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CHAP.

VII.

1709.

1 Coxe, iv.

356-359.

8.

irritations

Admiral

conduct.

become not only hostile in his conduct, but contemptuous in his language and such was the irritation of the Whig chiefs at both Marlborough and Godolphin that they almost completely alienated the Duchess herself. In her letters to her husband, she now depicted these leaders in as sombre colours as she had formerly done the Tory. She described Somers as repulsive and disrespectful; Halifax as vain, ambitious, and petulant; and Sunderland as ambitious, proud, and ungrateful. She did not conceal her suspicions that they were in secret, with Harley and Mrs Masham, conspiring to overturn him and Godolphin, and erect their own power on the ruins of the former leaders of the state. 1*

The violence of the feuds which distracted the cabinet Increasing and the Court was much increased by the zeal with owing to which the Prince of Denmark and his great adviser, Churchill's Admiral Churchill, expressed their antipathy to the Whigs in general, and to Somers in particular. The conduct of the Admiral was indiscreet in the highest degree, for, finding himself supported by the Queen and Prince, he exerted all his influence, in spite of his brother's earnest remonstrances, to thwart and counteract the Whigs. As a natural consequence of this, it was determined in the cabinet to remove him from office, as

* "What you say of Lord Halifax I have believed for a long time. If he had no other fault but his unreasonable vanity, that alone would be capable of making him guilty of any fault. For God's sake do not endeavour to hinder anybody making their interest with Mrs Masham, but agree with me in contemning anything that others may think vexes me; for I swear to you solemnly that your love and quiet I prefer to all the greatness of this world, and had rather live a private life than be the greatest man England ever had. I do not wonder, nor shall be much troubled by anything Mr Harley may say of me, for I shall desire nobody's friendship but that my actions shall speak for me, which shall be governed by the understanding which God has given me as to what is best for the interest of England. I think the principles of the Whigs are for the good of England, and that, if the Tories had the power,

CHAP.

VII.

1709.

a preparatory step to a direct attack on the Prince himself. In this painful intrigue the Duchess, as usual, took a prominent part, not only importuning her husband with incessant complaints, but addressing a letter to the Queen full of bitter invectives, and complaining that all the brilliant services of her husband could not shield his brother from injury and insult at the hands of the Government. So pressing, however, were the demands of the Whigs, that Godolphin saw no alternative but to acquiesce in them, and consent to the Admiral's removal, which it was hoped might obviate the irritation which had taken place. But his removal was far from appeasing either the violence of the one party 313-315. or the intrigues of the other.'

1 Coxe, iv.

Death of This of Den

the Prince

mark, Octo

took ber 28.

A melancholy event which took place at this period 9. suspended for a moment, and but for a moment, the mutual estrangement of the Queen and the Duchess. was the death of the Prince of Denmark, which place on the 28th October. He had long been in a declining state of health, and the grief of the Queen brought the Duchess at length to her door, notwithstanding the irritation which had grown up between them.* She waited upon the Queen by her own desire; but her Majesty received her, to use her own expression, “very they would not only destroy England, but also the liberties of Europe. The behaviour of Lord Sunderland looks like madness, for it is impossible for him to have a thought of being tolerably well with Mrs Masham. I agree with you that Lord Halifax has no other principle but his ambition."Marlborough to the Duchess, Nov. 28, 1708, and Feb. 7, 1709; CoXE, iv. 363-364.

* 66 Though the last time I had the honour to wait upon your Majesty your usages of me were such as was scarce possible for me to imagine, or for anybody to believe, yet I cannot hear of so great a misfortune and affliction to you as the condition the Prince is in, without coming to pay my duty in inquiring after your health.”—Duchess of Marlborough to Queen Anne, Oct. 26, 1708; COXE, iv. 321, 322.

VII.

1709.

CHAP. coolly, and like a stranger." She again waited on the Queen the following morning, and was present 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 emotion had subsided. The Queen delivered her watch to the Duchess, desiring her to retire till the hand had reached a particular point, and ordered her then to send Mrs Masham. The Duchess withdrew, deeply hurt at this mark of preference, but did not deliver the message to Mrs. Masham.1

1 Coxe, iv. 321-324.

10.

situation of

monarch.

While these untoward events were undermining the Deplorable last foundation of Marlborough's power at home, the the French difficulties of the King of France were still greater. In truth, the condition of France was such that it might well be termed desperate; and all the firmness with which its ruler was gifted seemed inadequate to stemming the torrent of disaster with which the monarchy was overwhelmed. A contemporary annalist has left the following picture of the state of the country at this disastrous epoch :- "France without credit saw its resources exhausted; the dreadful winter of 1708-9 had brought its sufferings to a climax; without hope of a harvest, and almost without magazines, it could not import but at a ruinous cost, from Africa and the Levant, the necessary means of subsistence; and even when purchased, they ran the risk of being intercepted by the numerous fleets of the enemy. But for the infamous. cupidity of the forestallers, it would have found sufficient resources in the riches of the preceding harvests; but in all ages the cupidity of selfish men has made gain of the

CHAP.

VII.

1709.

lives of men. The Dutch had provisions sufficient for the flourishing armies of their allies, while the French troops were dying of famine. It was not in the power of Desmarets, the finance minister, to re-establish the finances, nor in that of M. Voisin to lay out plans of the campaign more fortunate than those of M. Chamillard, whom he had succeeded. Such were the ravages which famine exercised in France, that for several months in winter they ate nothing but black bread. At Versailles many families, after the example of Madame de Maintenon, lived on oat-cakes. In these desperate circumstances, the monarch humbled himself in his turn by demanding peace of the haughty republicans whom he 1 had humiliated, and almost crushed under the weight of 17, 18. his power, in the days of his glory."1

Hist. de

Marlb. iii.

11.

cessions

Louis.

The pride of the French monarch was now so much reduced that he sent the President Rouillé to Holland, Great conwith public instructions to offer terms to the Allies, and offered by private directions to do everything possible to sow dissension among them, and, if possible, to detach Holland from the Alliance. His proposals were to give up Spain, the Indies, and the Milanese to King Charles; and to cede the Italian islands, reserving Naples and Sicily for March 5. his grandson. In the Netherlands and Germany, he offered to restore matters to the state in which they were at the peace of Ryswick; and though he was very reluctant to give up Lille, he offered to cede Menin in its place. These terms, in themselves so advantageous, were enforced by Rouillé with all that eloquence of which he was so entire a master, and all the finesse and diplo- Hist. de matic skill which enabled him to penetrate into the 18, 19. inmost recesses of the human heart.2 But of what avail 393, 394. is finesse with those who speak the language of con

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Marlb. iii.

Coxe, iv.

CHAP.

VII.

1709.

12.

Counter proposals

of the

Allies.

querors, and in the pride of their hearts cast away the very mask of dissimulation?

These terms being communicated to the Court of London, they returned an answer insisting on the restoration of the whole Spanish monarchy to the house of Austria; the acknowledgment of the title of Queen Anne to the Crown of England, and the Protestant succession; the removal of the Pretender, the destruction of the harbour of Dunkirk, and that an adequate barrier should be secured to the Dutch. In their ideas upon this barrier, however, they went much beyond what Marlborough was disposed to sanction, and he therefore maintained a prudent reserve on the subject. As the French plenipotentiary could not agree to these terms, Marlborough returned to England, and Lord Townsend was associated with him as plenipotentiary. They were instructed to insist that Furnes, Ypres, Menin, Lille, Tournay, Condé, Valenciennes, and Maubeuge, should be given up to form a barrier, and that Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay should be restored. When these terms were read in the cabinet of Versailles, the scene, says M. de Torcy, "was so melancholy that no words. can describe it, even if it were permitted to reveal state secrets." Tears were shed on all sides by all present, from the princes of the blood downwards; for so dis1 Coxe, iv. astrous was the picture which the ministers both of war and of the finances drew of the state of the country, that there did not appear a chance of escaping the disgrace with which France was threatened.1

381, 382. Hist. de

Marlb. iii. 21-23.

13.

Alarmed at the exaction of such rigorous terms, Louis Progress of sent M. de Torcy, who made large concessions; and Marlborough, who was seriously desirous of bringing the war to a conclusion, exerted all his influence

the nego

tiations.

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