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Sackville, the English ambassadress) avec une petite coiffure très basse" appeared at the court, when the principal ladies went to the other extreme.1

It is reported in the private correspondence of the day that on more than one occasion Sarah and her mother had a desperate quarrel. This was in 1676, when Mrs. Jennings, becoming alarmed at her daughter's surroundings, wished her to leave the court, which the wilful girl had no intention of doing. Sarah, with her natural impetuosity and passion, said unbecoming things which possiby she regretted afterwards. She declared that if her mother remained at St. James's, "where she was sheltering from debt, she (Sarah) would run away."

In the end the daughter gained the day, and Mrs. Jennings received orders to depart. The estrangement was not permanent, as some years later, when Mrs. Jennings died, she left in her will everything "to her dear daughter Sarah." Quarrels at court were of frequent occurrence, sometimes even in the presence of royalty. It was by no means uncommon in those days of slight self-repression for open quarrels to take place, when candlesticks were called into requisition and freely thrown about to emphasise the disputants' remarks.

Sarah was not, therefore, altogether singular in showing uncontrolled temper. Although Mrs. Jennings certainly instilled in her daughters a love of virtue and honour, they laboured under distinct disadvantages. "Sarah's natural instincts were good, but she never learnt in childhood to curb her temper, nor was any effort made to train her mind."2 The wonder is that

she resisted the many temptations she was exposed to in the depraved court of Charles II.

1 Planché, "Cyclopedia of Costume."

2 Lord Wolseley, in "Life of John, Duke of Marlborough."

CHAPTER II

UNDER CHARLES II

(1671-1685)

"Here lies our sovereign lord the King,
Whose word no man relies on,

Who never said a foolish thing,
And never did a wise one."

-ROCHESTER.

ANNE HYDE, Duchess of York, died in 1671. Two years later the Duke of York married Mary Beatrice d'Este, Princess of Modena, a girl fourteen years of age and very beautiful.

On her arrival at St. James's she found two stepdaughters, the Princesses Mary and Anne, and in attendance on the latter, still a child, was a tall, flaxenhaired, beautiful girl, Sarah Jennings, who had been established at the court about a year.

Among the Duke of York's household at this time was a young man named John Churchill. His father, Sir Winston, had lost the greater part of his fortune in the Civil Wars, as many had done, fighting for the Royal cause. He had therefore retired into private life and devoted himself to the education of his sons. Young Churchill had been brought up strictly in the Protestant faith, and these principles greatly influenced his after-life. He came of a good family, being descended from Roger de Courselle or Courcil, one of the barons of Poitiers who accompanied the Conqueror to England. This family settled first in Somersetshire and afterwards in

Wiltshire, the name becoming corrupted in time from De Courcil to Chourchille and Churchill.

Sir Winston had married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Drake of Ash in Devonshire, and here a good deal of young Churchill's childhood had been spent. As a boy of sixteen he became page to the Duke of York, who soon favoured the handsome and spirited lad, obtaining for him a commission in the Guards in 1667.

When very young, John Churchill attracted the attention of the Duchess of Cleveland, who was supposed to entertain a passion for him. It was therefore thought more prudent for him to leave the court. Charles begged Louis XIV. to appoint young Churchill to command the British regiment in the French king's service, and this request was granted in 1674.

He served under the great Turenne, who used to style him "my handsome young Englishman," and he was in all the hard-fought battles during two summers on the Rhine. The French always admired Churchill, even when later he beat them. They felt he owed his military genius to the experience he had gained under their own famous commander, and judged him therefore an opponent worthy of their steel.

Churchill returned to St. James's during the winter months, and resumed his duties about the court. But before long he was promoted to command an English foot regiment, and at the time of Princess Mary's marriage, Colonel Churchill bought-from Mr. Villiers, who was appointed to the suite of the Prince of Orange-the post of Master of the Horse to the Duke of York. Churchill gave £1800 for this vacancy,' which a little later enabled him to marry.

It was entirely a political move on Charles's part 1 H.M.C., Twelfth Report.

choosing the Prince of Orange as a husband for his niece Mary; it was in order to bring about a peace with the Dutch.

There was a very sad parting between James and his daughter, who was by no means in love with William's cold exterior, although later she became a devoted wife to him. The Duchess of York wept so copiously that the Prince of Orange, who hated emotion, preferred to start in a very light wind and "tug only eight miles the hour, rather than return to make a second scene of grief." The Prince of Orange and his wife arrived in Holland at last, but landed in such a bad place that coaches were unable to come within four miles. The princess had to walk this distance in a hard frost. The Prince of Orange left her shortly after to join his army.

The courts, both of St. James's and Whitehall, had attended the wedding ceremony which had taken place on 4th November. Among the guests in the princess's suite was Sarah Jennings, who, in all the beauty of youth and with the sparkle of her keen wit, had first attracted Colonel Churchill at a ball given in the Duchess of York's drawing-room. On this memorable occasion she was fifteen, while he was twenty-five. There were many opportunities for Churchill to renew his courtship with Sarah during the festivities. She had then been at court five years. Having heard much of the exploits of the young soldier, she felt proud of his acquaintance, and what no doubt enhanced the value of his attentions was the thought of his having left the Duchess of Cleveland's side for the sake of one of the youngest maids of honour.

Sir Winston and Lady Churchill opposed their son's engagement, which was shortly announced, as Sarah

1 Rutland MSS., H.M.C.

had little fortune at this time, and they wanted him to marry the wealthy heiress, Catherine Sedley.

Possibly he was influenced by his family's persuasions, as for a time he cooled off in his attentions to Sarah; but she was too proud to submit tamely to the slight, and a letter from her, upbraiding him for his inconstancy and declaring she would join her sister, Lady Hamilton, in Paris, was too much for him. He wrote to protest against her cruelty, and they were reconciled.

There appears, from letters that passed between the pair, to have been many ups and downs during the courtship. Sarah was not easily won, not so much from coquetry to enhance her value, but from pride in that value, and because her heart was not easily touched. She was, however, well worth the winning, for from the day she married Churchill till the day of her death she was faithful to him in word and deed, a virtue not common in those days. Her passionate speeches and waywardness were rather attractive than otherwise in her extreme youth. It is when these qualities in old age are not sobered with years that they prove so far opposite.

Sarah had a perfect figure, a brilliant complexion, great masses of fair hair, and large dark eyes, whose intelligence somewhat softened their commanding expression. No better description can be given than that of Lord Wolseley, who says, "Sir Godfrey Kneller has recorded for us her small, regular features so full of life; her pretty mouth, expressive of disdain; her slightly turned-up nose, with its open, well-shaped nostrils; her commanding air; the exquisite pose of her small head, always a little inclined to one side; her lovely neck and shoulders, and her rich straw-coloured hair, which

1 These letters are given in the "Life of John, Duke of Marlborough," by Viscount Wolseley.

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