|Bishop Burnet had watched at Kensington with a host of other clergymen
and lords for the king's last gasp, and then hastened to St. James's
Palace to be the first to prostrate himself before the new queen. But he
was disappointed; for the Earl of Essex, lord of the bedchamber, whose
duty it really was to communicate the news, had forestalled him. Burnet
had never been popular with Anne, and on her accession he was treated
with marked indifference, and turned out of his lodgings at court.
[[A.D. 1702.]] All was business and bustle on that Sunday that
witnessed the death of William III. The queen was receiving the crowd of
politicians that filled her antechamber, anxious for a private audience
before her recognition by the privy council took place.
Among others, the queen's old uncle, the Earl of Clarendon, sent in his
name and requested "admittance to his niece."
Her majesty's reply was, "That if he was prepared to take the oath of
allegiance to her as sovereign she was willing to receive him."
Queen Anne answered thus because she remembered the nature of her
uncle's former conversations with her, and knew that he had come to
urge her to make way for her brother, the Prince of Wales. His reply
confirmed this, for he said:
"No, I come to talk to my niece; I shall take {438}no other oath than I
have taken." He remained true to this decision to the day of his death.
But Queen Anne had another uncle, who was not quite so loyal to King
James's son; this was Lord Rochester, who had been one of Queen Mary's
ministers of state, and shared with Anne the government of _her_ kingdom
likewise.
Both houses of parliament met and made speeches suitable to the
occasion, then presented addresses of congratulation to the queen on her
accession. She received them with much grace and dignity; and although
she did not say much, everybody was impressed by the remarkable
sweetness of her voice, which possessed a magic charm.
A general mourning was ordered by the privy council for the deceased
king; but as Queen Anne was already wearing black for her father, she
chose purple to distinguish this occasion, and appeared in that color
the day after William III. died.
On the eleventh of March Queen Anne went in solemn state, attended
by Lady Marlborough and two other ladies, to the House of Lords. She
ascended the throne in her royal robes, and made an address that had
been prepared by her ministers, concluding with a promise to do all in
her power for the happiness and prosperity of England. Lord Marlborough
carried the sword of state before her royal highness, who, at the close
of the session, returned with Prince George to St. James's Palace.
The Scotch council was summoned, and Anne was proclaimed by Lord Lyon,
king-at-arms, as Anne I. Queen of Scotland. Then her majesty appointed
April 23 for her coronation; and parliament voted her the same revenue
that had been granted to King William.
There were those who were delighted at the accession of Queen Anne; but
the Dutch colony at Kensington were {439}not of the number. The body of
King William had been embalmed and removed to the prince's chamber at
Westminster, where it lay in state; and the queen, with her husband,
immediately took possession of the royal apartments at Kensington. There
was something repulsive in this, though the room in which the king had
breathed his last remained undisturbed for many years.
After a great deal of discussion it was decided that the interment
of King William's body should take place privately, and April 12, at
midnight, was the time appointed.
The procession started from Kensington, and was headed by an open
chariot with the customary wax effigy seated as though the coffin had
been beneath; but it was only placed there when the procession reached
Westminster.
During the funeral service the body was deposited in Henry VIII.'s
Chapel, and afterwards it was interred in the same vault with Queen Mary
II.
Among her appointments, Queen Anne made the Duke of Devonshire
lord-steward of her household; the Earl of Jersey, lord-chamberlain;
Sir Edward Seymour, comptroller; and Peregrine Bertie, vice-chamberlain.
Prince George was appointed to the high office of commander-in-chief of
all the forces, both by sea and land. Lord Go-dolphin requested that her
majesty would be pleased to reinstate Dr. Radcliffe; but she replied,
"No! Radcliffe shall never send me word again when I am ill that my
ailments are only vapors." Lady Marlborough used her influence to have
Bentinck expelled from his office as keeper of the park at Windsor,
with the least possible delay; for he had never been friendly to either
herself or the queen, and such a chance for revenge could scarcely be
overlooked.
The public mind was soon occupied with the approaching coronation.
Prince George was to take no part in it as {440}sovereign, but in the
previous reign he had been created Duke of Cumberland,--a title that
placed him at the head of the list of peers, and gave him precedence of
them all.
At eleven o'clock on coronation morning the queen was carried in her
sedan chair from St. James's to Westminster Hall, where she rested in
a private room while the heralds marshalled the several classes of
nobility according to their rank. Prince George of Denmark was preceded
by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the lord keeper of the Great
Seal. He walked just in front of the queen with her state attendants,
garter-king-at-arms, the lord mayor, and the high steward of England.
The queen wore on her head a gold band set with costly gems, and her
train was borne by the Duchess of Somerset, assisted by four young
ladies of the bed-chamber, and the lord chamberlain. But this train must
in some way have been made to hang from her majesty's chair, for she was
suffering so much from gout in her feet that she could not walk in the
procession. These attendants and train-bearers conducted her from the
waiting-room to the grand hall, where she was placed beneath the canopy
near the table, on which were spread the regalia. Lord Carlisle, the
Duke of Devonshire, and the lord high-constable stood in readiness to
distribute the various articles on the table to the persons appointed to
carry them whenever her majesty should give the order. As soon as this,
part of the ceremony was performed, the procession moved on to the
Abbey, the path all the way to the royal platform in the church being
covered with blue cloth, and strewn with evergreens and flowers. A
company of guards lined the walk, consequently the cloth was not tom
to bits to be distributed among the rabble, as had been the case
at previous coronations. From Westminster Hall to the Abbey the
train-bearers were, as before, the Duchess of Somerset,--a personal
friend to the queen, and wife of {441}the nearest relative of the blood
royal then in England,--Lady Elizabeth Seymour, Lady Mary Hyde, and Lady
Mary Pierrepoint, then a girl of thirteen, who later was known in the
literary world as Lady Mary Wortley Montague. The queen was escorted by
Lord Jersey, supported by the Bishops of Durham and Exeter, and guarded
by the late king's favorite, Keppel, Earl of Albemarle, who was still
retained as captain of the royal guard. He was the only member of King
William's Dutch colony who had ever shown civility to the queen, and
she showed her gratitude by continuing him in office. The coronation
ceremony was conducted on the same plan as all the others we have
recorded, therefore it is unnecessary to repeat the details. The ring
used on this occasion was a superb ruby, on which was engraved the cross
of St. George. It was placed on the fourth finger of her majesty's right
hand. The ceremony concluded with the peers, archbishops, and prelates,
headed by the Duke of Cumberland, paying homage to the queen. This was
done by kissing her left cheek, and touching her crown while her pardon
was read, and medals of silver and gold were distributed among the
people. A grand anthem by the choir, accompanied by instrumental music,
followed; then the trumpets sounded, and all the people shouted, "God
save Queen Anne! Long live Queen Anne! May the queen live forever!"
At the banquet in the evening Prince George of Denmark sat at her
majesty's left hand, and care was taken that tables should be provided
for members of the house of commons, who had complained of being
neglected at the coronation banquet of William and Mary. On the whole,
the ceremony was eminently satisfactory from beginning to end, even
to the thieves who stole all the plate used at her majesty's table in
Westminster Hall, as well as the finest of the table linen. Shortly
after her coronation Queen Anne {442}knighted Simon Harcourt, and
appointed him solicitor-general; and her uncle, Lord Rochester, was
chosen for her prime minister. It was with the assistance and advice of
this uncle that Queen Anne performed an act of benevolence that has made
her name venerated in the Church of England ever since. Certain sums of
money that she had a right to claim for every office she conferred in
the church, she applied, instead, towards a fund for increasing the
salaries of some of the inferior members of the clergy who were so
poorly paid that they were scarcely able to live. Originally, the money
so claimed had been for the support of crusades, but later it went to
the crown, and the clergy were taxed for their whole profit of the first
year, and one-tenth of the annual gain forever after. So relieved of
this tax, and with their salaries increased besides, the clergy of the
Church of England had reason to be grateful to their sovereign. This
fund received the name of "Queen Anne's bounty," which it has borne to
the present day.
Throughout Queen Anne's reign there were so many contests that it will
be necessary sometimes to mention the two parties between whom they
occurred, though as little as possible will be said on the subject of
politics, and none of the dry details and intricacies of the various
projects shall be recounted. The two powerful parties to which we refer
were called Whigs and Tories, and probably no one will object to knowing
how they were distinguished.
In the reign of Queen Anne the policy of the Whigs was to keep up a
perpetual war against France, in order to prevent the son of James II.
from claiming his right to the throne of England. They were opposed
to the Church of Rome and equally so to the reformed Catholic or "High
Church" of England. Though the queen was the acknowledged head of the
church, they desired that her power to fill vacancies should be bestowed
on the prime minister.
{443}The Tories, on the other hand, supported the sovereign in her right
to appoint church dignitaries, and were opposed to the so-called "Low
Church" party. They were generally considered Jacobites, and would
gladly have been such if the Prince of Wales had not been a Roman
Catholic.
Now that we have shown the distinction between these two parties, any
future reference to them will be clearly understood.
With Queen Anne fairly established on the throne, Lady Marlborough was
at the very height of her glory, because she still retained unbounded
influence over her majesty, and had a voice in every appointment. She
even gave herself credit for many praiseworthy acts of the queen's,
whether she deserved it or no. For example, she assured her friends that
the command issued by the queen forbidding the sale of places in the
royal household was really her own order, though it was probably no such
thing. This was a French custom that had been introduced into England
with the Restoration, whereby places were purchased of the former
possessor without granting the sovereign any choice in the matter
whatever. A man sold his position to the highest bidder, and felt not
the slightest shame at pocketing the proceeds, nor was any privacy
observed in the proceeding. It was a very injurious practice, and by
no means insured good servants, so whether its abolition was due to the
queen or Lady Marlborough, or both, it was certainly wise.
Shortly after Queen Anne's accession her husband, Prince George, was
attacked with asthma, which had such a bad effect on him that change of
air was recommended, and their majesties started on a tour through the
west of England. Bristol was one of their stopping-places, and while
there Prince George started out one morning, {444}_incognito_, with an
officer for companion, to view the sights. After walking about for an
hour or so, the prince went on the Exchange, and remained there
until all the merchants had left excepting one John Duddlestone, a
corset-maker. This good man stood off and stared at the prince, and then
hesitatingly approached, and with a shy, awkward manner, asked: "Are you,
sir, the husband of our Queen Anne, as folks say you are?"
"Such is, indeed, the fact," replied the prince. "Then," continued John
Duddlestone, "I have seen with great concern that none of the chief
merchants on 'Change have invited your highness home; but it is not for
want of love or loyalty: it is merely because they are afraid to presume
to address so great a man. But _I_ think that the shame to Bristol would
be great indeed if the husband of her majesty the queen were obliged,
for want of hospitality, to dine at an inn; I therefore beg your royal
highness, humble though I am, to accompany me home to dinner and bring
your soldier-officer along. I can offer your highness a good piece of
roast beef, a plum-pudding, and some ale of my wife's own brewing, if
that be good enough."
Prince George was charmed with this original style of invitation, and
accepted it with gratitude, though his dinner had been ordered at
the White Lion. Arriving at his house in Corn street, worthy John
Duddlestone called up from the foot of the stairs, "Wife, wife! put on
a clean apron and come down, for the queen's husband and a
soldier-gentleman have come to dine with us."
Dame Duddlestone soon appeared in a clean, blue check apron, neat calico
frock, and snowy cap, curtseying and smiling as she entered the room,
her full face all aglow with the excitement occasioned by the honor of
such visitors. Her table was soon arranged, and the prince did ample
justice to the meal, well knowing that he could not
{445}
[Illustration: 0451]
{447}please his host and hostess better than by eating heartily of what
they set before him.
"Do you ever go up to London?" he asked in the course of the dinner.
"Oh, yes," answered the host; "I sometimes go there to buy whalebones
for the corsets I manufacture."
When the prince took his leave he gave John Duddlestone a card, and
told him "the next time he went to London to take his wife along, and
to be sure to bring her to court," adding "that if he would present that
card at Windsor Castle it would insure his admission."
Sure enough, when, a few weeks later, a supply of whalebone was needed,
John actually took his good wife behind him on a pack-horse, and
journeyed to London. Armed with the prince's card, he presented himself
at Windsor Castle, was received by Prince George, and with his wife
clinging to his arm, introduced into the presence of Queen Anne. Only
a few words were necessary to recall to her majesty the circumstance
Prince George had related on his return from Bristol. She cordially
thanked the good-hearted couple for their hospitality to her husband,
and, in return, invited them to dine with her, adding that the
court-dresses which were required for the occasion, would be furnished
by the officers of her household; but the visitors were required to
choose their own material. Both selected purple velvet. The suits were
accordingly made, and worn at the royal dinner party, when the queen
presented the Duddlestone pair "as the most loyal persons in the whole
city of Bristol."
After dinner her majesty surprised John Duddlestone by requesting him
to kneel down before her. He obeyed, when taking a sword and laying it
gently on his head, she said: "Stand up, Sir John."
Having knighted him, Queen Anne offered him a government {448}position,
or a sum of money, whichever he preferred, but he refused both, saying:
"Wife and I want nothing, and we have fifty pounds of our savings out
at interest, besides, judging from the number of people about your
majesty's house, your expenses must be heavy enough." This honest reply
pleased the queen so much that she presented the newly-constituted Lady
Duddlestone with the gold watch that hung at her side. This mark of
royal favor so delighted the good dame that whenever she appeared in
the streets of her native town afterwards the watch was sure to be seen
hanging from her blue apron-string.
Although Queen Anne could not forget nor forgive the insulting remarks
about herself that she had heard from the lips of Lady Marlborough, she
did not find it easy to steel her heart against a woman whom she had
loved for thirty years. There is no doubt that she had fully determined
to part with both her and her husband, but meanwhile intended that the
favorite should observe no change. The dearly-beloved "Mrs. Freeman"
should have all the advantages her ambition and avarice had sought, and
after both she and her husband had obtained all they desired of wealth
and title they should be dismissed.
The queen went to St. James's Palace in time to open parliament, leaving
Lady Marlborough at Windsor, because she did not desire her attendance
at the grand state visit to the city. But her majesty wrote "Dear Mrs.
Freeman" in the most caressing terms, and in one of her letters she
said: "It is very sad for your poor, unfortunate, faithful Morley to
think that she has so very little in her power to show you how sensible
she is of all Lord Marlborough's kindness, especially when he deserves
all that a rich crown can give; but since there is nothing else at this
time, I hope you will give me leave, as soon as he comes, to make him a
duke." {449}Lady Marlborough was not so pleased at this proposition as
Queen Anne supposed she would be; the dukedom was all very fine, but
no provision for the support of the title was mentioned, and the
Marlboroughs were by no means rich. The letter dropped from the lady's
hand as though she had read news of a death, but the lord was more
grateful; for the new distinction increased the respect that the
German princes in Flanders entertained for him, and, as he was
commander-in-chief of the allied forces, it was important that he should
be esteemed. He had not yet achieved the military glory that has made
him one of the heroes of history.
Some discussion had been going on between Lady Marlborough and the queen
about the creating of four new peers, because the ministry had resolved
that they should be Tories, and Lady Marlborough objected. At last, by
way of compromise, the queen consented to add Mr. Hervey to the number;
but, as he was a Whig, the newly-made nobles refused to have their names
associated with his, and so the poor queen was in a dilemma. She wrote
the haughty favorite a most humble letter, in which she said: "I cannot
help being extremely concerned that you are so partial to the Whigs,
because I would not have you and your poor, unfortunate, faithful Morley
differ in opinion in the least thing."
There was to be a grand dinner on Lord Mayor's day, which the Queen
and Prince George were to attend, so for the encouragement of her Tory
partizans, her majesty preferred that her favorite should not appear at
her side on that occasion; she therefore concluded the letter we have
referred to above, with this sentence: "Since you have staid so long at
Windsor, I wish now for your own sake that you would stay until after
Lord Mayor's day; for if you are in town you can't avoid going to the
show, and {450}being in the country is a just excuse, and, I think, one
would be glad of any way to avoid so troublesome a business. I am at
this time in great haste, and therefore can say no more to my dear,
_dear_ Mrs. Freeman, but that I am most passionately hers."
The queen had another reason for desiring Lady Marlborough's absence.
It was this: The Duke of Ormond and Sir George Rooke had won a grand
victory at Vigo, and so the Tory party were greatly elated. This enraged
Lady Marlborough to such a degree that there was no telling how far she
might go in giving expression to her displeasure, and she was safer at a
little distance.
Lord Marlborough returned from the continent in November, after having
gained several victories and captured some towns in Flanders. The queen
was so pleased with his success that she showed herself a little too
eager to reward him; therefore when her majesty sent a message to the
house of commons declaring her intention to create Lord Marlborough a
duke, and requesting that a pension of five thousand pounds per annum
might be secured to him and his heirs, it was regarded with disfavor.
After some warm debate, it was decided "that Lord Marlborough's
services, although considerable, had been sufficiently rewarded;" so,
although the title was granted, the revenue was refused. The consequence
was that Lady Marlborough hated the Tories worse than ever, although ten
years before she had belonged to their party.
With the hope of soothing the newly-made duchess, her majesty wrote: "I
cannot be satisfied with myself without doing something towards making
up what has been so maliciously hindered in parliament, and therefore, I
desire, my dear Mrs. Freeman and her husband to be so kind as to accept
of two thousand pounds a year out of my private purse instead of the
five, and this can excite no envy, for nobody need know it." {451}The
angry duchess refused to be pacified, and rejected the queen's offer
with scorn. But this was her regular plan of action to avoid appearing
under obligations to her majesty; she always refused an offer the first
time it was made, but never failed to claim it later. So it was in this
case, for she not only pocketed the two thousand pounds per annum
when she had charge of the queen's privy purse, but demanded, besides,
portions for her daughters to the amount of thirty thousand pounds.
Queen Anne fell completely in the power of the designing duchess, who
constantly abused the Tories to her majesty, and accused her of being
their accomplice. More than half of "_the crowned slave's_" time was
spent in the degrading occupation of soothing the domestic tyrant, who
exacted the most servile attentions, and complained, like a spoiled
child, if she did not get everything she wanted, though this she
generally managed, by hook or by crook.
[[A.D. 1703.]] In the month of December the fleet of Charles of Austria,
who was on his way to take possession of the throne of Spain, appeared
off the west coast of England. The Duke of Somerset was immediately
despatched to Portsmouth to receive the royal stranger, and conduct him
to Windsor, where the queen had gone on purpose to entertain him. But he
was first invited to rest while at the duke's residence on the coast of
Petworth, and there he was met by the prince-consort, who had with great
difficulty, and three or four upsets of his carriage, made the journey
across the bad roads.
The whole party arrived at Windsor at night, and were received by
torchlight. Three noblemen awaited the King of Spain as he alighted from
his coach, and the Earl of Jersey led him up the stairs, at the head
of which he was met by Queen Anne, and conducted to her bed-chamber
according to the etiquette of the times. An hour later a {452}state
supper was served, when the royal guest was placed at the queen's right
hand, while Prince George sat on her left. At the conclusion of the
feast a formal procession conducted King Charles to his sleeping
apartment, where his own attendants awaited him.
The next day Queen Anne returned the call of her guest, who, having been
previously informed of her intention, met her at his drawing-room door
with a profusion of compliments, protesting against the trouble-she took
in coming to him. However, she was not to be outdone in politeness, so
persisted in entering his room, where she spent about fifteen minutes.
Then, at a signal from one of the courtiers, King Charles rose and
conducted her majesty to a grand state dinner. During the progress of
the meal the court was entertained by a vocal and instrumental concert.
Dinner was served at three, and at its conclusion everybody played
cards, basset being the favorite game, until supper was announced, which
closed the hospitalities of the day.
Her majesty had, during the interval between dinner and supper,
presented several ladies of the highest rank to the king, and he had
saluted each with a kiss, which was the privilege of his station. But a
grand act of courtesy was reserved for the royal favorites, the Duke and
the Duchess of Marlborough. To the former, King Charles presented his
sword, saying at the same time, "that he had nothing worthier of his
acceptance, for he was a poor prince, who had little more than his sword
and his mantle." After supper he prevailed on the duchess to give him
the napkin which it was her duty to present to the queen, and he held
it while her majesty washed her hands. On returning it to the Duchess
of Marlborough, the king placed a superb diamond ring on her finger. He
then gave his hand to the queen, and led her to her bed- {453}chamber,
where he took formal leave, and expressed his intention to depart early
the next morning. Prince George meant to escort the royal guest back to
his ship at Portsmouth, but as he was far from well the Duke of Somerset
was appointed to perform that office in his stead; and the Admiral,
Sir George Rooke, was ordered to provide the proper number of ships to
escort him to Spain.
[[A.D. 1704.]] The queen's birthday this year fell on Sunday. She
received the usual compliments, and held a splendid reception on the
following day, after which Dry-den's play, entitled "All for Love, or
Anthony and Cleopatra," was performed before her majesty and the whole
court. This was succeeded on the next evening by the tragedy of Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark, in honor of Prince George. There were various other
entertainments during the week; and we must not omit to say that notices
of them were given in the daily papers, of which there were several in
this reign.
So much dissension arose in parliament, chiefly on account of church
matters, that some of the Tories became disgusted and withdrew from
office. The most important of these were the queen's uncle, Lord
Rochester, the Duke of Buckingham, and Lord Dartmouth. This gave the
Whig party the upper hand, and the Duchess of Marlborough thoroughly
controlled and led them. Prince George was a Whig at heart, though he
managed to keep this fact secret; however, the duchess knew it perfectly
well, and rejoiced at it.
Now we must take a look at Queen Anne to see what sort of a ruler she
made, for thus far we have touched lightly on this important matter,
or given the Duchess of Marlborough the precedence. As far as personal
affection goes, this queen was the most popular one who had occupied the
English throne; the lower classes always {454}called her "our good Queen
Anne," and do so to this very day.
[Illustration: 0460]
It is to be accounted for in this way: In the first place, her parents
were both English, and she herself was in every way like a middle-class
Englishwoman, because of her very limited education. She was a
comfortable sort of a matron, the last of the Stuarts, and by no
means disposed to govern arbitrarily. Then she was, as we have seen,
exceedingly generous to the church, and her reign witnessed a series-of
continental victories. No wonder that the populace called her "good
Queen Anne." Strange to say, although her majesty was never known to
read a book, and passed a large part of her time at card-playing, poetry
and science awakened into new life in her reign, and many of the writers
delighted to sound her praises. She probably did not appreciate
their work, but she patronized men of letters, it may be for love of
approbation. {455}The number of learned men of Queer. Anne's reign
exceeded that of Elizabeth, and represented every branch of art,
science, and literature. It included no Shakespeare, it is true; but
there were Newton, Wren, Locke, Hogarth, Congreve, Colley, Cibber, Pope,
Swift, Gay, Addison, Steele, and a host of others. We must not omit
to mention Defoe, because every child will connect his name with
that delightful romance, "Robinson Crusoe." It was on account of the
existence of such a bevy of luminaries that Queen Anne's reign was
entitled the Augustan age of England.
That reign witnessed the beginning of periodical papers, for there were
three, the "Tattler," "Spectator," and "Guardian," edited by Addison and
Steele.
The "Tattler" contained accounts of the political events of the day,
and was placed on her majesty's breakfast-table, with the hope that she
would occasionally read it, but she is not supposed ever to have
done so. The "Ladies' Diary, or Women's Almanack" was another of the
periodicals published in Queen Anne's reign, that have since become so
numerous. It began by containing articles that are of most interest to
women in general, but is now a mathematical periodical, which women are
not likely to care for.
We have mentioned the continental victories that distinguished this
reign. The most splendid of them all was the battle of Blenheim, news
of which was brought to Windsor Castle in August by Colonel Parkes,
aid-de-camp to his grace, the Duke of Marlborough. This glorious victory
was celebrated with unusual splendor.
What shall we say of the hero of the great victory thus celebrated?
Perhaps Thackeray has given the best description. He says: "Before the
greatest obstacle or the most trival ceremony; before a hundred thousand
men {456}drawn in battalia, or a peasant slaughtered at the door of his
burning hovel; before a carouse of German lords, or a monarch's court,
or a cottage table where his plans were laid, or an enemy's battery
vomiting flame and death, and strewing corpses round about him,--he
was always cold, calm, resolute, like fate. He performed a treason or a
court-bow; he told a falsehood as black as Styx as easily as he paid a
compliment or spoke about the weather. He was as calm at the mouth
of the cannon as at the door of a drawing-room. He would cringe to a
shoe-black or he would flatter a minister or a monarch; be haughty, be
humble, threaten, repent, weep, grasp your hand or stab you whenever
he saw occasion. But yet those of the army who knew him best, and
had suffered most from him, admired him most of all, and had perfect
confidence in him as the first captain of the world."
After the Blenheim victory the enthusiasm for the duke was very great;
even those who hated him and those whom he had cheated were ready to
greet him with frantic cheers.
The queen informed the house of commons that she desired to present the
palace and grounds of Woodstock to the great hero and his heirs forever,
and the act was passed a few weeks later. Her majesty ordered a portrait
in miniature to be painted of the duke, which was sur-rounded by
brilliants valued at eight thousand pounds, and the picture itself
was covered with a diamond instead of glass. This magnificent gift was
presented to the Duchess of Marlborough as a souvenir of the victory of
Blenheim.
It need scarcely be said that while her husband stood so high in the
royal favor, the influence of the Duchess of Marlborough remained
unabated, and she compelled the queen to appoint all her officers of
government from the {457}Whig ranks. When her majesty hesitated, the
upstart tyrant would vulgarly exclaim: "Lord, madam! it _must_ be so!"
Thus she secured for her friend, William Cowper, the high post of keeper
of the Great Seal. The privilege of disposing of the church livings had
belonged to the sovereign, but Lord Keeper Cowper now claimed it, and
subsequently it was taken out of the hands of the crown entirely. The
Church of England was never in greater danger of destruction than during
Queen Anne's reign, because most of the dignitaries had been connected
with some species of dissent. The prince consort was a Dissenter; but,
worst of all, the violent duchess, her majesty's favorite and ruler,
headed a strong band of free-thinkers, who hated the church.
[[A.D. 1705.]] In April her majesty, accompanied by her husband, made
an excursion to Cambridge. She was received by the Duke of Somerset, who
was then chancellor of the university, and attended an exhibition, where
she distributed honorary degrees among the noblemen and gentlemen of
her court. But the most memorable of Queen Anne's actions connected
with this visit was the bestowing of knighthood on Dr. Isaac Newton
at Trinity College. After holding a grand reception, dining at Trinity
Hall, and attending divine service at the beautiful chapel of King's
College, the royal party returned to Newmarket, where her majesty made a
long sojourn.
[[A.D. 1706.]] Another great victory was won at Ramilies by the Duke of
Marlborough, and another splendid thanksgiving procession took place
at St. Paul's to celebrate it. At this period all the great offices
of state were in the hands of the Marlborough family. The last of the
appointments was the result of a serious contest between her majesty and
the duchess, in which the latter came off victorious, as usual. This
was the nomination of her son- {458}in-law, Lord Sunderland, to the
important office of secretary of state. When the queen yielded this
point, the commander-in-chief and the lord treasurer were, one a
son-in-law, the other father of a son-in-law of this ambitious couple.
Their connections filled lucrative posts, besides, their daughters were
ladies of the bed-chamber, and the mother herself, as mistress of the
robes and groom of the stole, governed all the officials and the queen
into the bargain. Never was this creature more insolent than when such
was the state of affairs. She had contrived, by fair means or by foul,
to appropriate the enormous income of ninety thousand pounds of the
public funds, and the poor queen was miserable on account of what she
had been made to suffer at the hands of the woman who was indebted to
her for all she had, and for all she was. When she could no longer
fail to perceive that the affection of her royal mistress had become
estranged, the duchess began to inquire what new favorite had interposed
to create ill feeling; for it was not in the nature of this woman to
blame herself for anything.
She could not fix upon any one until the regular season for the
distribution of the queen's cast-off clothing came around; then Abigail
Hill, her cousin, excited her suspicion. Although the duchess pretended
to act with perfect justice in dividing the old gowns, mantles, and
head-dresses among the bed-chamber women and dressers of her majesty,
they all declared that she invariably kept the best of them for herself.
Seeing that Abigail Hill fared badly in the distribution, the queen made
her some liberal presents, as well as Mrs. Danvers, whose dismissal the
jealous duchess had frequently urged. But this liberality only increased
the squabble over the old clothes, and the duchess declared that they
were all hers by right.
Once when this Mrs. Danvers, one of the bed-chamber {459}women, was so
ill that she believed herself to be dying, she sent for the Duchess of
Marlborough, and implored her to transfer her position with the queen
to her daughter, who would be entirely unprotected after her death. The
duchess declared her inability to do so, because of her being on bad
terms with her majesty. Finding that to be the case, the sick woman told
a long story about Abigail Hill's wickedness and general bad behavior,
and wound up her narrative by informing her visitor that said Abigail
had long been her secret enemy.
Queen Anne may have been desirous of dispensing charities, but the
Duchess of Marlborough held the purse-strings so tightly that she was
unable to do so. When she demanded a small sum of money, that tyrant
would frequently tell her that "it was not fit to squander away money
while so heavy a war lasted," though at that very time vast sums of the
public funds were annually supplied for the building of the duke's
house at Woodstock. A touching case of distress came under her majesty's
notice in the sad fate of Sir Andrew Foster, a gentleman who had spent
most of his life in the service of James II., and who had been ruined by
his adherence to that sovereign. He died of starvation, in a miserable
hut just outside of London, and Queen Anne was so shocked when she heard
it that she determined, as it was too late to relieve the unfortunate
Jacobite, he should at least be decently buried. For this object she was
forced to borrow twenty guineas of Lady Fretchville, for she could
not command so large a sum herself; and yet the Marlboroughs were then
drawing sixty-four thousand pounds per annum from the public purse.
Later the sum reached ninety-four thousand pounds.
[[A.D. 1707.]] The queen carried one extremely important point in
violent opposition to the powerful duchess, and that was the union
between Scotland and England. {460}This measure was passed in both
countries, signed and ratified in great state in the presence of the
Scottish commissioners, the English ministers, and both houses of
parliament. When Queen Anne signed this important ratification she said,
"The union with Scotland is the happiness of my reign."
On the same day, April 24, her majesty dissolved the English house of
commons, and summoned the first united parliament of Great Britain to
meet the following October. The signing of the union was then celebrated
by a grand national festival, and a few days later her majesty went
in solemn procession to St. Paul's Cathedral to return thanks for the
successful completion of this matter.
But it must not be supposed that the union was brought into working
order without a struggle, for in the course of a few weeks Scotland was
almost in a state of open rebellion. It was the queen's policy to
extend mildness and mercy to all offenders, which was a great deal more
effective than shedding blood on the scaffold; for in a very little
while she was universally acknowledged as sovereign of both England and
Scotland.
Sixteen Scottish noblemen represented their country in parliament, and
there was a good deal of jealousy aroused on account of favors shown
them by her majesty. At her accession she had declared, "That her heart
was entirely English," and this sentence was inscribed on some of her
medals, so when she showed partiality to the Scotch an English satirist
wrote:--
"The queen has lately lost a part
Of her 'entirely English heart,'
For want of which by way of botch
She pieced it up again with Scotch."
For some reason, not necessary for us to inquire into, the Duke of
Hamilton was denied a seat in parliament; {461}and in order to console
him for the injury, Queen Anne consented to stand godmother in person to
his third son. She gave the child her own name, and from his infancy
he was called "Lord Anne." Some years later Lord Anne Hamilton was
celebrated as a valiant soldier.
To return to the palace dissensions. The Duchess of Marlborough became
at last furiously jealous of Abigail Hill, and probably opposed her
marriage, otherwise it would not have been managed so secretly as it
was. She was engaged to Samuel Masham, a page to the queen, and it
seems a very undignified proceeding for her majesty to have consented to
witness a secret marriage, in a remote part of her palace, between two
people who were not under obligations of duty to any one unless it was
herself. But such was really the arrangement, and only proves that all
parties stood in mortal terror of the duchess's wrath. How long this
union would have remained secret it is impossible to tell, had not the
queen thought proper to dower the bride from her own private purse,
and as soon as she demanded the sum she chose to present, of course the
watchful duchess set to work to find out to what purpose it was to be
put. She had began to suspect that there was a mystery, and it did not
take her more than a week to ferret it out. No sooner were her spies set
on the right track than they made another discovery that was forthwith
reported to the duchess with an accuracy and assiduity worthy of a
better cause. It was this: "That Mrs. Masham spent about two hours every
day with the queen in private, while the prince, who was a confirmed
invalid, took his afternoon nap."
Now did the duchess see, at last, who had forestalled her in her devoted
"Mrs. Morley's" good graces; she only awaited a favorable opportunity to
unbottle the phials of her wrath, and pour them on the heads of both
the offenders. {462}The enormity of the crime shocked her. "I was struck
with astonishment at such an instance of ingratitude," she wrote her
husband, "and should not have believed it had there been any room for
doubt."
In reply to her very exaggerated statement of a trivial affair, the
duke wrote some good advice. His letter was sent from Meldest, in South
Germany, and he said: "The wisest thing is to have to do with as few
people as possible. If you are sure Mrs. Masham speaks of business to
the queen, I should think you might, with some caution, tell her of it,
which would do good, for she certainly must be grateful, and will mind
what you say."
The duchess did not heed this advice of her clear-headed husband,
but kept herself up to a pitch of excitement at what she called the
barbarity, ingratitude, and wickedness of the queen. She accused her,
too, of intrigue, though why the conversations she held with one of her
attendants at the bedside of her declining husband should be so called
it is difficult to understand. Her majesty treated Abigail Masham with
confidence and consideration, because she assisted in the care of the
prince-consort, who suffered from fearful attacks of asthma, and it was
this attendant's duty to sleep at night on a pallet in the ante-chamber
of her majesty's bed-room, within call.
Not long after the duchess discovered the marriage, when she was alone
with the queen one day, she took her to task for having kept it secret,
and told her that it plainly showed a change in her majesty's feeling
towards her. The queen replied, "That it was not _she_ who was changed,
but the duchess," and added, "I believe I have begged Masham a hundred
times to tell you of her marriage, but she would not."
This confession convinced the angry duchess that she had been a subject
of discussion, and she became more indignant {463}than ever to think
that so humble a person as her cousin Abigail should presume to speak
with her majesty about so high and mighty a creature as herself. She
determined to give the young woman a sound rating, but changed her
mind, and wrote her an angry, undignified letter instead. But Sarah
of Marlborough was not particularly well educated, and made as grave
blunders as did her majesty in her attempts at letter-writing. Mrs.
Masham, on the other hand, was a woman of talent, and wrote so well in
reply as not only to astonish her correspondent, but to convince her
that with the pen, at least, she was far her superior, and a person who
could ably defend herself against any attack made on paper. Perhaps
it would have been well had she explained the accident that caused the
queen to overhear the duchess express her loathing and hatred of herself
the day when she had put on the gloves by mistake. Abigail Masham might
have written, "It was your shameful ingratitude, your offensive remarks,
that changed her majesty's heart towards you;" but the secret was not
hers, and there is no evidence of her having betrayed her royal mistress
all the while she served her.
The queen's unwise consent to witness the secret marriage between
Abigail Hill and Samuel Masham was all the proof the Duchess of
Marlborough needed that she had been supplanted in the royal favor, and
from that moment whatever change she observed she laid at the door of
her successor. Some one has very wisely said of Mrs. Masham's turning
her back on the duchess: "She was her near relative, and the defect of
base ingratitude seems to run in her family. The duchess should have
chosen her watch-dog on the queen, when she became too grand or
too indolent to perform that needful office, from a better breed."
{464}Previous to her majesty's removal to Windsor for the summer, a
very odd circumstance occurred, which we will leave the duchess and her
wrangling for awhile to relate. It is about Prince Matveof, ambassador
of Peter the Great of Russia. Having been recalled to Russia, the prince
attended the queen's levee for the purpose of taking formal leave of
her. No sooner had he left the palace than he was arrested for debt on
a writ of Mr. Morton, lace dealer of Covent Garden, and locked up in
the bailiff's house. The noble Russian had fought desperately, without
seeming to understand why he was seized, and wounded several of the
bailiff's men quite seriously. The next day the bill of fifty pounds
was paid, and the matter explained; but, as the prince had not had
the slightest intention of defrauding the tradesman, he was justly
indignant, and left England thoroughly disgusted. When he got home the
czar resented the indignity offered to his ambassador by putting a stop
to intercourse of trade, adding a threat of declaration of war. Queen
Anne entered into an elaborate explanation, and assured the czar that
the insult did not originate from any wrong intended by her or her
ministers, but arose from the rudeness of a tradesman. But his Russian
highness was by no means satisfied, so he wrote a very formidable
document requesting "the high and mighty Princess Anne, Queen of Great
Britain and Ireland, to return him, by bearer, the head of Morton, the
lace dealer of Covent Garden, together with the heads and hands of any
of his aids and abettors in the assault upon Prince Matveof that her
majesty might have incarcerated in her dungeons and prisons."
The queen was perfectly amazed at this demand for the heads and hands of
her subjects, and requested her secretary "to assure the czar that she
had not the disposal of {465}any heads in her kingdom excepting those
forfeited by the infraction of certain laws, which Mr. Morton and his
assistants had not trespassed." The czar either could not, or would not,
understand that Englishmen did not have their heads and hands chopped
off at the caprice of the crown, and an angry correspondence was
continued between the Russian and English governments for two years.
At last a happy idea struck the queen, and she sent Mr. Whitworth, a
gentleman who understood Russian customs, to say, "that although nothing
had been acted against Prince Matveof but what the English law allowed,
yet those laws were very bad and inhospitable ones, and that her majesty
had had them repealed, so that his imperial highness's ambassadors could
never again be subjected to such an injury."
This was no compliment, but a fact; for from that incident laws were
caused to be made that protected ambassadors and their suites from
arrest, which are in force to the present day. Such laws were sadly
needed during Queen Anne's reign to prevent scenes of violence; for
ambassadors took precedence according to the supposed rank of the
sovereigns they represented. This being the case, the representatives
of France and Spain, the two countries that were always at war, had a
regular fight, aided by their retinues, at all public processions; they
even went so far as to cut the traces of each other's coaches, lest the
line should be broken and one dash in before the other. It is needless
to say that the London populace immensely enjoyed such contests, and the
"roughs" invariably gathered where the "mounseers," as they called them,
were most likely to begin the fight. Sometimes they were quite serious,
and more than one man lost his life while combating for position.
{466}