Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/289

A.D. 1711.] about the town in a rage, and with eyes and words full of vengeance."

There was no doubt that great was the queen's exultation at thus being at length liberated from the heavy and imperious yoke of the Marlboroughs. People who had absented themselves from court for years, now presented themselves there to pay their respects, and amongst them, the duke of Beaufort congratulated Anne that he could now salute his queen in reality. The duchess's places were immediately given to the duchess of Somerset and Mrs. Masham. The tory raid against the whigs was pursued with unpausing ardour. An inquiry was set on foot in the lords into the conduct of the war in Spain. The earl of Peterborough's turn was now come. He was examined before a committee, and imputed the mismanagement of the war in Spain to Galway and general Stanhope. Galway made an able defence, but the house, notwithstanding, passed a resolution that lord Peterborough had most honourably distinguished himself by his able counsels and active services in Spain, and that Galway, lord Tyrawley, and general Stanhope had been very culpable in advising an offensive war in Spain, which had caused all our misfortunes, and especially the battle of Almanza. But in blaming the generals they blamed also the ministers who sanctioned the war, and then so badly supported it. The failure of the attempt in Toulon was attributed to the same cause. Thanks were voted to lord Peterborough, and in rendering them it was not forgotten to make some caustic criticisms on Marlborough. To increase the power of the tory landlords in the house of commons, and diminish that of the whig supporters in the boroughs, an act was introduced, and the commons were weak enough to pass it, making it necessary that every candidate for parliament in the counties should possess six hundred a year in real property, and for a borough seat three hundred; and this law has lasted to our time, and only been recently repealed.

In spite, however, of the triumphant position of the tories, Harley found his individual position far from enviable. His caution made him inimical to the more violent tories, who were impatient to exercise their power without restraint; and his colleague St. John, at once ambitious and unprincipled, artfully availed himself to undermine the man by whom he had risen. But an incident occurred to excite a fresh interest in Harley, and give a new accession to his power. Amongst the horde of foreigners, Germans, Italians, French, and Poles, who contrived to draw English money by acting as spies on their own governments, and very frequently on the English one too, was the so-called marquis of Guiscard. This man had been in the receipt of five hundred pounds a year. He had obtained the salary, it is said, through St. John, being a devoted companion of that accomplished scoundrel in his dissipations. Harley doubled the value of his services, and reduced the pension to four hundred pounds a year; and St. John is also said to have suffered him to endure the curtailment without much remonstrance, and then, to avoid Guiscard's importunities, refused to see him. Guiscard immediately offered his services to the French government as a spy on the English court, through a letter to one Moreau, a banker of Paris. The letter was intercepted, and Guiscard arrested. On being brought before the privy council he desired to speak in private to St. John, whom, it is suspected, he intended to assassinate, but St. John refused his demand. He then exclaimed, "That is hard! not one word!" and suddenly stepping up to Harley, he cried, "Have at thee, then!" and stabbed him with his penknife. The knife, striking against the breastbone, broke near the handle; but the excited foreigner struck him again with such force that Harley fell to the ground covered with blood.

St. John, seeing Harley fall, exclaimed, "The villain has killed Mr. Harley!" drew his sword, and ran him through. The whole council was up and in confusion. All drew their swords and surrounded the murderous prisoner. He was wounded in various places, and knocked down by blows from the hands of others. The doorkeepers and messengers rushed in at the noise, and Guiscard was dragged to prison. He was accused of having had a design of asassinating the duke of Marlborough, and even the queen; but there is no sufficient evidence of either of these intentions, for he had had an interview with the queen the evening before, pressing for the augmentation of his salary, and nobody, according to lord Dartmouth, in the outer room but Mrs. Fielding, or within call but Mrs. Kirk, who was commonly asleep. He was visited in Newgate by the members of the council, on the plea that he had something to reveal; but he seems to have only made half revelations, pointing at St. John, and then stopping. He died in Newgate of his wounds; and such was the curiosity of the populace to see his body, that the turnkey kept it in pickle, and made a good sum by showing him for several days.

Such is the version of this remarkable occurrence, as it figures in most of our English histories: but it is probable that it is much coloured and misrepresented by party influences. Guiscard, as he is called by our historians, but Labourlie, as he is better known to those of France, was a gentleman of ancient family of the district of Rouergue, bordering on the Cevennes. His father was second tutor to Louis XIV. His eldest brother, the marquis do Guiscard, was ambassador to Charles XII. of Sweden, and attended him in his wars. Labourlie de Guiscard, the person who stabbed Harley, lived at the ancient castle of Vareilles, betwixt Rhodez and Millau, in Languedoc. He was, therefore, in the very centre of the revolted districts of Languedoc and the Cevennes; and, though a catholic, he intensely sympathised with the oppressed protestants. He headed various expeditions in their favour, and was compelled to quit France; still, as we have seen, he headed the refugee French who fought at Almanza. His business in England was to incite the English government to send a powerful force to assist the protestant insurgents of the Cevennes; and the true story probably is, that the whigs had greatly encouraged him in the hope that this should be done; they were always talking of it. When they went out of office, he would naturally seek to interest Harley, St. John and the tories in his favourite project. Probably they had at first listened to it; but, as soon as they were determined to make peace at all costs, they were glad to be rid of his importunities; whereupon disappointed and embittered by his disappointment, his warm southern blood excited him to the frantic deed which he attempted. Labourlie de