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Queen Anne, whose nature it was to prefer gossip to wit, and scandal to intrigue; and who, jealous as she was of her prerogative and of the slightest approach to an undue familiarity, was, nevertheless, delighted whenever she could with decency free herself from the trammels of royalty, and associate herself with the tastes and habits of ordinary beings. In a word, she could be social with Harley where she would have been awed by St. John. The one had the art of descending to her own level; while the other, with the same impulse and desire to please, would unconsciously have discovered his intellectual superiority, and, from what we know of his character, might, occasionally, have betrayed an unlucky sneer in his flattery, and contempt in his wit.

Both Harley and St. John, it may be remarked, rested their ambitious hopes on the life of Queen Anne, without paying a proper regard to the favour of her successor: the premature death, therefore, of their royal mistress, left the one a disgraced, and the other a disappointed man. St. John, indeed, had succeeded in thrusting Harley from his pride of place, but he failed in his attempt to rise from the ruins of his rival; and, subsequently, the accession of the House of Hanover left them both powerless, and without the opportunity of again encountering each other in any political conflict. Had the Queen lived, St. John would very probably have enjoyed a brief triumph, but, after a season, it may be questioned whether the quiet and crafty hypocrisy of Harley

would not have obtained a fresh victory over the towering genius and more brilliant qualities of his antagonist.

The interviews between the Queen and Harley, notwithstanding the extraordinary secrecy with which they were conducted, could not long elude the jealous vigilance of Marlborough and Godolphin. Placed, as we now are, behind the scenes, it is not a little amusing to peruse the letters addressed at this period by Harley to his colleagues, in which he professes towards them the warmest and purest feelings of fidelity and affection,* while, at the same time, he was deliberately plotting their irremediable ruin. According to the Duchess of Marlborough, Godolphin was the first to discover Harley's treachery, the Duke being "too backward" in giving credit to his ambitious designs. At length, however, Harley's delinquency became too evident to be any longer mistaken, and, accordingly, Marlborough and Godolphin severally addressed letters to the Queen, in which they intimated to her that the continuance of Harley in office must inevitably prejudice her affairs, and respectfully expressed their intention of resigning, in the event of his being retained in her confidence.

The draft of Marlborough's letter, (which is in his own hand-writing, with a trifling alteration by Godolphin,) is still preserved, and is curious as

* See the "Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough," p. 166 et seq. Ed. 1744. Also Coxe's Life of the Duke of Marlborough, Somerville's Queen Anne, and the Hardwicke State Papers.

displaying the consciousness which he felt of his own services, and his thorough and undisguised detestation of Harley.

"MADAM,-Since all the faithful services I have endeavoured to do you, and the unwearied pains I have taken for these ten days to satisfy and convince your Majesty's own mind, have not been able to give you any such impressions of the false and treacherous proceedings of Mr. Secretary Harley to Lord Treasurer and myself, but that your Majesty is pleased to countenance and to support him, to the ruin of your own business at home; I am very much afraid it will be attended with the sorrow and amazement of all Europe, as soon as the noise of it gets abroad. And I find myself obliged to have so much regard to my own honour and reputation, as not to be every day made a sacrifice to falsehood and treachery, but most humbly to acquaint your Majesty, that no consideration can make me any longer serve with that man. And I beseech your Majesty to look upon ine, from this moment, as forced out of your service, as long as you think fit to continue him in it.

"No heart is fuller of duty to your Majesty than mine; nobody has more sincere wishes for your prosperity, nor shall more constantly pray for your Majesty's long life, and for your happiness both here and hereafter. I am always with the greatest respect, and the truest zeal for your service, &c., &c." *

* Coxe's Life of the Duke of Marlborough, vol. ii. p. 386.

Neither the repeated threats nor the persuasions, however, resorted to by Marlborough and Godolphin, produced any effect upon the Queen's mind. She still continued to receive the visits and to listen to the specious arguments of Harley, and, accordingly, the two ministers determined to bring matters to a crisis, and with this purpose absented themselves from council. The Queen, notwithstanding that their intention of not being present had been previously communicated to her, adopted the extraordinary measure of attending the council in person. She even showed a determination to proceed to business as if nothing had happened, and Harley, as perhaps had been preconcerted between them, commenced discussing the topic on which the members of the council had met to deliberate.

The result of the partizanship displayed by the Queen, and the bold assurance exhibited by the Secretary, was very different from what they seem to have confidently anticipated. As Harley coolly proceeded with the business of the day, the members of the Council are said to have regarded each other with looks of astonishment, and murmurs were heard which gradually became more distinct. At length, the Duke of Somerset, the "proud Duke," effectually put a stop to the memorable farce:-"While the General and the Lord Treasurer," he said, " are absent, I do not see how we can proceed with the present deliberations." The remark, it was evident, conveyed the sense of the meeting, and Harley was compelled to desist in the midst of his oration. Cool and composed as

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he generally was, even under the most trying circumstances, he was unable to conceal his vexation; and, at the same time, the Queen, in evident agitation and alarm, retired sullenly and silently from the meeting. It was a proud, though a brief, triumph for the Whigs. The Houses of Lords and Commons unequivocally expressed their determination to support the existing ministry, and in the latter House particularly, a Bill of Supply was purposely suffered to lie idle on the table, though especially ordered for the day. The Queen thus found herself in danger of being abandoned by the Whigs, without having a party at hand sufficiently powerful to supply their places. In her dilemma, she had no course to pursue but to court the party who were notoriously the objects of her hate; Marlborough was sent for the next day, and Harley received his dismissal from her hands.

Harley, however, though thwarted, was not vanquished. "Through the whole summer after his dismission," says the Duchess of Marlborough, "the Queen continued to have secret correspondence with him. And that this might be the better managed, she stayed all the sultry season, even when the Prince was panting for breath, in that small house she had formerly purchased at Windsor, which, though as hot as an oven, was then said to be cool, because from the park such persons as Mrs. Masham had a mind to bring to her Majesty, could be let in privately by the garden."

*The Queen's husband, Prince George of Denmark, who was suffering from asthma.

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