We are now to quit the scene of active operations, and take a retrospect of a less flattering nature. The Du chess of Marlborough having long considered herself the directress of the queen, forgot in her husband's pros perity, the moderation incumbent on a subject. She ne glected a due attention to her sovereign, and opened the way for others to undermine her in the royal favour. The two principal agents of the political revolution which ensued, were Mrs Hill, afterwards Mrs Masham, and Harley, afterwards Earl of Oxford. The queen was earnestly desirous to be relieved from the domineering interference of the Duchess, but was very unwilling to lose the Duke's services. Hence, at one time, she found herself obliged to dismiss Harley, greatly against her will. But the humbled state of France, and the offers made by Louis for peace in 1709, joined to the enormous expen diture of war, gave weight to Marlborough's political op ponents, and enabled the queen soon after to accomplish a change of ministry. Her husband's death, her own in firm health, compunction for her conduct in early life to wards her father, and an aversion to bloodshed, all con curred to make her desire to close her reign in peace. She regarded, and with reason, Marlborough's conduct in the late negociations, as one of the principal obstacles to a termination of hostility. The public, relieved from apprehension, and seeing no British interest at stake, was no longer solicitous to prolong a contest by which Austria was to be a chief gainer. The Dutch were ac tuated by similar feelings, but their leading men con tinued to be influenced by Marlborough. The latter went every advisable length in opposition to the change of ministry, and finding, at last, that he could not pre vent it, made, like a true politician, a merit of necessity, and declared that he would henceforth interfere no more in her majesty's civil affairs, but confine his services to his profession. The weight of his reputation obliged the new ministry to keep him in the command more than a twelvemonth after the fall of his political adherents ; and it was not until the end of 1711, that they ventured to deprive him of his employments. This took place af ter bringing forward certain charges of appropriating to his own use, funds belonging, as they said, to the public. The specific charge consisted in the acceptance, on the part of the duke, of 50001. sterling a year, from the contractor for army bread. The duke explained that this and other payments formed a regular allowance to the commander in chief, who, in return, took on himself the whole expellee of the secret service. King William, he added, had received in great part those *allowances for which he was now censured. Though the Duke's defence is, according to our present notion of a general's honour, unsatisfactory, the wonder is, that, with such op portunity as lie possessed, and such a fondness for nio ney as has been imputed to him, his enemies should not have discovered much weightier charges against him.
The accusation, such as it was, having produced con siderable effect on the public mind, ministers ventured to transfer the command of the forces to a different gene ral. It was in vain that the allies intreated them to let the Duke keep his command, and that Prince Eugene came over to London to endeavour to recall the queen to cordiality in the war. All would not do, and the
prince had no other satisfaction than that of sheaving, that change of fortune made no alteration in his beha viour towards his illustrious associate in arms. Policy, it is said, in his Memoirs, would have dictated a different course—The way to succeed with the queen and her new ministers, would have been to shun and decry Marlbo rough; but " I threw myself," says the prince, " with rapture into his arms, and the English nation, nay Marl borough's own enemies, must have esteemed me the more for it." The campaign of 1712 soon showed what the allied cause had lost by the change of a general. The Duke of Ormond was no Marlborough, and he was, moreover, restricted from co-operating offensively with the allies. This, and the too hazardous conduct of Prince Eugene, led to the check at Denain, which fur nished matter of great exultation to Villars, and led to a turn of the war in favour of the French. It is needless to add how miserably our affairs were managed at the trea ty of Utrecht.
During the year 1712, the Duke of Marlborough re mained as a private individual in England. Towards the end of the year he took the determination to go abroad. His course was by Ostend and Antwerp to Aix-la-Chapelle, at each of which places he was receiv ed with distinguished honour. He thence proceeded to visit the estate in Suabia, given him by the emperor of Germany, and afterwards passed some time at Hanover. His return to England happened to take place in 1714 at the time of the queen's death. On the accession of George I. lie was restored to all his honours, and decla red captain general and commander in chief of our land forces. In this capacity he was not long able to act an efficient part, for age and care had impaired both his mind and body. Soon after giving directions for check ing the rebellion in 1715, he retired from public busi ness, and passed his remaining years in the country. The decay of his faculties afforded, it is said, an affecting spectacle, when viewed in contrast with his former splen dour. His death took place at Windsor lodge in 1722, in his 73d year. He left no son, but four daughters, and his title has descended to the posterity of his second daughter.
It remains that we say a few words on a part of the Duke's conduct which has been much animadverted upon we mean his behaviour to the Stuart family. It ap pears, from " M'Pherson's State Papers," that he conti nued to give them hopes of a friendly disposition on his part, after he was evidently connected with the house of Hanover. it is manifest, was not partial to the Duke's memory, nor slow in bringing forward what ever could constitute a charge against him. At the same time, it would be contrary to historic fidelity to repre sent the Duke as much fairer than the majority of those who pass their life in courts and cabinets. He would have sided, in all probability, with either Hanover or Stu art, as best suited his political views, and might have leaned decidedly to the latter, had there been any hope of their conforming to the Protestant religion. Those Ivho accuse him of unbounded avarice will do well to recollect, that all the temptations of this nature, offered to him by the French court at the conferences of Ger truydenburg, were completely unavailing. (x)