raltar. The Duke of Marlborough fell into disgrace, for having taken bribes from persons who supplied the army with food and clothing. The command of the army was taken from him, and he retired to the Continent, where he remained till the next reign. He then returned to England. 1714 5. Anne died of apoplexy, aged forty-nine. She was the last of the Stewarts who sat on the throne. By her blameless life and her bounty to the Church she won the title of "Good Queen Anne." She had nineteen children, who all died in childhood. A.D. 6. The greatest change in the Constitution during the Stewart period was the fixing of a limit to the Royal power, and the increase of the power of the People through the House of Commons. This was done by the Bill of Rights, on the accession of William the Third. 7. State of the Country.-The country was still to a great extent untilled, and was chiefly 'marshland and forest. The morals of the people were very bad;-drunkenness was common, and the prisons were always full of criminals. Arts, manufactures, and mining had made but little progress. There were no good roads, and it was difficult to pass from one part of the country to another. When it was made known that the Flying Coach would leave Oxford at six in the morning and reach London at seven the same evening, it was thought a dangerous undertaking. A journey from London to York in winter took six days. وو ac-ces-sion, coming to the throne. bribes, unlawful payments. the law. 1 Blen/heim.-The village near which the battle was fought (1704) is on the Danube, 23 miles north-west of Augsburg. gov-ern-ment, ruling of England. 2 Gibraltar.-A rock fortress on the south of Spain. 3 U/trecht.-In Holland, 21 miles south-east of Amsterdam. 27. THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 1. During the reigns of Charles the Second, James the Second, and William the Third, a man was rising in fame, who became one of the greatest of military commanders. His name was John Churchill, and he was a very handsome man; but his greatness was 'disfigured by an 'excessive love of money, which led him to commit mean actions. 2. It was not, however, until the reign of Queen Anne that he attained his greatest glory as a general. A war began with France, which was carried on 'principally in the country called Belgium; and there Churchill, who had been made Earl of Marlborough for his adherence to the cause of William the Third, at first exercised his genius in besieging and taking some of the great fortresses which lie on the rivers. For these successes, the Queen made him a Duke. 3. But he soon grew tired of that work, and began to act on a grander scale. Marching along the Rhine, and then turning eastward over the mountains into Bavaria, he advanced to a little village on the Danube called Blenheim. 1704 4. It was a Sunday morning in August when the French and Bavarian army faced the English troops under Marlborough. The first attack was made by the British on the village of Blenheim, which had been A. D. barricaded in a hurry The French fired so with the trunks of trees. rapidly through the loop-holes which they had left in their defences that the British were forced to retreat, although many of them climbed the wooden palings and struck at the French musketeers with the stocks of their guns. 5. The cavalry of the English tried to make some 'impression on Blenheim, but did not succeed. Cannon alone would do. But Marlborough had in the meantime, with quick eye, noticed a wide space between the two wings of the enemy's line. Now, in war, as in the game called draughts, to separate the enemy into two bodies is a sure way to victory. 6. Knowing this well, and seeing nothing to oppose him except the French cavalry, Marlborough made a quick movement of nearly all his men, which cut the hostile line of battle. He placed his soldiers between the two broken parts, and then, turning on these, beat them in succession. The brave men who held the village of Blenheim were then obliged to 'surrender. In England this victory was looked on as a grand triumph; and the joyful nation presented the victor with a splendid palace and estate.1 7. Marlborough also won three great battles in Belgium. They were the battles of Ramilies, Oude 4 narde,3 and Malplaquet. But his political enemies came into power; and, before the Treaty of Utrecht5 was made, he was obliged to resign the command of the army. His influence had been long kept up by the ascendency which his wife held over the mind of Queen Anne. The Duchess and the Queen used to talk to each other familiarly as Mrs. Freeman and Mrs. Morley, and the Duchess made the Queen do just as she pleased. 8. But there came to wait on the Queen a cunning woman, named Masham, who managed to gain the favour of her Majesty, and to deprive the Duchess of all influence in affairs of State. The haughty peeress, not aware how entirely her influence was gone, 'endeavoured to force the Queen to obey her after the old fashion, and so far lost command of her temper on several occasions as to break out into violent abuse. 1712 A. D. 9. This kind of conduct completed the disgrace of both Duchess and Duke. The latter was accused in the House of Commons of having taken for his own use very large sums of the money given to pay the foreign troops, and also of having taken bribes from the men who 'contracted to supply bread to the army. Having been dismissed from his command, Marlborough went across to the Continent, where he stayed until George the First became King. Then, returning, he was again made Commander of the Forces, and lived in England until his death. ad-her-ence, attachment. con-tract-ed, made agreements. |