position of adviser to the sovereign; only to fall from this pinnacle, partly from her own pride, but more especially through the underhand dealings of a bedchamber woman, placed by herself about Queen Anne. Up to a certain date personal records are scarce, but when Sarah became a power in the land, and after, there is no lack of material to choose from. The duchess has been greatly blamed for her arrogant temper; much has been made of her faults, but few writers have enlarged on her many excellent qualities, her real goodness of heart, or her opinions. To take a true view of character it is necessary to look below the surface, and to know intimately the person whom we judge. "Tout savoir c'est tout pardonner" has been truly said, while a hasty judgment is liable to err. My ambition has been to collect some of Sarah's sayings and doings, to picture the principal social events that happened during her life, and some of the persons with whom she came into contact, and to make the book readable, with what success I must leave others to judge, knowing well myself its many imperfections. Much is recorded that may appear trivial, but what would be so in everyday life need not be considered as such when one recollects that two hundred years have elapsed since the actors in the drama of our history lived their lives.
I am indebted to Mademoiselle Charton for valuable criticisms and encouragement, to Mr. Thomas Perry, F.C.S., for much information regarding the Jennings family, and I have to thank Mr. W. J. Hardy, F.S.A., for kindly introducing me to the Public Record Office, and also for other assistance.