On the death of William, Anne succeeded peaceably to the crown. She was then in the thirty-ninth year of her 1702 age: she had married, in 1683, George, son of Frederick III., king of Denmark, and had many children, who all died in their infancy, except one son, prince George, whom I mentioned to you at the end of William's reign. This young prince lived to be eleven years old. His death was occasioned by catching cold, after having been heated with dancing. It caused the most bitter grief to his parents, especially to his mother, who after that event never regained her former vivacity. Anne had a good natural capacity, but it had been very little cultivated. Her temper was

mild and obliging: she attached herself ardently to her friends and favourites, and often suffered herself to be too much influenced by them. In private life she would have been an 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. The undivided administration of government was vested in the queen, prince George having no greater dignities in the state than those of generalissimo of the queen's forces, and of lord high admiral. He was a man, indeed, who had no wish to interfere in the management of public affairs. The political animosities between the Whigs and the Tories ran very high during the whole of this reign. The leading difference in the views of the two parties was on the subject of the succession to the crown, in case Anne should die without children. The Tories were in favour of the pretender and of the house of Stuart, while the Whigs were friends to the house of Hanover and the Protestant succession, as established by the act of settlement in the latter end of William's reign.

Louis XIV. was now become more than ever formidable to all the other states of Europe; his power having been greatly augmented by the devolution of the crown of Spain to his grandson the duke of Anjou, to whom Charles II., the late king of Spain, had left it, contrary to his promise to the archduke Charles, son of the emperor of Germany. The duke of Anjou had thus become king of Spain, by the title of Philip V. The curbing of this exorbitant power, and the placing the archduke on the throne of Spain, were the great objects of the alliance which had been made, towards the close of William's reign, between the Dutch, the king of England, and the emperor.

Anne, on her accession, declared herself resolved to pursue the same line of policy in which her predecessor had engaged so warmly and she sent Marlborough to conduct the war on the continent, at the same time appointing him ambassador to the Dutch; whose confidence he acquired so thoroughly, 1702 that they also invested him with the chief command of

their own army.

The first campaign was on the whole successful, but was not distinguished by any great event. There is a story told of a remarkable escape from being taken prisoner, which, on the dispersion of the troops into winter quarters, Marlborough himself met with. He had embarked on the Meuse, (in Flanders,) in the month of November, with some Dutch deputies, and a guard of soldiers,

and was intending to return to the Hague. At the close of evening, some French troops who had been lurking about, and were on the watch for plunder, suddenly darted out from amongst the reeds by the river side, and seizing the hauling rope, rushed into the boat. 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 pass- 1702 port in his pocket, slipped it into bis hand; and the

French officer, not taking 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 been all carried off by a party of the enemy.

In the spring of the next year, 1703, Marlborough, who was now created a duke, rejoined the allied army in Flan- 1703 ders, and the war was carried on on both sides with great activity. The year following, 1704, a junction was formed between the English and Dutch army, and that of the Imperialists; and the seat of the war was transferred to the Danube, (in Germany), where the French, with whom the Bavarians had joined, had a powerful army. Admiral Sir George Rooke and Sir Cloudesley Shovel captured the town and fortress of Gib. raltar (in Spain). It stands on a huge rock, inaccessible 1704 on all sides but one; and is of great importance for protecting trade, and for the preparation and equipment of armies. On the 11th of August the combined armies, under the command of Marlborough aud prince Eugene, came in sight of the enemy, who were advantageously posted on a hill near Hochstadt, on the banks of the Danube, and not far from the village of Blenheim. On the 13th a most severe battle was fought between the two armies, in which the imprudence of Tallard, the French general, and the skill of Marlborough, decided the victory for the allies. The French and Bavarian army had amounted, before the battle, to sixty thousand men, ten thousand of whom were left dead upon the field; and many more perished in attempting to cross the Danube. Thirteen thousand were taken prisoners, and they lost a hundred pieces of cannon, besides an immense quantity of baggage, which fell into the hands of the allies. The consequences of this great victory were very important. 1704 The emperor took entire possession of Bavaria, and the

broken army of the French was obliged immediately to retreat beyond the Rhine.

The duke of Marlborough was from this time looked up to as

the greatest commander of his age. Compliments and honours were heaped on him by the emperor, and on his return to England he was received with universal joy. The queen bestowed on him the royal manor of Woodstock, near Oxford, and a noble mansion was there built for him at the public expense, and in honour of his great victory was named Blenheim.

In the meantime the archduke Charles had applied for the assistance of England in asserting his claim to the crown of Spain; and a fleet was sent, under Sir George Rooke, to convey him to Lisbon, (in Portugal,) where he landed. From thence he march. ed into Spain, with a considerable body of forces, but was unable to make any progress.

In 1705 a fleet was sent, under Sir Cloudesly Shovel, having on board five thousand soldiers, commanded by the earl of Peterborough, to the assistance of the archduke. The 1705 fleet, taking the archduke on board at Lisbon, sailed for the coast of Catalonia, (in Spain), where he was supposed to have many friends. Barcelona, though defended by a large garrison, was now forced to surrender, chiefly through the extraordi nary vigour and ability with which Peterborough pressed the siege. The exploits of this extraordinary man have all the character of the age of chivalry. Though at the head of very inconsiderable forces, he at one time had nearly gained Spain for the archduke, whom he caused to be proclaimed as Charles III., and he almost drove Philip V. out of Spain. But in the midst of his victorious career he was recalled to England, and the command of the army in Spain was given to the earl of Galway, who, being joined by a body of Portuguese, encountered the army of Philip at Almauza. The Portuguese took to flight at the very first charge, and the English were obliged to surrender prisoners of war. On this defeat the whole of Spain, excepting Catalonia. where the war was continued for many years afterwards, abaudoned the cause of the archduke. The detailed history of lord Peterborough's expedition is more like the adventures of a romance than a series of facts that really happened.

In 1707 Sir Cloudesly Shovel's ship, with three others, were wrecked on the rocks of Scilly. Sir Cloudesly perished; and out of the four ships' crews only one captain and twenty-four seamen were saved.

In the following year prince George of Denmark died. He suffered greatly from the asthma, and the queen attended him with the most assiduous attention during the whole of his illness, and was sincerely grieved at his death.

The duke of Marlborough meanwhile increased his renown

abroad, and gained many splendid victories; of which the most celebrated are those of the Ramillies, (in Belgium,) which was fought on the 23rd of May, 1706; of Oudenarde, (in Belgium), fought July 11, 1708; and of Malplaquet, (in Belgium), Sept. 11, 1709. All this time, however, his enemies and rivals at home were busily employed in endeavouring to undermine his favour with the queen; and they at last succeeded. Mr. Harley, afterwards lord Oxford, supplanted him in the cabinet; and a Mrs. Masham supplanted the duchess of Marlborough as the queen's confidante and favourite. Perhaps the imperious temper of the duchess at last wore out the queen's regard.

Marlborough, as his favour diminished at the court, appears to have lost also the affections of the people; a circumstance certainly very extraordinary, considering his splendid success as a general. On coming to England, in 1710, instead of being caressed and honoured as formerly, and received with a triumphant welome, he saw himself insulted and reviled. He re- 1710 turned once more to the allied army, and continued to conduct the affairs of the war with his usual ability and success: but such is the malevolence of party, that the Tories, at the head of whom was lord Oxford, took all the opportunities of disparag ing and underrating him, even in respect to his military talents. At last, in 1711, they succeeded in procuring his dismissal from all his appointments. Marlborough withdrew 1711 from the injustice of his countrymen, and retired to the continent, where he continued during the remainder of Anne's reign. In January, 1712, a treaty for a general peace was opened at Utrecht, (in Holland); but it was so difficult to adjust the claims of the many different states which had taken part in the war, that the negociations could not be brought to an end 1713 till the year 1713, when the treaty of Utrecht was signed.

The chief articles of this treaty which concerned England were, that Louis should resign Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Hudson's Bay, and the island of St. Christopher's to the English, that he should abandon the cause of the Pretender, and acknowledge Anne and the Protestant succession. The Pretender, who had now assumed the name of the Chevalier St. George, protested ineffectually against this article of the treaty. Louis, however, still afforded him protection. He had married a daughter of John Sobieski, king of Poland; a princess of a very exalted character, and far superior to himself both in capacity and merit. He had two sons, Charles Edward, and Henry. The eldest was afterwards known as the young Pretender, to distinguish him from his fa