Harley, and distrusted by the whigs, Marlborough saw that his influence was on the wane; nor was it any gratification to him that almost every post brought him assurances that his enemies were not likely to use much delicacy in the exercise of such power as they possessed. The supplies and recruits necessary to keep his army effective were either held back altogether, or afforded with a sparing hand. Plans suggested by him were scrutinised with a closeness to which he had heretofore been unaccustomed; and his wishes as to the choice of persons for different employments abroad were not always obeyed. It soon appeared, moreover, that the tory party had not confined their intrigues to the court of St. James's alone: Marlborough found himself out of favour with the elector, at a moment when, above all others, he had a right to expect the contrary;* nor was it but by the application of consummate address that he succeeded in removing the impression which his highness had received.

In conducting the voluminous and irksome correspondence arising out of a state of things so unsettled, the summer of 1707 was chiefly spent. It is true that no man could exhibit more of temper or discretion than Marlborough; for even lord Peterborough, who visited him on his way home, failed in drawing him into the utterance of one rash or unguarded expression. Yet was his satisfaction great, when, in the month of August, the prospect of more active operations opened upon him; not merely because he hoped, by a brilliant victory, to recover the confidence of the queen, but because the very act of superintending the movements of the army in the field promised to divert his thoughts into a more agreeable and important channel. The circumstances which led to this renewal of the campaign, if we may so speak, were these:

The emperor, after completing the conquest of the Milanese, at length consented to hazard an attempt upon Toulon; and prince Eugene was commanded, at the head of 35,000 men, to penetrate into Provence for that purpose. Towards the end

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