364

QUEEN ANNE.-1702.

CHAPTER CXCI.

Queen Anne.-The Duke of Marlborough.—Battle of Blenheim.

1. WILLIAM and Mary having no children, Queen Anne suc ceeded to the throne, being in the thirty-ninth year of her age. She had a good natural capacity, but it had been very little cultivated. In private life she would have been a very estimable character, but she wanted the decision and energy necessary to make a great queen. Her person was engaging, but without dignity. Her features were regular, but her complexion was too florid, and her face too full and plump to be perfectly handsome.

2. She had married, in 1683, George, son of the King of Denmark. The husband of a queen, in her own right, does not become a king, and Prince George had no greater dignities in the state than those of commander-in-chief of the queen's forces, and lord high admiral, or commander-in-chief of the navy. They had many children, who all died in infancy, except one son. This young prince lived to be eleven years old.

3. His death was occasioned by catching cold, after having been heated in dancing. It caused the most bitter grief to his parents, especially his mother, who, after that event, never regained her former vivacity. She considered the early death of all her children as a punishment inflicted by Heaven for her failure in filial duty. Though Anne took part with her sister and William against her father, she never seemed satisfied with her conduct in so doing; and it was generally believed that, had James outlived William, she would have declined the crown.

4. She did not feel the same scruples with regard to her brother; still, however, her heart inclined to his cause, and nothing but her anxiety for the Protestant establishment prevented her from taking a decided part in favor of his claims to succeed herself upon the throne. This question about the succession agitated the kingdom during her whole reign. The tories were in favor of the Pretender, as he was called, and of the house of Stuart, while the whigs were friends of the house of Hanover and the Protestant succession, as it had been established by law.

5. The greatest weakness in Anne's character, was that of being too much influenced by her favorites, to whom she attached herself ardently, and whom she permitted to treat her with more freedom than it was judicious for a queen to allow. The first and chief favorite was Sarah Jennings, wife of John Churchill, who became Duke of Marlborough. The duchess was a clever woman, but of an imperious and meddling temper. So great was the intimacy between her and the queen, that for a long time they corresponded

CXCI.-1. What of Queen Anne? 2. What of her husband? What of her children? How did the death of her children affect her? 4. What of the question of succession? 5. What weakness had Anne? Who was her first favorite? What of the Duke of Marl

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with each other, under the assumed names of Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Morley.

6. The father of John Churchill held some inferior place in the court of Charles II. Young Churchill entered the army at twelve years of age, and was engaged in active service nearly the whole of his life, which proved a long one. His great abilities recommended him to William, who made him Earl of Marlborough, and appointed him to the command of his armies, first in Ireland, and afterwards on the continent.

7. On the accession of Anne, he was appointed to the command of the English troops in the new war which England, in connection with Germany and Holland, was about to undertake against France and Spain, and for which William was preparing at the time of his death. Marlborough was also appointed by the Dutch to the chief command of their troops. The campaign of 1702 was not distinguished by any great event.

8. There is a story told of a remarkable escape which Marlborough himself met with at this time. He had embarked on the river Meuse, with some Dutch deputies and a guard of soldiers, and was intending to go to the Hague. At the close of the evening, some French troops, who had been lurking about, and were on the watch for plunder, suddenly darted out from among the reeds by the river side, and, seizing the hauling-line, rushed into the boat.

9. They immediately secured the soldiers, and would have made the Dutch deputies prisoners also, had they not produced their passports. Marlborough was not provided with a passport, but one of his attendants, having an old one, slipped it into his hand; and the French officer, not having time to examine it, let him go, after plundering the boat and carrying off the soldiers. Marlborough and his companions arrived safely at the Hague, where they found the town in the utmost consternation, a report having reached it that they had all been taken prisoners.

10. The war was carried on with great activity during 1703. In 1704, the English and Dutch armies, under the command of Marlborough, who had now become a duke, were joined by the army of the Emperor of Germany, under Prince Eugene. On the 13th of August, 1704, the combined armies gained, at Blenheim, a complete victory over the French. The consequences of this triumph were of immense importance, and the Duke of Marlborough, who was from this time looked up to as the greatest commander since the Black Prince, received a corresponding reward. The queen bestowed on him the estate of Woodstock, near Oxford, and a noble mansion was there built for him at the public expense, to which was given the name of Blenheim.

11. The duke's success in war was not accidental. He possessed the qualities which insure success in every profession. He was a man of extreme calmness and tranquillity; nothing flurried, nothing disconcerted him. Commanding an army composed of men of dif

borough in early life? 8. What escape had he? 10. When was the battle of Blenheim

366 GIBRALTAR TAKEN FROM THE SPANIARDS.-1704.

ferent nations, whose interests were perpetually clashing, he listened to no cabals, but acted for the public cause.

12. Of his command of temper, we remember one very striking instance. Prince Eugene had proposed, at a council of war, that an attack should be made the next day on the enemy. Though nothing could be more evidently judicious than this proposal, the duke positively refused to consent to it. The prince called him a coward, and challenged him to fight a duel; but Marlborough kept his temper, and declined the challenge. Upon this, Eugene, being violently enraged, left the council.

13. Early the next morning he was awakened by Marlborough, who, coming to his bedside, desired him to rise, as he was preparing to make the attack, and added, "I could not tell you my determination last night, because there was a person present who I knew would betray our plans to the enemy." The prince, ashamed of his own intemperate conduct, asked pardon of the duke, who accepted his apologies, saying, "I thought, my dear prince, you would in time be satisfied."

CHAPTER CXCII.

Gibraltar taken from the Spaniards.-Ingratitude of the Country to its Captors.-Sir Cloudesley Shovel.-Robinson Crusoe.

1. THE treatment of the Duke of Marlborough by his sovereign and fellow-subjects, contrasts strangely with that received by a distinguished naval commander. The fortress of Gibraltar, which commands the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, had hitherto been deemed impregnable. It stands on the summit of a steep and rocky mountain, and is almost inaccessible, even when the approach is unopposed. A few brave troops, under a skilful commander, could hold it against the most numerous armies.

2. Sir George Rooke, returning with a squadron from an unsuccessful expedition against Barcelona, determined to retrieve any reputation which he might have lost, by taking this fortress. The Prince of Hesse, who commanded the land forces, very unwillingly yielded his assent to what he considered a hopeless attempt. So it proved, so far as the land forces were concerned.

could effect nothing.

The soldiers

3. A detachment of sailors was then landed, who, mounting the rocks with the ease and alacrity of the monkeys who make their home among them, soon compelled the governor to surrender; and the Prince of Hesse entered the town, amazed at the success of so desperate an enterprise. Sir George might well have expected rewards and honors for so brilliant an exploit. But he had no influential wife at the side of the queen, no powerful friends in parliament.

fought? Between whom? 11. What of Marlborough's abilities? 12, 13. What in stance of his command of temper? CXCII.-1. What of the fortress of Gibraltar? 2. Relate the particulars of its cap

SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL.

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4. An attempt was made by some one to get a vote of thanks from the latter, but that body decided that the exploit was not worth their thanks, and Sir George was suffered to pass the rest of his life in retirement and obscurity. From all Marlborough's victories, England derived no permanent advantage, but merely the name of having beaten her enemies. But Gibraltar still remains to her, and is one of the most important of her foreign possessions.

5. There was another naval commander who is worthy of mention. This was Sir Cloudesley Shovel, who was born of poor parents, and apprenticed, when very young, to a shoemaker. This employment was not at all to his taste, so he left his master, and became a cabin-boy on board a ship of war. During the heat of an engagement, the admiral wished to send some despatches to another ship, and young Cloudesley volunteered to perform the dangerous service. Taking the papers in his mouth, he conveyed them in safety through the enemy's line of fire.

6. This bold deed obtained for him the notice of the officers of the fleet. In time he was made a lieutenant, and after that, his rise was rapid. Both James and William promoted him. From Anne he received many honors and distinctions; but none of these altered the original simplicity of his manners and character. In 1705 he was sent with a fleet to aid the operations, in Spain, of the Earl of Peterborough, a general whose exploits have all the character of the age of chivalry.

7. As Sir Cloudesley was returning from this expedition, in 1707, his ship, with three others, was wrecked on the rocks of the Scilly Isles. Out of the four ships' crews, only one captain and twentyfour seamen were saved. Sir Cloudesley's body was found on the shore, having been stripped by the country people and buried in the sand. It was afterwards taken up and deposited in Westminster Abbey, where lie buried the bodies of most Englishmen who have been distinguished in any profession.

8. Many years after the shipwreck, an old woman sent for a clergyman, and told him that she wished, before she died, to confess to him a dreadful crime, which burdened her conscience. She then told him that Admiral Shovel had survived the wreck, and had reached her hut in a very exhausted state; that he lay down on her bed to rest, and that she, tempted by the value of the things he had about him, had murdered him.

9. This shipwreck reminds us of Robinson Crusoe, whose adventures were written by Daniel Defoe, a voluminous author of Queen Anne's reign. It is not a real history, but a fictitious story. It is supposed that the adventures of Alexander Selkirk, who lived some years on the island of Juan Fernandez, in the Pacific Ocean, suggested to Defoe the idea of writing this delightful book; a work which has been translated into more languages than perhaps any other book of amusement.

ture. 4. What reward had the captors? 5. Relate what is said of Sir Cloudesley Shovel 8. What of his death? 9. What of Robinson Crusoe?

368

PEACE OF UTRECHT.—1713.

CHAPTER CXCIII.

Marlborough continues his victorious Career.-He loses the Favor of the Queen and the People.-Peace of Utrecht.-Contests between the Whigs and Tories.-Death of Anne.- Union between Scotland and England.

1. WE left the Duke of Marlborough enjoying the reward of his successful campaign on the continent. He gained many more victories during the war; of which the most celebrated are those of Ramillies, May 23d, 1706; of Oudenarde, July 11th, 1706; and of Malplaquet, September 11th, 1709. All this time his enemies and rivals at home were busily endeavoring to undermine his favor with the queen; and they at last succeeded.

2. He had always had great influence in the political councils of Anne; but he was now supplanted by Mr. Harley, afterwards Earl of Oxford. At the same time a Mrs. Masham supplanted the Duchess of Marlborough as the queen's favorite. Marlborough, as his favor diminished at court, seems to have lost the affections of the people. On coming into England in 1710, instead of being caressed as formerly, and received with a triumphant welcome, he saw himself insulted and reviled.

3. He returned to the army, and continued to conduct the affairs of the war with his usual ability and success. But the tories, at the head of whom was the Earl of Oxford, were not content till they procured his dismissal from the command of the army; which they effected in 1711. Animosity towards him was not the sole motive for this; the war had been a favorite measure with the whigs.

4. The tories were desirous of peace, and they could not effect their wishes so long as Marlborough retained any power, for it was believed, and his well-known avarice gave some foundation for the belief, that all his influence would be exerted to continue the war, that he might retain his lucrative offices. The tories prevailed, and peace was signed at Utrecht in April, 1713. By this treaty, Newfoundland, Hudson's Bay, and the Island of St. Christopher were ceded by France to England.

5. Louis also agreed to abandon the cause of the Pretender, who had now assumed the name of the Chevalier St. George. Louis, however, still continued to protect him. He had married a daugh ter of John Sobieski, King of Poland. He had two sons, Charles Edward and Henry, The eldest was afterwards known as the young pretender. Henry became a Roman Catholic priest, and was afterwards Cardinal of York.

6. The intolerable dissensions between the leaders of the two great

CXCIII.-1. What other victories did Marlborough obtain? Give the dates. 2. By whom was Marlborough supplanted in Anne's favor? Who supplanted his wife? What of Marlborough's favor with the people? 3. What did his opponents do? 4. What of the peace? When and where was it signed? 5. What of the Pretender? What of his sons? 6. What of the quarrels between the whigs and tories? What did the whigs d