whether she would recover from her confinement, wrote out a draft of a will. Lord Marlborough had given her £7000 to dispose of. Among her intended legacies was £500 to release poor people from prison, which is a testimony to her compassion and kindness of heart. The following anecdote shows her in a different light.

About this time a family group of the Marlboroughs was painted by Clostermann. Horace Walpole in his Anecdotes of Painting" says that the artist had so many differences with Lady Marlborough that her lord remarked, "It has given me more trouble to reconcile my wife and you than to fight a battle." Clostermann's art was not considered of the highest order, so perhaps Sarah's criticisms were justified.

About a year after Princess Anne received her grant, she, out of gratitude for all Lady Marlborough had done in the matter, surprised Sarah with the very kind offer of a pension of £1000 a year. Sarah says that at this time their circumstances were not very great, but she would not "catch at so large an offer" without first consulting her friend Lord Godolphin. He gave it as his opinion that there was no reason in the world why she should not accept it, as he believed it was chiefly owing to the support Lord and Lady Marlborough had given the princess, that she obtained her settlement.

Lord Godolphin, the lifelong friend of Lord and Lady Marlborough, had spent all his life at court. He first began as page to the Duke of York, later he became groom of the bedchamber to King Charles, which post he subsequently sold for £4550 to obtain another, "the place of the robes," from Mr. Hyde.

Although not a man of brilliant abilities, Godolphin possessed excellent business qualities. Bishop Burnet considered him one of the worthiest and wisest men of

his time. He was of a silent and retiring disposition, and in order to avoid talking, preferred to gamble every evening. He was fond of boûts rimés, and used to send these frequently to Sarah for her amusement. Lord Godolphin married Margaret Blain, one of Queen Catherine's maids of honour, but lost her soon after marriage, which so affected him that he never quite got over it. His only son married Lady Marlborough's eldest daughter Henrietta.

Early in 1692 William, without assigning any reasons, removed Lord Marlborough from all his employments. After attending the King in his bedchamber one morning, Lord Nottingham was sent to tell him that his Majesty had no more occasion for his services. This unexpected blow Sarah thinks was designed as a step towards removing her from the princess's person. She says, "The loss of Lord Marlborough's employments would never have broken my rest one single night, on account of interest, but I confess the being turned out is something very disagreeable to my temper."

It is thought Marlborough's indiscreet remonstrances with the King for his partiality towards the Dutch and reserve towards the English, also his supporting Anne with her settlement, were the chief causes of his disgrace. Sarah asserts it would have been unbecoming in them to have neglected the princess's just claims to get a maintenance in Parliament, and leave her to the generosity of a king and queen who had, by several affronts put upon her, showed how very little they were concerned about her happiness. Had Sarah's aims not been just and right, she could, without losing her mistress's affection, have made her court to the Queen, but no bribe could tempt her to fail in her allegiance to Anne.

A faction, consisting of the Earl of Portland, Lady Fitzharding and her brothers, the Earl of Jersey, and