churches in the city and suburbs of London, and a duty on coal was appropriated for this purpose.

Nothing now remained of the Whig system, upon which this reign was begun, but the war, which continued to rage as fiercely as ever, and which increased in expense every year as it went on. It was the resolution of the present ministry to put an end to it at any rate, as it had involved the nation in debt almost to bankruptcy, and as it promised, instead of humbling the enemy, only to become habitual to the constitution. However, it was a very delicate point for the ministry, at present, to stem the tide of popular prejudice in favour of its continuance. The nation had been intoxicated with a childish idea of military glory, and panted for triumphs of which they neither saw nor felt the benefit. The pleasure of talking at their entertainments and meetings of their distant conquests, and of extolling the bravery of their acquaintance, was all the return they were likely to receive for a diminished people, and an exhausted exchequer. The first doubts of the expediency of continuing the war, were introduced into the house of commons. The members made a remonstrance to the queen, in which they complained loudly of the former administration. They said, that in tracing the causes of the national debt, they had discovered great frauds and embezzlements of the public money. They affirmed that irreparable mischief would have ensued, if the former ministers had been suffered to continue in office; and they thanked the queen for their dismission.

Having thus prepared the nation, it only now remained to remove the duke of Marlborough from his post, as he would endeavour to traverse all their negotiations. But here again a difficulty started; this step

could not be taken without giving offence to the Dutch, who placed entire confidence in him: they were obliged, therefore, to wait for some convenient occasion. But, in the mean time, the duke headed his army in Flanders, and led on his forces against marshal Villars, who seemed resolved to hazard a battle. His last attempt in the field is said, by those who understand the art of war, to have excelled every former exploit. He contrived his measures so, that he induced the enemy, by marching and countermarching, to resign, without a blow, a strong line of entrenchments, of which he unexpectedly took possession. The capture of Bouchain followed this enterprise, which capitulated after a siege of twenty days; and this was the last military expe dition that the duke of Marlborough performed. And now, by a continuance of conduct and success, by ever advancing, and never losing an advantage, by gaining the enemy's posts without fighting, and the confidence of his own soldiers without generosity, the duke ended his campaigns, by leaving the allies in possession of a vast tract of country. They had reduced under their command Spanish Guelderland, Limbourg, Brabant, Flanders, and Hainault; they were masters of the Scarpe, and the capture of Bouchain had opened them a way into the very bowels of France. Upon his return from this campaign, he was accused of having taken a bribe of six thousand pounds a year from a Jew, who contracted to supply the army with bread; and the queen thought proper to dismiss him from all his employments.

This was the pretext of which his enemies made use; but his fall had been predetermined: and, though his receiving such a bribe was not the real cause of his removal, yet candour must confess that it ought to have been so. The desire of accumulating money was a

passion that attended this general in all his triumphs; and by this he threw a stain upon his character, which all his great abilities have not been able to remove. He not only received this gratuity from Medina the Jew, but he was also allowed ten thousand pounds a year from the queen; to this he added a deduction of two and a half per cent. from the pay of the foreign troops maintained by England; and all this over and above his ordinary pay as general of the British forces. Many excuses might have been given for his acceptance of these sums: but a great character ought not to stand in need of any excuse.

CHAPTER XXI.

ANNE. (Continued.)

A. D. 1711-1714.

WAR seems, in general, more adapted to the temper and the courage of the Whigs than the Tories. The former, restless, active, and ungovernable, seem to delight in the struggle; the latter, submissive, temperate, and weak, more willingly cultivate the arts of peace, and are content in prosperity. Through the course of the English history, France seems to have been the peculiar object of the hatred of the Whigs; and a constitutional war with that country seems to have been their aim. On the contrary, the Tories have been found to regard that nation with no such opposition of principle; and a peace with France has generally been the result of a Tory administration. For some time, therefore, before the dismission of Marlborough, a negotiation for peace had been carried on between the court of France

and the new ministry. They had a double aim in bringing this about. It would serve to mortify the Whigs, and it would free their country from a ruinous and unnecessary war.

The motives of every political measure, where faction enters, are partly good and partly evil. The presen ministers were, without doubt, actuated as well by hatred on one hand, as impelled by a love of their country on the other. They hoped to obtain such advantages in point of commerce for the subjects of Great Britain, as would silence all detraction. They were not so mindful of the interests of the Dutch, as they knew that people to be but too attentive to those interests themselves. In order, therefore, to come as soon as possible to the end in view, the earl of Jersey, who acted in concert with Oxford, sent a private message to the court of France, importing the queen's earnest desire for peace, and her wish for a renewal of the conference. This intimation was delivered by one Gaultier, an obscure priest, who was chaplain to the imperial ambassador, and a spy for the French. The message was received with great pleasure at the French court, and an answer was returned, ardently professing the same inclinations. This led the way to a reply, and soon after to a more definitive memorial from the court of France, which was immediately transmitted to the Dutch by the queen, for their approbation.

The states-general, having perused the French memorial, assured queen Anne that they were ready to join with her in contributing to the conclusion of a durable peace; but they expressed a desire that the French king would be more explicit in his offers towards settling the repose of Europe. In order to give the Dutch some satisfaction in this particular, a previous conference between the French and English courts took

place. Prior, much more famous as a poet than a statesman, was sent over with proposals to France; and Menager, a man of no great station, returned with Prior to London, with full powers to treat upon the preliminaries. After many long and intricate debates, certain preliminary articles were at last agreed on, and signed by the English and French ministers, in consequence of a written order from her majesty.

The ministry having proceeded thus far, the great difficulty still lay before them, of making the terms of peace agreeable to all the confederates. The earl of Strafford, who had been lately recalled from the Hague, where he resided as ambassador, was now sent back to Holland, with orders to communicate to the pensionary Heinsius the preliminary proposals, to signify the queen's approbation of them, and to propose a place where the plenipotentiaries should assemble. The Dutch were very unwilling to begin the conference, upon the inspection of the preliminaries. They sent over an envoy to attempt to turn the queen from her resolution; but, finding their efforts vain, they fixed upon Utrecht as the place of general conference; and they granted passports to the French ministers accordingly.

Many were the methods practised by the Dutch, as well as by the Germans, to frustrate the negotiations of this congress. The emperor wrote circular letters to the princes of the empire, exhorting them to persist in their former engagements. His ambassador in London, procuring a copy of the preliminary articles, had them inserted in a common newspaper, in order to throw blame upon the ministry, and render their proceedings odious to the people. The Dutch began to complain of perfidy, and laboured to raise a discontent in England against the measures then in speculation. The Whigs in London did not fail to second their efforts with all