"Oct. 19. 1708. — Finding you still continue in the prince's council, and the parliament now so near, I cannot be so wanting, either to you or to myself, as not to tell you plainly, with all the kindness of a brother and the sincerity of a friend, that if you do not take an unalterable resolution of laying down that employment before the parliament sits, you will certainly do the greatest disservice imaginable to the queen and prince, the greatest prejudice to me, and bring yourself into such inconveniences as may last as long as you live, and from which it is wholly impossible to protect you. Whereas, on the other side, if the considerations of making the queen's affairs more easy next session, of avoiding a great deal of trouble and disagreeableness to the prince, and of real danger to yourself, as well as prejudice to me, prevail with you to comply with my earnest desire in this thing, I think I could be answerable to you, that you could not fail of finding your advantage in it, doubly to what you do now, both in profit and quiet. These motives being all of them as strong as it is possible for me to suggest, I hope you will give me the satisfaction of letting me know very soon, that my mind may be at ease in this matter, and that you have virtually laid down before my coming over."

This was doubtless a serious sacrifice on the part of the duke, and both the treasurer and the duchess hoped that the resignation of the admiral would restore cordiality. It appears, however, that the Whig lords were so incensed against the prince, and so determined to force themselves into power, that they would not be satisfied with the resignation or dismission of his obnoxious favourite, though it had hitherto seemed to be their principal object. Their pertinacity was strengthened by a wish to have the management of the Admiralty transferred to Lord Pembroke, that his two posts, the presidency of the council and the vice-royalty of Ireland, might be vacated for Somers and Wharton. In vain the lord treasurer endeavoured to soothe their resentment, and persuade them to content themselves with the dismission of the admiral, by offering to propose a law for rendering the council responsible. In this resolution they appeared immoveable, and were supported by Newcastle, Devonshire, Townshend, and some of the more moderate of the party. It was evident, indeed, that no compromise could be effected, and that the prince himself would be sacrificed unless Lord Somers was admitted into office.

*

The danger which menaced a person so dear operated powerfully on the feelings of the queen, who seeing no other * Mr. Maynwaring to the duchess.

resource to screen her husband from an attack, notified to Lord Godolphin a reluctant, but unqualified acquiescence in the demands of the Whigs, as we learn from one of his letters.

"St. James's, Oct. 22.-Nov. 2.-The queen is at last brought to allow me to make such condescensions, which, if done in time, would have been sufficient to have eased most of our difficulties; and would yet do it, in great measure, if the Whigs will be but tolerably reasonable; and I am really of opinion that if you were in England at this moment but 48 hours, all might yet go well, I mean as to the public."

Even after this solemn promise, however, the queen suspended her decision, as well from her prejudices as from the indisposition of her husband, who had long been sinking under a mortal disorder. An interval of some days elapsed, which was marked with the utmost anxiety, till the longexpected dissolution superseded all other considerations. The treasurer felt the peril of the crisis, and in the most pressing terms urged Marlborough to hasten his return to England.

"Oct. 29. My last will have prepared you in some measure not to be surprised with the news of the prince's death, which happened yesterday, about two in the afternoon. Nature was quite worn out in him, and no art could support him long. The queen's affliction, and the difficulty of speaking with that freedom and plainness to her which her service requires, while she has so tender a concern upon her, is a new additional inconvenience, which our circumstances did not need, and will make it more necessary than ever that you should not delay your return to England; for I really foresee that unless that can be compassed very, very soon, it will be next to impossible to prevent ruin. I should not write so pressingly upon this head, if I were not entirely convinced of the necessity of it; and I cannot mingle any thing else in the present letter, because I think nothing else that I can say is of half so much consequence."

This melancholy event, however, finally removed all difficulties, and silenced all objections.* Admiral Churchill lost

Prince George of Denmark died of the effects of long-continued asthma, which during the last few years of his life, had kept him hovering on the brink of the grave. He was in his fifty-fifth year, and had been married twenty-five years to the queen. Throughout her married life the queen had been a pattern of domestic affection, and towards its close had been exemplary in her attentions towards her afflicted consort. prince merited her affection, and from his mild temper and unaspiring disposition, was well suited to the delicacy of his position. Latterly

The

his office and influence by the dissolution of the board and the death of his patron. Lord Pembroke was nominated lord high admiral, the vice-royalty of Ireland was transferred to Lord Wharton, and the place of president of the council, so long the subject of contention, was conferred on Lord Somers, who candidly acknowledged his obligations in a letter to the Duke of Marlborough.

"Nov. 30.-My lord, be pleased to allow me the honour to congratulate your grace upon the good news which the earl of Hertford brought us. We heard of it before from Ostend, but we could not be so sure of the truth of such a success as the importance of it to the common cause required to put us at ease, till an express arrived from your grace. This campaign seems to have been as long and as full of difficulties as any one reads of in history; and by what has been already done, and what your grace gives hopes we may hear before the end of it, is like to prove as glorious, and, by the blessing of God, as productive of great events as ever was known. It gives a near prospect of a safe and honourable peace to Europe, and to your grace no remote view of some rest after the fatigues and dangers of so many glorious campaigns. 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 nature 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.

he appears to have evinced a dislike of the Whigs, especially of Lord Somers, and his patronage of Marlborough's refractory brother, Admiral Churchill, tended to embarrass the triumvirate in their management of the queen. Generally, however, he kept aloof from politics; indeed, he was void of executive ability, though not deficient in information. So little demonstrative in talent was he, that even King James had affected airs of intellectual superiority, and contemptuously designated him the Est il possible! a favourite exclamation of Prince George when any remarkable occurrence was mentioned to him. King William would never entrust the prince with any public employment, and treated him, as was remarked at the time, with hardly more respect than "a page of the backstairs.' Despite of all this contumely, the prince was a man of respectable con. duct, spirit, justice, and humanity. For his loss the queen was inconsolable, expressed a desire to be buried in the same vault with him, and twice, as she relates, (Memoirs of the Duchess of Marlborough, ii. 161. "scratched at dear Mrs. Freeman's door," hoping to find the lord treasurer in the duchess's apartment, to enjoin him to have a sufficient number of strong yeomen in attendance at Kensington, to carry "the dear prince's body" down the great stairs, which were very steep and slippery, so that it might "not be let fall." - Er.

Before these arrangements, the minor difficulties respecting the offices of attorney and solicitor general were obviated. Sir James Montague was appointed attorney-general on the 19th of October, and his vacant place was conferred on Mr. Robert Eyre. An appointment was also found for Sir Peter King, who had been originally a candidate for the solicitorship, and was supported by the zealous Whigs. As the queen refused to yield to his nomination, in resentment for his violent attacks on the Admiralty, he was first proposed for the situation of speaker; but the dispute respecting this important station being settled by a compromise with the court in favour of Sir Richard Onslow, he was gratified with the appointment of recorder to the city of London, which was purposely vacated by the nomination of the actual recorder to the office of baron of the court of exchequer. By these arrangements the Whigs were apparently gratified, and again tacitly coalesced with the court. The joint influence of the united parties being predominant in the new parliament, the proceedings met with no difficulty in foreign affairs and the grant of supplies, and encountered only a faint opposition on the part of the Scottish members to the arrangements arising from the Union.

With the death of the prince of Denmark may be connected an event, not unworthy of a place in these pages, although it produced no permanent effect on the state of domestic politics. This was the temporary renewal of the intercourse between the queen and the duchess. After the last acrimonious interview, a sense of wounded pride induced the duchess to remain silent, in conformity with the resolution which she had announced to the duke; and the unusual interval of several weeks appears to have elapsed, without any communication between her and the queen. As the crisis of the prince's last malady approached, her feelings of respect and attachment towards her sovereign revived; and she sent a letter of condolence to her afflicted mistress, though she could not avoid recurring to their recent altercation.

"Windsor Lodge, Oct. 26. Though the last time I had the honour to wait upon your majesty, your usage of me was such as was scarce possible for me 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 inquiring 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."

She had scarcely written this letter, before farther accounts of the prince's danger induced her to travel all night, and repair to Kensington. She desired the person charged with her letter to inform the queen that she waited her majesty's commands. She was accordingly summoned into the royal presence, in the afternoon; but the queen received her, to use her own expression, "very coolly, and like a stranger." It was not to be expected that, after the recent dispute, the queen should accept this mark of attention, introduced as it was with expressions calculated to recall her past indignities; but the duchess was not discouraged by the repulse. She again waited on the queen the ensuing morning, and was present at the moment when the prince expired. With affectionate zeal she removed her royal mistress from this sad spectacle to her closet, and desiring the other attendants to withdraw, she knelt down, and endeavoured to soothe the agonies of her grief, continuing in that posture till the first emotions had subsided. She then urged the imprudence of remaining in a place which must continually awaken her sorrow, and pressed her to remove to St. James's. Her importunities were for a considerable time fruitless; but at length her arguments prevailed. The queen delivered her watch to the duchess, desiring her to retire till the hand had reached a particular point, and ordered her to send Mrs. Masham. Though shocked at this mark of preference, the duchess withdrew, but did not summon the favourite, from an unwillingness to show her own decline of influence before the crowd which was collected in the ante-chamber. After preparing her own coach for the queen's reception, and desiring the company to retire while her majesty was passing, she returned at the appointed moment, announced that the carriage was ready, and excused herself for not delivering the message to Mrs. Masham, adding, "your majesty may send for her at St. James's, when and how you please.'

The queen acquiesced, and Mrs. Hill, the sister of Mrs. Masham, approaching to put on her hood, her majesty gave her some commission in a whisper. As she passed through