Page:The Queens of England.djvu/551

 ANNE. 499 Earl of Marlborough was suspected of treason, and Mary desired her to harbor them no longer about her person, the pertinacity of Anne's refusal may be well understood. She had believed in their disinterested friendship for her until after the period of her sister's decease, but between that date and her own accession it is certain that her mind underwent a change concerning the character and professions of Sarah of Marlborough. To displace the Marlboroughs, however, might endanger her peace, perhaps her throne, by causing an expos- ure of all her early confidential communications with the favor- ite. In this dilemma Queen Anne discerned that, by over- whelming them with honors and emoluments, she should pur- chase their solence for their own sakes, and so disembarrass herself of them with ease. Thus the narrow-minded selfish- ness, the vulgar violence and the incessant peculations of this woman were directly rewarded. The earl was created duke, and toward the end of 1704 their family junta, as it was called, held all the principal offices in the government and the queen's household. The sanguinary victories of Blenheim, Ramilies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet won them showers of royal pres- ents, amongst which were the palace of Woodstock and the site of Marlborough house, besides large votes of money from parliament. At a period when the Marlboroughs were possessed of 90,000/., her majesty was obliged to borrow 20/ of one of her ladies for a private purpose — to such utter penury had the Keeper of the Privy Purse and Mistress of the Robes, the duchess, reduced her. It was no marvel that about the same time the domestic tyrant should have presumed to taunt Anne with "the hereditary obstinacy of her family," and to tell her "not to answer her!" But the cruelty of these foreign wars and the unbounded ambition which the duke began to exhibit were perhaps more horrible in the sight of the queen and more immediately the causes of the expulsion of the family junta from office than all the exuberant insolence of the duchess. At Malplaquet twenty thousand men are said to have been killed on the English side alone ; and so elated was the general, that he insidiously demanded of the queen to make him "Captain-General for life, as the war would last probably for ever!" , The Prince of Denmark died on October 28, 1708, leaving her to reign alone; for, though he had declined any share in the regal power, his private counsels were doubtless often sought