of his career, it had been prophesied of him by Madame de Croiz, that he would become the greatest man in England, but that he would afterwards lose his head; and, accordingly, when he came to lose his understanding, it was pretended that the prediction had been verified.

That party writers, and mere writers for effect, have considerably exaggerated the distressing condition of the Duke of Marlborough in his last years, there is every reason to believe. The Duke, indeed, in consequence of repeated attacks of paralysis, is known to have been partially deprived of the power of articulation: there were certain words which he was unable to pronounce, and perhaps the disorder with which he was so grievously afflicted may in a measure have affected his memory and understanding. But, on the other hand, it appears by the Journals of the Lords that he attended the sittings of Parliament, and even sat on committees, till within seven months of his death; and, moreover, if we may trust the laboured and exculpatory statement of his Duchess, the Duke, when he made his will about a year before his death, was in the full possession of his intellectual faculties.

It appears, therefore, by these statements, that if the powerful mind of Marlborough was ever reduced to that state of inanity which has been feelingly described by some writers, the affliction could only have fallen upon him at the very close of his long life. The more reasonable presumption seems to be, that the Duke (unconscious of

his failing powers, and shrinking, with a natural repugnance, from the prospect of exchanging those habits of industry and exertion to which he had long been habituated, for a sedentary and inactive life) clung, with a pardonable fondness, to the active performance of his duties as a minister and statesman, long after the increasing infirmities of disease and old age should have warned him to retire. The world, ever alive to the weaknesses of the great, could not fail to be made acquainted with the tale of his faltering voice and declining memory, and, consequently, comparing these evidences of decay with the fire and energy of that man who had fought the battles and guided the councils of Queen Anne, it probably considerably exaggerated an affecting picture, and imagined a contrast more striking and more humiliating than the circumstances in reality warranted. The Duke, it may be remarked, notwithstanding the feebleness of mind and body to which he was reduced by repeated attacks of paralysis, persisted in retaining his employments of Captain-General and Master of the Ordnance. To those, therefore, who seek in the story of the Duke of Marlborough for an example that the most exalted of mankind are not exempt from the common ills of human nature, the admission of the Duke's apologist, Coxe, that he was a mere cipher, and exposed to repeated slights and mortifications, even in his own departments," will afford sufficient food for moral reflection.

Respecting the last illness of the Duke of Marl

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borough, but few particulars have, unfortunately, been bequeathed to us. For some days previous to his death he was confined entirely to his couch, and in his last hours is said to have been fully sensible that his end was approaching. After the prayers for the sick had been offered up in his presence, the Duchess inquired whether he had heard them. Yes, he replied, and I joined in them." During some hours afterwards he discovered no sign of immediate dissolution, but towards morning his strength failed him, and he resigned his spirit without a groan. His death took place at the Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, on the 16th of June 1722, in the seventy-second year of his age.

The remains of the deceased hero, having been previously embalmed, were conveyed from Windsor Park to Marlborough House, London, and on the night of the 9th of August following, were interred in great state, at the east end of the tomb of Henry the Seventh, in Westminster Abbey. The mournful cavalcade moved from Marlborough House along St. James's Park to Hyde Park Corner, and from thence through Piccadilly and Pall Mall, by Charing Cross, to Westminster. At the entrance to the Abbey the body was received with a blaze of torches, and the funeral ceremony was not rendered the less impressive from the fine voice and powerful delivery of Bishop Atterbury, then Dean of Westminster, who performed the service.

The death of Marlborough is said to have re

vived the attachment of his country, and men of all parties are described by our historians as contending which could do most honour to his memory. It is a fact, however, equally discreditable to his countrymen as to the reigning monarch, George the First, that the expense of the obsequies of this illustrious hero was left to be defrayed, not by a grateful and idolizing nation, but by his penurious, though devoted wife. It may be remarked, that after the death of his widow, the Duke's remains were removed to Blenheim, and interred by her side.

By his Duchess, the Duke of Marlborough was the father of five children: - John, Marquess of Blandford, who died young; Henrietta, married in 1698 to Francis, second Earl of Godolphin ; Anne, married to Charles, Earl of Sunderland; Elizabeth, married to Scroop, first Duke of Bridgwater; and Mary, who became the wife of John, second Duke of Montagu. The Duke was succeeded in his titles by his eldest daughter, the Countess of Godolphin, who assumed the title of Duchess of Marlborough in her own right. Leaving no male issue, on her death, the title, conformably with the provisions of the Act of Parliament, descended to her nephew, Charles, Earl of Sunderland and Marquess of Blandford, the eldest surviving son of Anne, the second daughter of the great Duke. From this nobleman the present Duke of Marlborough is descended.

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SARAH,

DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH.

CHAPTER I.

Swift's character of the Duchess.-Her birth in 1660, and private marriage at the age of eighteen, to Colonel Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough.-Her appointment as Lady of the Bed-chamber to the Princess Anne.-Extract from the Duchess's memoirs.- Familiar conversation and correspondence between Anne and the Duchess.-Extract from Colley Cibber's "Apology."-Horace Walpole's opinion of the Duchess's beauty. She is appointed by Queen Anne Groom of the Stole, Mistress of the Robes, and Keeper of the Privy Purse. Her unbounded influence at Court.-Causes of her subsequent fall. Her insolent bearing to the Queen.—Singular instance of it related by Lord Dartmouth.- She is ordered to resign all her offices in the royal household. —— Extract from Harley's letter to the Elector of Hanover.— Instance of the Duke of Marlborough's want of self-respect. -Coxe's allusion to it in his memoirs of the Duke.— Anecdote related by Lord Dartmouth.-The Duchess's rage and mortification at her loss of power. She is with difficulty prevented from publishing the Queen's private correspondence with her.-Swift's letter to Mrs. Dingley.-Memorandum by Lord Dartmouth. - Singular anecdote related by Mrs. White.-Speaker Onslow's portrait of the Duchess.Anecdotes of her sarcastic humour. Her grandson sues her for his birthright in a court of law. She defends her own cause in person.

ACCORDING to Swift, and his presumption is sufficiently supported by facts, the great Duke of Marlborough was indebted to this extraordinary