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displeasure with Oxford; and it is remarkable, that even his confidant and creature Erasmus Lewis appears to admit their just foundation.* After a personal altercation, carried on in the Queen's presence, and continued till two in the morning, Anne resumed the White Staff; and the whole power of the state with the choice of the new administration was left in the hands of Bolingbroke.

The first step of the new Prime Minister was an attempt to cajole his political opponents. On the very day after Oxford's dismissal, he entertained at dinner, at his house in Golden Square,† Stanhope, Walpole, Pulteney, Craggs, and the other most eminent Whig members of the House of Commons; but he altogether failed either to conciliate or delude them. The Whigs positively required, as a security for the Protestant succession, that the Pretender should be removed from Lorraine; whilst Bolingbroke confessed that such a banishment of her brother would never be sanctioned by the Queen. It is difficult to conceive how Bolingbroke could possibly have anticipated any other issue to these overtures than disappointment; and they are the more surprising, since, on the same day, he had an interview with the chief agent of France and the Pretender, whom he assured of his undiminished regard, and since he was, in fact, steadily proceeding to the formation of a purely Jacobite administration. His projected arrangements were as follows: The Seals of Secretary, and the sole management of Foreign Affairs, were to remain with himself; whilst, to prevent his being overshadowed by any new Lord Treasurer, that department was to be put into commission, with Sir William Wyndham at its head. The Privy Seal was to be transferred to Atterbury; Bromley was to continue the other Secretary of State; and the Earl of Mar, the third for Scotland; the Duke of Ormond, Commander-in-Chief; the Duke of Buckingham, Lord President; and Lord Harcourt, Chancellor. To fill up the other inferior appointments was considered a matter of great difficulty, there being very few whom Bolingbroke thought sufficiently able to be useful, or sufficiently zealous to be trusted.§ But the Cabinet he intended (for it was never nominated), consisting, as it did, of scarcely any but Jacobites, and comprising not a few who afterwards openly attached themselves to the Pretender, and were attainted of high treason, can leave no doubt as to his ultimate

"The Queen has told all the Lords the reasons of her parting with him (Oxford), viz.: That he neglected all business; that he was very seldom to be understood; that when he did explain himself she could not depend upon the truth of what he said; that he never came to her at the time she appointed; that he often came drunk; lastly, to crown all, that he behaved himself towards her with bad manners, indecency, and disrespect. -Pudet hæc opprobria nobis, &c. I am distracted with the thoughts of this and the pride of the conqueror." To Swift, July 27, 1714.

Political State, Aug. 1714, p. 83.

"Il m'a assuré qu'il était dans les mêmes sentimens à l'égard de Montgoulin (the Pretender) pourvu qu'il prit les mésures qui conviendraient aux honnêtes gens du pays." Gaultier to Torcy, Aug. 7, 1714, N. S.

"The sterility of good and able men is incredible." Erasmus Lewis to Swift, July

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design, and must convince us that, had the Queen lived only three months longer, our religion and liberties would have been exposed to most imminent peril.

In the midst of his triumph, the new Prime Minister found his exultation dashed with alarms at the approaching re-appearance of Marlborough on the political scene. That illustrious man had early in the spring determined to return to England so soon as the session should be closed, and was already at Ostend, awaiting a favourable wind. His motives for coming over at this period have been often canvassed, but never very clearly explained. On the one hand, we find, from the despatches of the Hanoverian agent, that his journey had not been undertaken in concert with them.* On the other hand, the common rumour of his secret cabals and intended junction with Bolingbroke is utterly disproved by the evidence of Bolingbroke himself, who, in his most private correspondence, expresses his apprehensions at this journey, and hints that it proceeded from some intrigues of Lord Oxford. How far may we believe this latter suspicion to be truly founded? It is certain that, at the close of 1713, Oxford had written to the Duke in most flattering terms, and obtained a grant of 10,000l. to carry on the works at Blenheim. It is no less certain, however, that the confidential letters of the Duchess, during June and July, 1714, speak of Oxford with undiminished aversion. On the whole, I am inclined to think that Marlborough had had some private communication with the Lord Treasurer, but had not committed himself in any even the slightest degree; that he was returning to England to see and judge for himself of the prospect of affairs; and that he did not feel himself so far pledged to his former colleagues as to be entirely debarred from any new political connection.

But a mightier arm than even that of Marlborough was now stretched forth to arrest the evil designs of Bolingbroke. The days, nay, even the hours, of Queen Anne were numbered. Her Majesty's spirits had been so much agitated by the altercation in her presence on the night of the 27th, as greatly to affect her health; and she herself said to one of her physicians, with that instinct of approaching dissolution so often and so strangely found before any danger is apparent, that she should not outlive it. The imposthume in her leg being checked, her gouty humour flew to her brain; she was seized with an apoplectic fit early in the morning of Friday the 30th, and immediately sank into a hopeless state of stupefaction. It

Bothmar to Robethon, July 16, O. S., 1714. "It is surprising that the Duke of Marlborough comes over at such a crisis, and does not rather wait until it is seen which of the two competitors will carry it with the Queen. Lord Sunderland himself does not understand this."

"Lord Marlborough's people give out that he is coming over, and I take it for granted that he is so; whether on account of the ill figure he makes abroad, or the good one he hopes to make at home, I shall not determine. But I have reason to think that some people, who would rather move heaven and earth than either part with their power or make a right use of it, have lately made overtures to him, and have entered into some degree of concert with his creatures." To Lord Strafford, July 14, 1714.

See Coxe's Life, vol. vi. p. 299.

may easily be supposed what various emotions such an event at such a crisis would occasion; yet it is a very remarkable proof of the bad opinion commonly entertained of her Majesty's counsels, and of the revolutionary result anticipated from them, that the funds rose considerably on the first tidings of her danger, and fell again on a report of her recovery.*

Bolingbroke and the Jacobites, stunned and bewildered by this sudden crisis, were unable to mature their plans so rapidly as it required. The Whigs, on their part, were found much better prepared; having already, under the guidance of Stanhope, entered amongst themselves into an organised association, collected arms and ammunition, and nominated officers. They had in readiness several thousand figures of a small fusee in brass, and some few in silver and gold, to be distributed amongst the most zealous followers and the most active chiefs, as signals in the expected day of trial.† Stanhope was now taking every measure for acting with vigour, if necessary, on the demise of the Queen; to seize the Tower, to secure in it the persons of the leading Jacobites, to obtain possession of the outports, and to proclaim the new King. Most anxious eyes were also cast upon the coasts of Dover, where the hero of the age and the idol of the army was daily expected from Ostend.

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The genius of the Duke of Marlborough would no doubt have rendered any such struggle successful, but it was reserved for the Duke of Shrewsbury to avert its necessity. That eminent man, the only individual who mainly assisted in both the great changes of dynasty of 1688 and 1714, cast aside, at this crisis, his usual tergiversation and timidity, and evinced an honest zeal on behalf of "the good old cause. His means, it is true, were still strongly marked with his characteristic duplicity. Whilst Bolingbroke appears to have fully confided in his attachment, he secretly concerted measures with two of the great Whig Peers, the Dukes of Argyle and Somerset. The result appeared on Friday the 30th. That morning the Council met at Kensington, it being then, as now, composed only of such councillors as had received a special summons, and the high officers alone were present. The news of the Queen's desperate condition had just been received. The Jacobites sat dispirited but not hopeless, nor without resources. Suddenly the doors were thrown open, and Argyle and Somerset announced. They said that, understanding the danger of the Queen, they had hastened, though not specially summoned, to offer their assistance. In the pause of surprise which ensued, Shrewsbury rose and thanked them for their offer. They immediately taking their seats, proposed an examination of the physicians; and on their report suggested that the post of Lord Treasurer should be filled without delay, and that the Duke of Shrewsbury should be recommended to her Majesty. What a scene for a painter! Shrewsbury, with his usual lofty air and impenetrable smoothness; the courtly smile, under which the

See Swift's Works, vol. vi. p. 457.

† Lockhart's Comment., p. 463.

fiery soul of St. John sought to veil its anguish and its rage; the slow, indecisive look of Ormond; and the haughty triumph of Argyle!

The Jacobite ministers, thus taken completely by surprise, did not venture to offer any opposition to the recommendation of Shrewsbury; and accordingly, a deputation, comprising Shrewsbury himself, waited upon her Majesty the same morning, to lay before her what seemed the unanimous opinion of the Council. The Queen, who by this time had been roused to some degree of consciousness, faintly acquiesced, delivered the Treasurer's staff to Shrewsbury, and bade him use it for the good of her people. The Duke would have returned his staff as Chamberlain, but she desired him to keep them both; and thus, by a remarkable, and I believe unparalleled, combination, he was invested for some days with three of the highest offices of Court and State, being at once Lord Treasurer, Lord Chamberlain, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. How strange to find all these dignities heaped upon a man who had so often professed his disinclination to public business; who had, during many years, harassed King William with applications to resign, and repeatedly entreated his friends to allow him to be "an insignificant cipher instead of a bad figure!"*"Had I a son," he said on one occasion, "I would sooner breed him a cobbler than a courtier, and a hangman than a statesman!"†

Another proposal of the Dukes of Somerset and Argyle, which had passed at the morning meeting, was to send immediately a special summons to all Privy Councillors in or near London. Many of the Whigs accordingly attended the same afternoon, and, amongst them, the illustrious Somers, who, in spite of his growing infirmities, would not, for the first time in his life, be absent from the post of duty. His great name was in itself a tower of strength to his party; and the Council, with this new infusion of healthy blood in its veins, forthwith took vigorous measures to secure the legal order of succession. Four regiments were ordered to London, seven battalions recalled from Ostend, an embargo was laid on all the ports, and directions sent that a fleet should put out to sea.

The next day the Queen had sunk back into a lethargy, and the physicians gave no hopes of her life. The Council hereupon sent orders to the heralds-at-arms, and to a troop of the life-guards, to be in readiness to proclaim the successor. They sent express to Hanover Mr. Craggs, with a despatch to the Elector, earnestly requesting him to hasten to Holland, where a British squadron should attend him, and be ready to bring him over, in case of the Queen's demise. They also wrote to the States of Holland, reminding them of their guarantee to the Protestant succession. They appointed Lord Berkeley to command the fleet. They ordered a reinforcement to proceed to Portsmouth, and an able general officer to Scotland;

* See his letter to Lord Halifax, August 24, 1705, in the Shrewsbury Correspondence. †To Lord Somers, June 17, 1701.

great importance being attached to the former, and much disaffection apprehended in the latter; and, in short, no precaution was neglected to insure tranquillity, or to check disturbances in any quarter where they might arise.

At seven the next morning, the 1st of August, the great event took place the Queen expired! She had not recovered sufficient consciousness either to take the sacrament or to sign her will. "The Earl of Oxford was removed on Tuesday-the Queen died on Sunday! What a world is this, and how does Fortune banter us!" says Bolingbroke.*1

* Letter to Swift, Aug. 3. 1714. Iberville writes the day before to the King of France: "Milord Bolingbroke est pénétré de douleur . . . . . .. . . . Il m'a assuré que les mesures étaient si bien prises, qu'en six semaines de temps on aurait mis les choses en tel état qu'il n'y aurait eu rien à craindre de ce qui vient d'arriver."

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[A periodical writer, in an article on the Life and Times of Queen Anne, remarks, that Duty to her father, and natural affection to her brother, were irreconcilable with her own tenure of the British crown. It is to this struggle in her mind that we must ascribe the vacillations otherwise unaccountable in her political conduct towards the close of her life. In earlier days she would, perhaps, have ventured to throw off altogether the restraints imposed by the reminiscences of her high-church friends, if she had not felt that the principles of the opposite party were equally unfavourable to her own sovereignty, in the sense she desired it to be acknowledged. To be a parliamentary queen, either in practice or theory, was as far as possible from her own desire. She loved to receive proofs of old-fashioned loyalty, offered as of right to an hereditary monarch, and was not so dull as to mistake the necessary consequences of the Revolu tionary theories which had given William III. a share in her sister's throne. Her perception was quickened by a keen sense of the thraldom in which that faction had so long fettered her choice, and interfered with some of her favourite schemes. And though it seems to be a narrow interpretation of history to say that the Peace of Utrecht, and the success of the Tory administration, were due merely to the advance of Mrs. Masham in the queen's good graces, it is undoubtedly true that those measures were delayed by the fear of the Whig duchess, who had swayed her indolent mind through so large a portion of her life. When she was at liberty, the bent of her own inclina. tions was clearly seen. Few English princes before her-none since her reign-have traced their descent on both sides from a native origin. Her recollection of that circumstance appeared in the first speech she made to her Parliament, and it influenced her whole conduct on the throne of her ancestors. It was one cause of her great popularity with the people at large, and a means, perhaps, of effecting that union between Scotland and England, to which the national antipathy on both sides was strongly opposed, and which, in the reigns of the Hanoverian kings, it would have been almost hopeless to attempt. Her death broke off a chain of old traditions and national ideas, which nothing in the subsequent history of England has tended to revive. She was not one of a royal caste comprising only the reigning families of Europe, and fenced in from plebeian or aristocratic intermixture by act of Parliament. She was an Englishwoman, and the representative of a line of British kings; not a constitutional abstraction, but a queen taking the chief part in the government of the country, presiding at its councils, choosing the ministers of state, and really influencing the national character."-The Theologian and Ecclesiastic for July, 1848.]

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