CHAP. X. 1714. 1 Coxe, vi. 339-341. 57. Marlborough is struck with palsy, and his public life ended. with a sound judgment, a deep sense of religion, and a singular meekness and placidity of temper. Her heavenly state of mind may be judged of by a prayer which she composed and nightly addressed to the Supreme Being, when her husband was absent on his embassy to Vienna-one of the most beautiful and touching compositions in the English language. She had all her mother's beauty, and all her father's sweetness of disposition, and was in her twenty-ninth year when she died.1 * Marlborough himself was not long of following his beloved relatives to the grave. He had long suffered under headaches and heat in the head, the well-known result of undue mental exertion, and the precursor of dissolution to many of the first and greatest of the human race. They proved so too truly to him. On the 28th May 1716, he was seized with a fit of palsy, so severe that it deprived him, for a time, alike of speech and resolution. He recovered, however, in a certain degree, and went to Bath for the benefit of the waters; and a gleam of returning light shone upon his mind when he visited Blenheim on the 18th October. He expressed great satisfaction at the survey of the * "O most gracious and merciful Lord God, whose kingdom ruleth over all, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of them that remain on the broad sea, hear the voice of my prayer, now I cry unto Thee, on the behalf of him who is dearest to me. O Lord, at all times, and in all places, bless, preserve, and keep him, both in body and soul, from all adversities which may happen to him. In all danger, and under every temptation, be Thou still his almighty Protector unto his life's end; more especially I beseech Thee, at this time, to keep him in thy care, that no evil may befall him in the way that he goeth, but that he may be always in safety, under thy protection, from all perils, and return again in peace. O Thou who commandest the winds and waves, and they obey Thee, make them favourable to him in his voyages, both in his going out and his coming in; conduct him safely into the haven where he would be. O Lord, in whose hands is the breath of all CHAP. X. 1714. plan, which reminded him of his great achievements, and in which he had always felt so deep an interest; but when he saw, in one of the few rooms which were finished, a picture of himself at the battle of Blenheim, he turned away with a mournful air, with the words"Something then, but now On November 10th he was attacked by another stroke, more severe than the former, and his family hastened to pay the last duties, as they conceived, to their departing parent. The strength of his constitution, however, triumphed for a time even over this violent attack; but though he continued, contrary to his own wishes, in conformity with those of his friends, who needed the support of his great reputation, to hold office, and occasionally 1 Coxe, vi. appeared in Parliament, yet his public career was at an 347, 348. end.1 years and 16, 1722. Conscious of his approaching end, and dreading the 58. progressive decay of his faculties, he tendered, through His last Lord Sunderland, the resignation of all his employ- death, June ments; but the King, from a just respect for his great services, declined to receive it. He continued to attend the House of Lords, and occasionally served in committees; but he took no active part in any public mankind, preserve that dear person in health and security, that no disorder from within, nor violence from without, may occasion pain and trouble to him; and when he is far off from me, let him find himself nigh unto Thee, through the benefits of thy saving presence and defence. O blessed Lord, I pray Thee, more especially for his sake, for those persons he leaves behind him, that no mischief may happen to them in this, that may occasion sorrow to him in a strange land; and let it be thy gracious will to prosper all his negotiations abroad, and make me, good Lord, thankful for these blessings; and grant we may live in love and peace together, till death shall make a yet longer separation — all which, in all humility of soul, I pray of Thee in the name, and for the sake of Jesus my Saviour. Amen, O Blessed Lord, Amen, Amen."-COXE, vol. vi. p. 340-1. VOL. II. U CHAP. X. debate. He continued, however, regularly to attend to his duties as Commander-in-chief; and he voted, as 1714. already mentioned, for Oxford's impeachment, so far as his conduct in promoting the peace of Utrecht was concerned. His habits of life were perfectly domestic during the years which intervened to his death. Riding, and the society of his friends, constituted his chief recreation; and not unfrequently he played with his grandchildren at ombre and commerce. He was particularly attentive to their education and progress. He took the greatest delight in the improvements at Blenheim, and surveyed its rising magnificence, down to his death, with undiminished interest. A considerable addition was made to his fortune by the sagacity of the Duchess, who persuaded him to embark part of his funds in the South-Sea Scheme; but, foreseeing the crash which was approaching, she sold out so opportunely that, instead of losing, she gained £100,000 by the transaction. On the 27th November 1721 he made his last appearance in the House of Lords; but in June 1722 he was again attacked with paralysis so violently that he lay for some days nearly motionless, though in perfect possession of his faculties. To a question from the Duchess, whether he heard the prayers read as usual Ledyard, at night, on the 15th June, in his apartment, he replied, "Yes; and I joined in them." These were his last words. On the morning of the 16th he sank rapidly, 518, 519. and calmly breathed his last at four o'clock, in the seventy-second year of his age.1 iii. 496. Coxe, vi. 374-383. Hist. de Marlb. iii. 59. Envy is generally extinguished by death, because the And fune object of it has ceased to stand in the way of those who feel it. Marlborough's funeral obsequies were celebrated ral, June 28, 1722. X. 1714. with uncommon magnificence, and all ranks and parties CHAP. joined in doing him honour. His body lay in state for several days at Marlborough House, and crowds flocked together from all the three kingdoms to witness the imposing ceremony of his funeral, which was performed with the utmost magnificence, on the 28th June. The procession was opened by a long array of military, among whom were General, now Lord, Cadogan, and many other officers who had suffered and bled in his cause. Long files of heralds, officers-at-arms, and pursuivants followed, bearing banners emblazoned with his armorial achievements, among which appeared in uncommon lustre the standard of Woodstock, exhibiting the arms of France on the cross of St George. In the centre of the cavalcade was an open car, bearing the coffin which contained his mortal remains, surmounted by a suit of complete armour, adorned with plumes, military trophies, and heraldic achievements. On the sides, shields were affixed, containing emblematic representations of the battles he had gained, and the towns he had taken, surmounted by the words "Bello hæc et plura." Blenheim was there, and Schellenberg, Ramilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet; Ruremonde and Liege, Menin and Dendermonde, Antwerp and Brussels, Ostend and Ghent, Tournay and Lille, Mons and Bouchain, Bethune, St Venant, and Aire. The number, and the recollections with which they were fraught, made 1 Hist. de the English ashamed of the manner in which they 521, 522. Coxe, vi. had used the hero who had filled the world with his 386. renown.1 The Duke of Montague, his son-in-law, who acted as chief mourner, was supported by the Earls of Sunderland Marlb. iii. CHAP. X. 1714. 60. interment in Westminster at last at and Godolphin. Eight dukes and four other earls bore the pall. The procession was closed by a long array of the carriages of the nobility and gentry, including those of His place of the King and the Prince of Wales. The cavalcade moved from Marlborough House, where he died, along Abbey, and St James's Park to Hyde Park Corner, and thence by Blenheim. Piccadilly and Pall Mall, by Charing Cross, to Westminster Abbey. Immense crowds filled the streets where the procession moved along; the very roofs of the houses were thronged with spectators. The Horse and Foot Guards formed part of the pageant in their splendid uniforms; but a yet more moving spectacle was afforded by the numerous veterans, most of them now in plain clothes, but whose service in the field might be known by their uncovered heads, and the tears which trickled down their cheeks, as their beloved chief was borne to his last resting-place. The body was received at the west door by the dignitaries of the cathedral in their splendid habiliments, and the venerable pile blazed with tapers and torches in every quarter. 66 Through the courts at deep midnight the torches are gleaming, The funeral service, beginning with the words "I |