whom I had raised out of the dust, put on such a superior air, and to hear her assure me by way of consolation, that the Queen would be always kind to me. At length I went on to reproach her with her ingratitude and her secret management with the Queen to undermine those who had so long and with so much honour served Her Majesty. To this she answered that she never spoke to the Queen about business, but that she sometimes gave her petitions which came to the back stairs, and with which she knew I did not care to be troubled. And with such insincere answers she thought to colour over the matter, while I knew for certain she had before this, obtained pensions for several of her friends, and had frequently paid to others out of the privy purse, sums of money which the Queen had ordered me to bring her; and that she was every day, long with Her Majesty in private."

Abigail heard these reproaches in silence and then rising suddenly hoped the duchess would give her leave to call occasionally and enquire for her health, "which however," adds her kinswoman, "it is plain she did not design to do, for she never once came near me after this." For all that, when Abigail's marriage was made public, the duchess and her daughter, Lady Sunderland, called on her: "not,' says the former, "that I intended to have any further intercourse with her, or to dissemble the ill opinion I had of her (as I had fully resolved to let her then know, in case I found an opportunity of speaking to her privately) but purely out of respect to the Queen,

"Without One kind Word"

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and to avoid any noise or disagreeable discourse which my refusing that ordinary part of civility might occasion."

The duchess continued in a state of anger with Abigail, and of indignation with the Queen for like many another well-meaning, tactless, and self-righteous person, she was blind to her own shortcomings, and could not see that her own acts and words had caused this alienation between herself and her sovereign. When the Christmas holidays came, she went to pay her respects to the Queen, but before entering the royal presence, found time to learn from a page that Mrs. Masham had just been sent for by Her Majesty. When the duchess went to the Queen she saw that her Sovereign looked very uneasy. "She stood all the while I was with her," writes her grace, looked as coldly upon me as if her intention was that I should no longer doubt of my loss of her affections. Upon observing what reception I had, I said I was very sorry I had happened to come so unseasonably. I was making my courtesy to go away, when the Queen with a great deal of disorder in her face and without speaking one word, took me by the hand; and when thereupon I stooped to kiss hers, she took me up with a very cold embrace and then without one kind word, let me go."

"and

As may be imagined the duchess on returning home treated Her Majesty to one of those expostulations framed "in the plainest and sincerest manner possible.” Amongst other things she pointed out the difference

between her last reception and those she had formerly met with when Mrs. Morley was so glad to welcome, so sorry to part from her; and declared her reproaches were not to be wondered at on receiving an embrace "that seemed to have no satisfaction in it, but that of getting rid of her, in order to enjoy the conversation of one that has the good fortune to please you much better, though I am sure nobody did ever endeavour it with more sincerity than Mrs. Freeman has done." It was some days before an answer was made to this lengthy epistle, when the Queen, always anxious for peace, softened what had past. On that the duchess was so much pleased that she "once more put on as easy an appearance as she could"; and the year ended without further outbreaks of hostility between them.