Page:The Queens of England.djvu/555

 ANNE. 503 amy the younger. Altogether, the reign of Anne was truly one of the most illustrious which that country has enjoyed. If she herself was not particularly distinguished for her attachment to art and literature, she yet was far more so than those who for generations succeeded her ; and the circumstances of her reign were obviously favorable to the development of talent. In it Vanbrugh and Newton, as we have stated, were knighted; Bol- ingbroke, the philosopher, was minister ; Prior, ambassador ; Addison, under-secretary of state ; and Steele, commissioner of stamps. Anne was a careful patroness of the establishment of Green- wich Hospital ; and her love of flowers impelled her to improve Kensington Gardens signally. Her humanity to deserters and to prisoners, and her lively solicitude for all classes of her sub- jects, caused an unusual anxiety cmong the people at large dur- ing her last illness, and rendered the mourning for her loss sin- cere and profound.