99 At the fame time the lord Sommers was made prefident of 1708. the council, the archbishop of York, the dukes of Moun G 2 I should not trouble your majefty with any answer to your laft fhort letter, but to explain what you seem to miftake in what I faid at church. I defired you not to answer me there, for fear of being overheard. And this you interpret, as if I had defired you not to anfwer me at all, which was far from my intention. For the whole end of my writing to you fo often, was to get K your answer to several things, in which we differed, that, if • I was in the wrong, you might ⚫ convince me of it, and I should 6 very readily have owned my • mistakes. But, fince you have not been pleased to shew them to me, I flatter myself, that I < have said several things to you, that are unanfwerable. And, I hope, fome time or other you ⚫ will find leisure to reflect upon them, and will convince lord Marlborough, that he is mif⚫ taken in thinking, that he has no credit with you, by hearkening fometimes to his advice; < and then, I hope, you will • never more be troubled with difagreeable letters from me; for I fhould be much better pleased to say and do every thing you like. But I fhould think myself wanting in my you tague duty to you, if I faw you fo ⚫ much in the wrong, as without prejudice or paffion I really think you are in feveral parti'culars I have mentioned, and ⚫ did not tell you of it; and the rather, because no body elfe cares to speak out upon fo ungrateful a fubject. The word command, which ufe at the beginning of your letter, is very unfitly fuppofed to come from me. For though I have always writ to you as a friend, and lived with you as fuch for • fo many years with all the truth and honefty and zeal for your fervice, that was poffible; yet I fhall never forget, that I am your fubject, nor cease to be a • faithful one.' 6 Through the whole fummer after Mr. Harley's difmiffion, the queen continued to have fecret correfpondence with him. And, that this might be the better managed, she flaid all the fulty feason, even when the prince was panting for breath in that fmall houfe fhe had formerly purchased at Windfor, which, though as hot as an oven, was then faid to be cool, because from the park fuch perfons, as Mrs. Mafham had a mind to bring to her majefty, could be let in privately by the garden, And when, (continues the duchefs of Marlborough) upon the death of the prince, one 'would have thought, that her majefty's real grief would have made her avoid every place and every object, that might fenfibly revive the remembrance 1708. tague and Montrofe, the earls of Louden, Rivers, and Ef-.fex, the lord Ferrers, and Mr. Peregrine Bertie were sworn ८ • brance of her lofs, fhe chofe ⚫ for her place of retirement his clofet, and for fome weeks spent many hours in it every day. I was amazed at this; and, when I fpoke to her of it, fhe feemed furprized, juft like a perfon, who on a fudden become fenfible of her having done fomething the would not • have done, had she duly confidered. But the true reafon of her majefty's chufing this ▾ closet to fit in, was, that the back flairs belonging to it came from Mrs. Mafham's lodgings, who by that means could fecretly bring to her whom she pleafed. And that a correfpondence was thus carried on with Mr. Harley, became every day more and more manifeft by the difficulties and objections, which her majefty had learnt to raife against almost every thing propofed by her minilers. Nay, it is well known, that Mr. Harley and his affociates, when at length they had compaffed their defigus, and got into the management of affairs, did often (both in their cups and out of them) boaft, that they, while the queen's minifters were asleep, were frequently at court, giving advice in fecret, how to perplex them in all their • measures. But they were much mistaken, if they imagined, that their proceedings at the time I am fpeaking of were so intirely covered. The minifters were fully convinced of the of fented to her majesty, what a difcouragement it was to them in their endeavours for her fervice, to find, thas fhe had no • confidence in them, but was influenced by the counfel of others, who counter-worked ⚫ them in every inftance. Upon this fubject I myself wrote and fpoke a great deal to her with my ufual plainnefs and zeal. But finding, not only that I could make no impreffion on her in this refpect, but that her change towards me in particu'lar was every day more and · more apparent, Í at length went to her, and begged to 'know what my crime was, that had wrought in her so great an ⚫ alteration. This drew from the queen a letter, dated Oc'tober 26, 1709, wherein the charges me with inveteracy (as her word is) againfi poor Mafham; and with having nothing fo much at heart as the ruin of my coufin. In fpeaking of the mifunderstanding betwixt her majefty and me, the fays, they are for nothing, that she knows of, but because fhe cannot fee. with my eyes, and hear with my ears. And adds, That it it is impoffible for me to reco· ver her former kindness, but that the fhall behave herself to me, as the duke of Marlborough's wife, and her groom of the ftole. This declaration fo plain and exprefs of her majefly's thorough change towards me was the more extraordinary, as in this fame letter ( are thee words: You have truth, and frequently repre- • asked me once or twice, if you • had of the privy-council; as, a little before, were chief-juftice 17 Holt, the duke of Queensberry, the earls of Seafield, Scarborough, and Renelagh, and lord Coningsby. The earl of Cholmondeley was made treasurer of the houfhold in the room of the earl of Bradford, deceased, Sir Thomas Felton comptroller, and Mr. Edmund Dunch master of the houshold. Sir James Mountague attorney-general, and Mr. Robert Eyre follicitor-general, the duke of Dorfet was appointed, the 3d of December, conftable of Dover, and warden of the Cinque-Ports. had committed any fault, that I was fo changed; and I told you, no, because I do not think it a crime in any one not to be of my mind. Upon the receipt of letter, I immediately fet myself to draw up a long narrative of a series of faithful • fervices for about twenty-fix years paft; of the great fenfe the queen formerly had of my fervices; of the great favour I • had been honoured with on account of them; of the ufe I had 'made of that favour; and of my lofing it now by the artifice • of my enemies, and particularly of one, whom I had raif⚫ed out of the duft, And, knowing how great a refpect her majefty had for the writings of certain eminent divines, I added to my na rative ⚫ the directions given by the author of the Whole Duty of Man with relation to Friendfhip; the directions in the Common-Prayer-Book before the communion with regard to reconciliation, together with the ⚫ rules laid down by bishop Taylor upon the fame head: and I • concluded with giving my word to her majesty, that if, after reading thefe, fhe would please only to anfwer in two words, that he was ftill of the fame opinion, as when she wrote ་ that harsh letter, which occa- 'me.' G 3 CHAP 1708. The fecond Νον. 16. The fecond parliament of Great-Britain meets. Eldeft fons of Scotch peers incapacitated to fit in parliament. — A Scotch peer made a peer of Great-Britain not to vote in Scotland.-Faction among the Scots in parliament. A bill for naturalizing foreing proteftants paffed.-Proceedings about the Scotch invafion. And about the act concerning trials of treafon in Scotland.-Act of grace.-The feffion ends.-Negotiations for a peace. The preliminaries agreed on.-They are rejected by the French-Campaign in Flanders.-Tournay taken.-Battle of Malplaquet. Remark on it.-Mons taken.-Campaign on the Rhine.-In Piedmont.-Battle of Caya.-Affairs in Denmark. -Admiralty put in commiffion. TH THE new parliament of Great-Britain met, the 16th of November, with great advantage; for the prefent miniftry was now wholly fuch, as gave an intire content to all, who wifhed well to the public affairs; and the great fucceffes abroad filenced those, who were otherwise disposed to find fault and complain, The queen did not think it decent to come to parliament during this whole feffion; and therefore, having granted a commiffion under the great feal, appointing the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord-chancellor, the lord-treasurer, the lord-fteward, and the mafter of the horse, to reprefent her royal perfon, the commons were defired to come up to the house of peers, and hear the commiffion read. Which done, the lord-chancellor fignified to the commons, that they fhould immediately proceed to the choice of a speaker, and present him the Thursday following. The commons being returned to their houfe, the lord William Powlet moved to chufe for their fpeaker Sir Richard Onflow, a worthy man, entirely zealous for the government. and very acceptable to the whigs. He was feconded by Sir William Strickland. But major-general Mordaunt, by way of irony, proposed, "That they fhould chufe Mr. Joddrel, the clerk of the "houfe, who, having been affistant to good speakers, to in"different ones, and to the worst, feemed to be as well qualified for that ftation as any body." But, at laft, general Mordaunt fupported the lord Powlet's motion, commended Sir Richard Onflow's experience and integrity; and added, "That, being poffeffed of a good eftate, he did "not lie open to the temptations, that might biafs perfons, 66 My lords and gentlemen, 1708. IN purfuance of the authority given us by her majesty's The chancommiffion under the great-feal, among other things, cellor's ❝to declare the causes of her majesty's calling this parlia- both houfes. fpeech to 66 ment; 66 "We are, by her majesty's command, in the first place, to obferve to you, that the extraordinary length of this year's campaign hath obliged her majefty to defer your meeting longer than otherwife fhe would have done, that "you might be informed with the greater certainty of the ftate and posture of the war, in order to your refolutions for the ensuing year. "This neceffary delay hath now fo far fhewn us the fuccefs of affairs abroad, as that, whether you confider the ❝ places G 4 |