Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/277

A.D. 1710.] influenced the conduct of Marlborough. The queen was more than suspected of being favourable to Sacheverel, as influenced by Harley, Mrs. Masham, and the tories. When the doctor appeared before the commons, he was attended by Dr. Lancaster, the vice-chancellor of Oxford, and above a hundred of the most distinguished clergymen of London and other towns, conspicuous amongst them being several of the queen's own chaplains. From the moment that Sacheverel was taken into custody by the commons, the church and tory party had set all their engines to work to raise the populace. These agents were everywhere, distributing money, treating the mob to ale, and spreading the most alarming rumours—that the puritans, the presbyterians, and the dissenters were all combined to pull down the church and restore the old republican practices—that the prosecution of Sacheverel was a trial of their strength. The pulpits resounded in all quarters with these alarms, with the intention of working up the people to a pitch of desperation, and they succeeded. The mob became furious, and paraded the streets and round the palace, crying, "God save the queen and Dr. Sacheverel! Queen and high church!"

Marlborough, aware of the queen's intention to dismiss lord Sunderland from his office, was doing his best to keep him there. He was almost daily mortified by seeing appointments, however, go to the other party. The earl of Essex dying, he asked the queen to bestow the lieutenancy of the Tower, which he had held, on the duke of Northumberland, a son of Charles II. The queen informed him that she had given it to lord Rivers, who was familiarly styled by the whigs, "Tyburn Dick." But there was a Jack, too, namely, Jack Hill, as he was called, the brother of Mrs. Masham, to whom the queen desired Marlborough to give the colonelcy of Essex's regiment. Hill was totally unfit for the command, and Marlborough had a strong ground upon which to resist this piece of favouritism—so especially unpalatable to him; and he begged leave to lay down his own command; whereupon the queen told him that he might do as he pleased with the colonelcy. Marlborough, feeling the ground sliding from under him, prayed the queen that she would allow the duchess to retire from her offices in the household on the conclusion of peace, and that she would be good enough to transfer the offices to his daughters. This was a point which the duchess had been urging before. The answer of the queen was evasive, but Marlborough represented it in his favour. This was probably the reason why he did not wish to drive matters to extremities by continuing to oppose Sacheverel, whom he saw the queen favoured; and he determined to depart before the trial came on.

But his subtle enemies about the queen took care not to allow his affected moderation to do him any good. Marlborough had once ventured to ask the queen to grant him the supreme command of the army for life in reward of his great victories—a request which only alarmed her majesty with the idea, if she did so, of setting over her a dictator. And now Harley and his party, through Mrs. Masham informed the queen that the victorious army commanded by the duke was getting up a petition in order to place him in the life-long command that he aspired to. Greatly terrified at the information, and seeing in Marlborough another Oliver Cromwell gradually striding towards the dictatorship, Anne summoned her council, and made it a personal request to them, "that they would be mindful of their duty to her, and neither agree to any petition from the army which the duke should present to parliament, nor suffer Mrs. Masham to be taken from her." For this latter design was also attributed to Marlborough to add to her terror.

Marlborough took his departure for Holland, and the trial of Sacheverel was fixed for the 27th of February in Westminster Hall. The scene was arranged exactly in the form of the house of lords, with seats for the peers in their due order. Near the throne a box furnished with curtains was placed for the queen, so that she could witness the whole in a state of incognita. On one side of the hall were ranged benches for the members of the house of commons, and on the other for peeresses and other ladies. A platform was erected for the members of the commons who conducted the impeachment, and another below the bar for the prisoner and his counsel. Opposite to the whole were galleries for the mass of spectators, which were so crowded that those beneath were in terror lest the whole should come down on their heads. The whole of Westminster Hall was densely thronged at an early hour, and there were great crowds outside. The mob pressed round the queen's sedan as she was carried to the hall, and cried, "God bless your majesty and the church!" while others added, "We hope your majesty is for God and Dr. Sacheverel!"

The noble ladies, who all crowded to take possession of the seats prepared for them, and who came in all their splendour of dress and beauty, prepared to see and be seen, yet, says Cunningham, expressed much anxiety lest the "Tatler" or the "Observator" should turn their costume into ridicule for the amusement of the London breakfast tables. Even in this busy and engrossing scene, lady Marlborough did not forget to assert her dignity and annoy the queen. Her office entitled her to take her place amongst the queen's personal attendants, and near to the royal person. As the queen had now for a long time steadily kept her at bay, and had not allowed her to come into her presence, this was an opportunity not to be lost. As she observed that the ladies-in-waiting all continued standing, although, as the queen was incognita, etiquette did not require it, she stepped to the queen's box, and whispered to her that she thought her majesty had forgotten to order the ladies to be seated, as was customary on such occasions. Anne, in a timid manner, said, "Oh, by all means, sit." The ladies obeyed except lady Hyde, the queen's kinswoman, who continued standing all the time behind the queen's chair; and the next day the duchess of Somerset, having royal blood in her own veins, and heiress of the great estates and honours of the house of Percy, did the same, notwithstanding the duchess of Marlborough told her that it made the other ladies look as though they were doing something improper.

The managers for the commons were the lords William Paulet and Coningsby, Sir Thomas Parker, Sir Joseph Jekyl, Sir John Holis, Sir John Holland, Sir James Montague, Sir Peter King, recorder of the city of London, Mr. Robert Eyre, solicitor-general. Messieurs James