ever, conceived their services insufficiently valued by the new rulers, and, for their own ends, they fomented quarrels between the princess and her sister, and formed a "Princess's party," which seriously embarrassed the government of William III.

Anne became queen, March 8, 1702, and as Marlborough was ambitious of military glory, the war which William had commenced was vigorously prosecuted until the proud Louis XIV. was constrained to sue for peace. The war had been marked by the great victories of Blenheim, Ramillies and Oudenarde; it had made Marlborough a duke, and had given him a princely estate; he had no wish to forego the further enormous gains which its continuance might produce, and Louis's proposals were peremptorily rejected. But the downfall of the Marlboroughs was near at hand, and when it occurred it changed the aspect of affairs in Europe.

After a thirty years' rule the imperious duchess was supplanted by a waiting-woman (Mrs. Masham), and on the fall of their patron the Whig ministry were driven from office. They were replaced by Harley and other Tories. These men, intent on forwarding the queen's views with regard to the succession, made a hasty and inglorious peace, by which they abandoned their allies, and allowed the Spanish crown to become the prize of the arts (and apparently the bribes) of Louis. They then entered into intrigues for the purpose of setting aside the Protestant succession as marked out by the Act of Settlement, but their measures were retarded by dissensions among themselves, and were at last frustrated by the somewhat

Evelyn, incidentally mentioning Marlborough | in his Diary, appends the significant remark, 'Note, this was the lord who was entirely advanced by King James, and was the first who betrayed and forsook his master." Such glaring ingratitude has naturally provoked much severe remark, but Marlborough has been censured even more heavily than he deserved. His whole career shewed that the love of wealth had a much greater influence than it should have had on a man of such commanding genius, yet it is certain that his faults and failings have been exaggerated with malignant ingenuity, and particularly that the charges of peculation brought against him in 1711 were mere political manœuvres of unscrupulous adversaries. It is painful to think that a man who was himself most placable when offended, and lenient to delinquents (as in the case of Stephens-see A.D. 1707), should be pursued, even beyond the grave, as the

sudden death of the queen, Aug. 1, 1714, which brought to a close the rule of the House of Stuart.

Though much the greater part of Anne's reign was passed in war, and party feeling was indulged to an extravagant extent, a time and opportunity was found to ameliorate the condition of the Church, by restoring, for the augmentation of poor livings, a portion of its goods, forcibly torn away at the period of the Reformation; literature was adorned by many distinguished names, so that the period has been flatteringly termed the Augustan age; and the Union with Scotland, which the wisest statesmen had desired for the preceding century, was accomplished; a measure, it must be confessed, not popular with the bulk of either nation at the time, but from which both have subsequently derived many, and lasting advantages.

Anne married Prince George of Denmark, a man of coarse habits and of little influence, who died October 28, 1708. Their children were four daughters and one son who died in infancy, and one child, William, born July 24, 1689, who was created Duke of Gloucester, by William III., his godfather, and of whom great hopes were entertained; but he died shortly after his twelfth birthday (July 30, 1700), and his death gave occasion to a new settlement of the crown.

In the early part of Anne's reign the royal arms were the same as those of her father, but the motto was “SEMPER EADEM." The union with Scotland occasioned a change of armorial bearings; and they then appeared, England and Scotland impaled, in the first and fourth quarter; France in the second; and Ireland in the third. On

vilest of criminals, and worst of all, that the heavi est charges should be again brought forward at the present day, although the very slender foundations on which they rest have been conclusively shewn long ago.

See A.D. 1701.

d The earl of Marlborough was appointed his governor, with a flattering speech from William, who did not often indulge in compliments: "My lord, make him but what you are, and my nephew will be all I wish to see him." To meet William's views a military taste was sedulously fostered in the child; a corps of boys was raised for him, who were drilled and armed, and mounted guard at his quarters, Campden-house, Kensington, and he passed the greater part of his time in "playing at soldiers" with them. But he proved to be weak alike in mind and body, and the expectations indulged in were doomed to disappointment.

the great seal prepared in the year of the Union we have England and Scot

Arms of Anne, before the Union.

Anne was, during her lifetime and long after, popularly known as the "good Queen Anne," and she appears to have had kindness of heart entitling her to the appellation. Unwisely giving way to the ascendency of the playfellow of her childhood, she was led to take part against her father, and to quarrel on a matter of money with her sister; but her heart evidently yearned for her brother, and she would willingly have secured his succession to the throne after her death, though not possessing the self-denial to resign it in

was at once elegant, refined, and virtuous; her charities were munificent; and her reign has this happy distinction from all preceding ones, that in it no arm was raised against the sovereign, and no subject's blood was shed for treason'.

A.D. 1702.

Anne succeeds to the throne, March 8. She is crowned, April 23. The parliament in being at the queen's accession sits till May 25.

In 1703 Simon Fraser (afterwards Lord Lovat, | and a desperate intriguer) professed to disclose a plan for the invasion of Scotland, and in 1708 James Edward landed there, but he was obliged to retire without striking a blow. Two persons were arrested in consequence of Fraser's information, of whom one died in prison before he could be brought to trial, but the other was pardoned.

f One William Gregg, it is true, was executed for what was legally styled treason, but his offence in reality was that of a needy public servant who betrayed state secrets for money, and had nothing of the personal dislike to the sovereign or her measures usually found in the traitor. He was a clerk in the office of the secretary of state, and he abused his trust, by inclosing information for the French

The queen in her first speech to the parliament recommends to them the union of England and Scotland, March 11.

An act passed for the support of the royal households, [1 Ann. c. 1].

The queen empowered to appoint commissioners to treat for union between England and Scotland, [c. 8].

Bernardi and five others continued in prison during the queen's pleasure", [c. 23].

Jews obliged to maintain and provide for any of their children who may become Protestants, [c. 24].

ministry in the letters of Marshal Tallard, then a prisoner in England, which in the course of business passed through his hands for examination and sealing.

This granted the same sums as had been enjoyed by William, but the queen in giving her assent to it, declared that while her subjects remained under such heavy burdens she would straiten herself in her own expenses, and would devote £100,000 a-year out of her own revenue towards the public service.

h See A.D. 1696. One of the number, James Counter, was after a while released, but the rest remained in custody during the whole of the queen's reign.

An act passed for the relief of insolvent debtors', [c. 19].

The earl of Marlborough is sent to Holland as ambassador, in order to concert measures for "the preservation of the common liberty of Europe, and for reducing the power of France within due bounds." He has an audience of the States, March 31, and a vigorous prosecution of the war is resolved on.

The earl of Nottingham is appointed secretary of state and Lord Godolphin treasurer.

War proclaimed against France and Spain, May 4.

The earl of Marlborough is declared captain-general of the land forces, and Prince George of Denmark lord high admiral, May 21.

Marlborough is appointed to the command of the allied armies; he speedily drives the French out of Venloo and Ruremond.

Sir John Munden fails to intercept a French fleet bound for the West

i No person was to be discharged unless he had been in prison six months, nor, if under 40 years of age, unless he was willing to serve as a soldier or sailor. There is another act on the same subject [2 & 3 Ann. c. 10], which allowed a person to be discharged without personal service if he could find

a substitute.

Sydney Godolphin rose from the post of page to a lordship of the treasury under Charles II., and, from his valuable business habits, he became indispensable to the new and inexperienced men brought forward by the revolution. He was, perhaps in consequence, greatly disliked and distrusted by them, but retained office until accused by Sir John Fenwick of correspondence with the court of St. Germain's, which obliged him to retire. He was now, by the influence of Marlborough, placed at the head of the treasury, and he gave his cordial aid in support of Marlborough's views, to whom, indeed, he was considered so essential, that one of the first steps afterwards taken to derange the plans and stop the career of the great general was the dismissal of Godolphin, which Harley accomplished in the year 1710. Godolphin was very instrumental in procuring the grant of the first-fruits for the Church, and also in bringing about the union with Scotland. The building of Greenwich Hospital likewise was much forwarded by him; Evelyn remarks, that while all the great men were profuse of promises, Godolphin was the first who gave money towards it. He died in 1712.

He had formerly shewn himself a brave and active officer, and was declared by the court martial that tried him to have behaved with great zeal and diligence, yet he was, like the earl of Torrington, sacrificed to political animosity (see A.D. 1690). He died in retirement in 1718.

He was the grandson of the great duke, so long lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and twice held that office himself. He was one of the first to join the prince of Orange, afterwards attended him in his campaigns in Ireland and Flanders, and was severely wounded at Landen. His reputation as a soldier, however, was not high, but he was appointed in 1712 to succeed the great Marlborough,

the design being that nothing of importance should be attempted. Ormond was rewarded for this treacherous inactivity with the wardenship of the Cinque Ports, but on the accession of George I. he was impeached, and having withdrawn to France was attainted, and his estates, valued at more than £20,000 per annum, confiscated; his brother, however, was allowed to repurchase them. The duke resided chiefly at Avignon, the court of James Ed. ward, living on a pension from the crown of Spain, and dying Nov. 16, 1745, his remains were brought to England, and buried in his family vault in Westminster Abbey.

Benbow had but seven ships, while the French had fifteen; this alarmed four of his captains, who positively refused to join in the action. The admiral followed with two vessels only, and when he outsailed these, having come up with the sternmost French ship, (Aug. 24,) he made three attempts in person to carry it by boarding, and was desperately wounded in the arm and the face; soon after his right leg was shattered by a chain shot, but having had his wounds dressed, he insisted on being again carried on deck, and lay there in his cot, directing the action, until the whole French fleet bore up, rescued his opponent, and reduced his own ship to a mere wreck, by distant firing, but did not attempt to board it. Benbow was now obliged to retire to Jamaica, where he died, as much perhaps of rage and grief as of his wounds, Nov. 4, 1702. Of the captains who deserted him, Thomas Hudson died before he could be brought to trial; John Constable was cashiered, by sentence of court martial; and Richard Kirkby and Cooper Wade were shot at Plymouth, April 16, 1703.

• This was the fleet which Benbow had sought to capture. Several of the vessels, with their treasure on board, still remain at the bottom of the harbour. but would probably long ago have been raised, if the Spanish government would have consented to give a liberal share to companies set on foot in England for the purpose. A "Vigo venture" was formed only as lately as 1869, but its promoters could not obtain what they considered suitable terms, and therefore abandoned the project.

sits till Feb. 27, 1703. Robert Harley is chosen Speaker.

Violent debates occur in the convocation, and the terms High Church and Low Church come into use, mainly as distinguishing the opponents and the favourers of a comprehension of dissenters. Dr. Atterbury is a leading man among the former.

A land-tax granted for carrying on the war against France and Spain, [1 Ann. stat. 2, c. 1].

Money raised by the sale of annuities payable at the Exchequer to support the war', [c. 5].

Marlborough captures Liege, Oct. 23. Marlborough returns to England, is thanked in parliament, and created a duke.

The Protestants of the south of France take up arms, and receive succours from England and Holland.

t

A.D. 1703.

The Scottish parliament meets, May 6. An attempt is made to procure a legal toleration of the episcopalians, but it is defeated. Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun brings forward a Bill of Security, proposing to limit the royal authority to very narrow bounds, which is dropped; but no supplies are granted, and the parliament, after a most tumultuous sitting, is adjourned.

P Francis Atterbury was born near Newport Pagnell in 1662, was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and was one of the court chaplains to William III. He took a prominent part in the disputes regarding the rights of Convocation, was in 1712 preferred from the deanery of Carlisle to that of Christ Church, Oxford, and in the following year was made bishop of Rochester and dean of Westminster. He was a warm partisan of the Stuarts, and was in consequence sent to the Tower in 1722. In the next year, legal evidence not being forthcoming, he was banished by a special act of parliament, and went to France, being, as he conceived, betrayed by Bolingbroke, who returned to England at the very same time. Bishop Atterbury died in France in 1732, but his body was brought to England and buried in Westminster Abbey. He is now generally considered to have been very harshly treated for his political opinions, and not for any treasonable acts, and it is certain that he was an eloquent preacher, an elegant poet, and most amiable and exemplary in private life.

This tax was estimated to produce £1,979,931 19s. id.

Natural-born subjects were to be allowed to advance £87,630, and were to receive for it annuities at the rate of £14 for every £210 paid, for a period of 89 years, a most improvident arrange

ment.

On his voyage down the Maese towards the Hague he was stopped (Nov. 4,) by a straggling party from the French garrison at Gueldres, but coolly producing an old passport which had been formerly granted to his brother, he was allowed to proceed, though his escort was captured.

The Irish parliament passes a law making it treason to impeach the Protestant succession, [2 Ann. c. 5]; also an act for the naturalization of foreign Protestants, [c. 14]. It adds to the severity of the existing laws against Romanists, by new statutes [cc. 3, 6, 7], one of which directs the Romanist clergy to register themselves, on pain of banishment, and the penalties of treason if they return, [c. 7].

The Methuen treaty concluded with Portugal", May 6.

Marlborough captures Bonn, Huy, Limburg, and other places. On the other hand the French cross the Rhine, defeat the imperialists at Hochstadt and at Spires, and capture Augsburg.

Charles, an Austrian archduke, assumes the title of Charles III. of Spain, Sept. 12. He is assisted by the English, Dutch, and Portuguese.

The queen, by letters patent, of Nov. 3, restores the first-fruits and tenths to the Church.

The parliament meets Nov. 9, and sits till April 3, 1704.

A tempest, known as the Great Storm, ravages the coast of England, from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1, and does enormous damage.

A quarrel occurs between the two

He was the son of a Scottish knight, was born in 1653, and was early left an orphan. His tutor, Gilbert Burnet, inspired him with an idea of imitating the great republicans of antiquity, and he thus took so active a part in opposition to the government, that while still a very young man he was obliged to retire to Holland, and his estate was confiscated. He was one of the most active of the refugees, and accompanied Monmouth in his invasion, but was obliged to withdraw in a few days, having killed one of his associates in a quarrel. Fletcher then served in Hungary against the Turks, and having recovered his estate in consequence of the Revolution, he became an active member of the Scottish Parliament, where he forwarded the Darien scheme, supported the Hanoverian succession, and opposed the Union with vehemence near akin to frenzy. He carried his admiration of antiquity so far as to propose, in his "Discourses on Public Affairs," reducing all beggars to slavery. All accounts agree in representing him as a man of intolerably proud, fierce, and unrelenting temper, and he died little regretted in 1716.

The Portuguese had in 1701 made a treaty with Louis XIV. to support his views upon Spain, but they were now induced by the concession of various commercial privileges to join the allies.

Twelve ships and 1,500 men of the royal navy were lost, beside very many merchant vessels. Bishop Kidder and his wife were killed by the fall of a part of the episcopal palace at Wells; several of the colleges at Cambridge received great injury; and the lightning destroyed much agricultural produce.

Houses as to an alleged plot for the invasion of Scotland".

Another quarrel arises between the Lords and Commons concerning a disputed election, which endures until the prorogation of parliament'.

The Scottish Order of the Thistle is re-established", Dec. 31.

y Lord Lovat (Simon Fraser) accused the duke of Athol (John Murray) and others of a secret correspondence with the Court at St. Germains. The Peers, headed by Lord Somers, investigated the matter, and indirectly charged the earl of Nottingham, the secretary of state, with concealing the real facts of the case; the Commons then declared that such investigations belonged only to their House; and the Scottish Parliament afterwards expressed itself injured that a matter relating to Scotland had been discussed elsewhere. In consequence of these disputes, no one was punished, and Lovat persisted for many years in a course of violence and intrigue, betraying all parties, and gaining money alike from the Jacobites and the Hanoverians. At length, at the age of 80, he was brought under the law. He was beheaded on Tower-hill, April 9, 1747, asserting, in a Latin quotation, his gratification at "dying for his country,' and maintaining an appearance of philosophic composure hardly to be expected from a man whose ife had been so deeply stained with crime.

Party feeling ran very high at Aylesbury, and the returning officers of that town refused to receive the votes of several of the burgesses. One Ashby obtained a verdict against them for this, which, though set aside by the court of Queen's Bench, was affirmed by the House of Lords, and in consequence five other persons brought similar actions. The Commons declared that the cognizance of disputed elections belonged only to their House, committed the complainants and their agents to Newgate, and held angry conferences with the Lords; the latter passed resolutions condemning these proceedings, both Houses also addressed the queen, and she was at length obliged to terminate the dispute by proroguing the parliatent. The Commons, however, were victorious, and have ever since acted on the right then claimed; out in 1868 they delegated their power of inquiry 40 certain judges, who report to the House.

This order is fabulously said to have been

Collar and Badge of the Order of the Thistle.

A.D. 1704.

The earl of Nottingham retires from the ministry. Harley becomes secretary of state, and St. John and Howe take office.

The queen's gift for the augmentation of the maintenance of the poor clergy confirmed ", [2 & 3 Ann. c. 20].

founded by Achaius, in the eighth century, in commemoration of a victory gained over a king of Northumbria. It was revived in 1540 by James V., and in 1687 by James VII. (II. of England), but had in each case been suffered to fall into disuse.

Henry St. John, born at Battersea in 1672, was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford. He had for some time been an active member of Parliament, and he now became secretary of war, but resigned the post early in 1708. On the dis

Arms of St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke.

missal of the Whig ministry St. John came into office with Harley, and he was in 1712 created Viscount Bolingbroke. He entered into the queen's views with regard to the succession of her brother, but the plan was frustrated, mainly owing to his rivalry with Harley, and soon after the accession of George I. he fled, disguised as a valet, to France, when he was attainted. Bolingbroke now became secretary to James Edward, but was distrusted by him, and having made his s peace with the government, he was allowed to return to England in 1723. He employed himself with literature for awhile, and also busied himself in fomenting the differences between George II. and his son, Frederic prince of Wales. Impatient of his clusion from public life, he again withdrew to France, but he returned to England in 1744, and died at his native place, in 1751, leaving the character of an elegant writer, but equally well known as an unbeliever, a dishonest politician, and a man of detestable private character.

John Howe, a Nottinghamshire man, described by Evelyn as "little better than a madman," had been an officer of the household in the preceding reign, but had been dismissed, and expressed himself in the House of Commons with so much bitterness against the Dutch, the Partition Treaties, and a standing army, that William regarded him as a personal enemy. He was now made paymaster of the forces, and retained the office until 1708, when he was displaced by Walpole. He died a 1721. Having changed more than once from Whig to Tory and from Tory to Whig, and always em ploying vehement language against the party he had left, Howe bears a bad character, but it is to his credit that he originated the system of perma nent half-pay to disbanded officers; before his time, when a war was ended they were cast off without any provision.

The preamble of this act, which established the corporation known as the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty, states that no sufficient settled