biting none of the lines of beauty. His nose, uncommonly large and red, became the subject of much low wit among his adversaries; and his weatherbeaten and sallow complexion has been commemorated in more than one ribald epigram. His manners, again, varied according to the society into which he chanced to be thrown, and the circumstances which surrounded him. Among his soldiers he was generally familiar and easy, seizing the men by their buttons, and, like Napoleon indicating his good humour by a slight tap on the ear; yet could he draw himself up in a moment, and even assume an air of excessive haughtiness. In like manner, it was with him no unusual practice to intermingle, in the most extraordinary degree, levity with seriousness. In the midst of the grave discussions of his council he would suddenly play off some practical joke; either pulling off the wigs of such as sat next him, or throwing a cushion at their heads. One or two instances of such conduct have been given in the course of this narrative; and there are many besides which rest on evidence not less satisfactory.

We abstain from noticing the ability with which Cromwell wielded the army, for the purpose first of securing, and afterwards of preserving, his own civil greatness. The consideration of that point

in his character lies beyond our present province, as does the review of his general policy, both foreign and domestic. Nevertheless, he who examines these subjects will find in them strong corroborative proofs, that the mind of the protector was more that of a politician than of a warrior. It is, indeed, true, that no man can attain to the high renown of a general of the first order unless he be at the same time largely endowed with those qualities which are supposed to belong exclusively to the statesman, because the guidance of an army, and especially of an English army, requires much more than an intimate acquaintance with strategy. But as we have already hinted, it is with us a matter of considerable doubt, whether Cromwell can be classed in the very first rank of military commanders; and it is of men belonging to that rank, and to that rank alone, that we would be understood as asserting that they have been found ever to unite the sagacity of the politician with the skill of the general.

Cromwell's wife survived him, as did five of his children, two sons, and three daughters. His dying wish was immediately carried into effect, and Richard, the elder of his sons, held for a brief space, and with a feeble hand, the reins of government.

It is said by general Foy, in his history of the Peninsular war, that the condition of the British soldier never retrogrades; but that, retaining all the good qualities which his predecessors had acquired, he superadds to these, from generation to generation, whatever of improvement each may have happened to produce. The history of the British army, from its establishment as a recognised body under Cromwell, down to the present times, fally bears out the assertion of the French writer, but, perhaps, at no period was the great truth more fully illustrated than in the age immediately succeeding that of the protector. At Cromwell's decease, the ranks of almost all the regiments in the service were filled by practised veterans, by men inured to war, and confident alike in themselves and in their leaders. These were gradually weeded out after the restoration; yet were the raw levies brought in to supply their places far from exhibiting any falling off in the qualities which gave a professional character to the victors of Marsden Moor and Worcester field. There was the same steadiness under arms, the same indomitable intrepidity, the same moral courage, which, though exhibiting itself under a different aspect, was not less influential in the soldier of the king, than in the guardian of the commonwealth. It is true, that the reigns of Charles and James afforded little opportunity for the display of great military skill in their generals; yet that even in this particular there was no real deficiency, it needed but the lapse of a few years to demonstrate.

The man, who raised the glory of the British arms to a height never till now surpassed, lived under both the princes of the restored line, though the field of action was not prepared for him till after the accession of the prince of Orange.

John Churchill, afterwards duke of Marlborough, was born at Ashe, in Devonshire, on the 24th of June, 1650. He was the second son of sir Winston Churchill, a gentleman of good famify, and high tory principles, whose zeal in the cause of royalty was displayed both by personal exertions in the field, and the ruin of his fortunes under the usurpation of the commonwealth. His mother's name was Elizabeth Drake. She was the daughter of sir John Drake, the proprietor of the mansion in which the subject of this memoir was born; sir John Drake being connected not remotely with the noble houses of Boteler Leigh, and Villiers.

It has been generally asserted, and not less generally believed, that the education of the duket Marlborough was grossly neglected. His early entrance on the stage of active life, as well as the peculiar style and orthography observable in his correspondence, furnish strong ground for asserting that the opinion is correct; yet his father's taste for literature would induce a persuasion, that the circumstance originated not in carelessness, but in necessity. The truth, indeed, appears to be, that sir Winston Churchill, like many other cavaliers, found his loyalty of small avail towards the re-establishment of pecuniary affairs, which an excess of the same principle had embarrassed. Though gratified by an especial grant of an augmentation to his arms, and advanced to the honour of knighthood, he obtained from the restored monarch little besides the favour of a personal regard, and the temporary enjoyment of certain offices, from which a slender revenue accrued.* The consequence was, that he found himself in no condition to incur heavy expense in the education of his children; for whom, on the contrary, he was glad to accept the protection of such patrons as appeared willing to provide for them. Hence his son John, who received the first rudiments of knowledge from a worthy clergyman in the neighbourhood of Ashe, was, after a brief sojourn in St. Paul's School, sent to court, where, at the green age of twelve years, he was appointed page of honour to James duke of York.

There are a variety of rumours extant touching the more immediate causes of the favour in which the young page was undeniably held by his master; of these, one, to which the spirit of party has given a wide circulation, assigns the fact to the personal charms of his sister Arabella, at that time lady of the bedchamber to the duchess. It is by no means impossible that there may be some truth in the insinuation; for Arabella Churchill became, in the end, the avowed mistress of the

* Sir Winston Churchill was, indeed, restored to the enjoyment of his paternal property, but found the lands so encumbered with debts and mortgages as to produce a very slender revenue. He acted as one of the commissioners of the Court of Claims in Ireland in 1664, and was, on his return, constituted a clerk controller of the Board of Green Cloth. The publication of his " Divi Britannici," however, a sort of historical essay, inculcative of the highest monarchical tenets.raised against him a host of enemies, whom it was found expedient to gratify by his dismissal. He died in 1688, exceedingly poor, though honoured to the last with the friendship of his royal master.

duke, to whom she bore two sons and two daughters:* but the personal qualities of her brother seem to have been such as to secure for him, without other aid, the good will of his patron. Endowed by nature with a face and figure of surpassing beauty and elegance, his manners were as pleasing as his disposition appeared frank and open; whilst his high courage, and enthusiastic love of every thing connected with the military profession, were not lightly esteemed by a man of James's peculiar temperament. We are informed by his earliest biographer, that the royal duke was in the frequent habit of reviewing the two regiments of Foot Guards, and that young Churchill, who never failed to attend at such musters, exhibited both a lively interest in the scene, and an extraordinary degree of intuitive knowledge respecting the movements of troops. This speedly attracted the notice of James, who on a certain occasion desired him to make choice of a profession. Churchill throwing himself on his knees, entreated that he might be appointed to an ensigncy in one of the fine regiments which had just gone through its evolutions, and the request being graciously received, he was soon afterwards presented with the commission which he so much coveted.†

Though the event just described befell in 1666, soon after the conclusion of peace, our young soldier was not left long without an opportunity of displaying his fitness for the office to which he had been advanced. Tangier, then a dependency on the British crown, was closely invested by the Moors; and Churchill, full of military ardour, volunteered to assist in its defence. His wish was complied with, and he hastened to the scene of action, where he displayed on various occasions a degree of courage and intelligence which drew upon him the notice of all ranks, and excited high expectations of his future career. He remained with the garrison throughout the siege, and returned to England only when his services in the field were no longer required.

From this period up to the spring of 1672, Mr. Churchill resided entirely at court, where fresh favours were continually heaped upon him both by the duke and the king. But a life of inactivity was far from according either with his talents or his habits. No sooner, therefore, was it resolved to support Louis in his attack upon Holland, than he solicited and obtained permission to accompany the contingent of 6000 men which under com

* These were James Fitzjames, afterwards the illustrious duke of Berwick; Henry Fitzjames, who died lieutenant-general and admiral in the French service; Henrietta, who married sir Henry Waldegrave of Churton; and her sister, who died a nun.

A different account is given by Lediard, who more than insinuates, that, young as the page was (he was then barely sixteen,) the duke found it necessary to remove him from his family, where he had found too much favour in the eyes of the duchess. This story is rendered highly improbable by the whole of the after history both of the duchess and Churchill.

mand of the duke of Monmouth quitted England for that purpose. His zeal was rewarded by immediate promotion to the rank of captain of gre nadiers in Monmouth's own regiment, and his services in the field were not slow in procuring for him still further advancement.

It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader, that the war was conducted for a time, on the part of France, with extraordinary vigour and address. One hundred thousand men, led on by Louis in person, and directed in every movement by Turenne, carried, in rapid succession, the fortresses of Orsoi, Burick, Wesel, and Rhinberg. They next passed the Rhine near Schenck, in the face of the enemy; compelled Arnheim, Naerden, Utrecht, Deventer, Zutphen, and Nimeguen to submit, and overran, in the space of a few months, three of the Seven Provinces, establishing their outposts in the vicinity of Amsterdam. Throughout the whole of these operations, captain Churchill seized every opportunity of bringing himself conspicuously into notice; but it was at the siege of Nimeguen that he first drew towards himself the eyes of his illustrious commander. Having repeatedly volunteer ed to execute services requiring more than common coolness and decision, he was at length selected by Turenne to recover a post from which a French lieutenant-colonel had been driven. "I will wager a supper and a dozen of claret," said the marshal, "that my handsome Englishman' (for so captain Churchill was called) "will, with half the number of men, retake the ground which has just been lost." The wager was accepted; Churchill advanced to the attack, and not only regained, but kept possession of the post, amid the plaudits of the whole army.

The next operation which furnished to captain Churchill the means of gathering fresh laurels, was the siege and assault of Maestricht. Having accompanied the storming party, of which the duke of Monmouth had the command, he was the first to plant the allied standard on the rampart; and he was one of twelve, who, on the springing of a mine, maintained themselves in the demilune till supported. His gallantry on this occasion was indeed so conspicuous, that he publicly received the thanks of the French monarch; while by his own sovereign, to whom Monmouth recommended him as the preserver of his life, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Nor were his merits passed over by Louis with the recompence of empty praise; for, on the 3d of April, 1674 he was appointed to succeed the earl of Peterborough as colonel of the English regiment. In this capacity he served during the German campaign, where he witnessed the victory of Sinzheim, and the devastation of the Palatinate, and he appears not to have entirely quitted the theatre of war till the final settlement in 1677.*

*The reader is doubtless aware, that, notwithstanding the supineness with which he conducted the war elsewhere, Charles never withdrew his contingent from

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It was customary, at the period of which we are now speaking, as often as the troops retired into winter quarters, for the officers, especially those holding the highest rank, to visit their friends and relatives, however far removed from the seat of war. The practice holding on one side as well as the other, a species of implied truce became established, and men quitted their posts with easy minds, because aware that a like course was pursued by their enemies. Colonel Churchill was not less alert in availing himself of this customary privilege, than the generals under whom he served. He repeatedly visited London during the progress of the war; where, on each occasion, he was received with increasing kindness,-not only the king and the duke, but every person about the court appearing anxious to acknowledge the merits of so distinguished a soldier. No reader of history can be ignorant that the court of Charles II. was, with the single exception of that of Louis XIV., at once the most highly polished and the most profligate in Europe. It has been remarked of colonel Churchill, that both his address and appearance were such as to render him conspicuous as a gentleman even there; while in point of licentiousness, if he escaped not entirely the general contagion, nothing capable of seriously affecting his character, as a man of honour or of prudence, can fairly be laid to his charge. The unsparing authoress of the New Atalantis has, indeed, accused him of numerous crimes, among which base ingratitude to the duchess of Cleveland stands conspicuous; but the authority of Mrs. Manley is not such as to weigh heavily in the scale against the testimony of multitudes who knew him intimately, and valued him as he deserved. That the duchess of Cleveland may have ranked him among her favourites, is by no means improbable. A woman so profligate was little likely to look with indifference upon a young man possessed of Churchill's merits and reputation; but that he was ever bound to her by ties more enduring than those of a passing intrigue, there is no ground whatever for believing.

We are the more strengthened in this persuasion, by the recollection that, at the very moment when he is accused of acting thus unfairly by the duchess, he was enamoured of a young lady possessed of the strongest attractions, both personal and mental. Sarah Jennings, the youngest daughter of Richard Jennings, esq. of Sandridge, near St. Alban's had been introduced into the court of the duchess of York at twelve years of age. She grew up in terms of intimate friendship with the princess Anne, afterwards queen of England, and maintained, amid a circle of unprincipled courtiers a reputation unsullied even by the breath of scandal. For this young lady, whose genius was not less brilliant than her beauty, colonel Churchill, soon after she completed her sixteenth year, Louis's army; and Churchill, at his own desire, continued to serve along with it.

conceived a violent attachment; and the feeling being mutual, it continued, in despite of a variety of obstacles,* to animate both with the purest senuments. As they were married, moreover, so early as 1678, there, appears but slender ground for accusing the colonel of gross profligacy previous to that event, while of his subsequent devetion to this the single object of his affections, we have too many proofs extant to entertain a doubt on the subject.

The young couple, instead of forming an establishment of their own, resided for several years after their marriage, as they had previously done, in the household of their royal patrons. They were compelled, likewise, to endure the misery of frequent separations; for colonel Churchill was employed in diplomatic missions abroad, while his lady's duties required that she should continue in England. Of these the earliest, and perhaps the most important, as that which brought him first into contact with William, prince of Orange, occurred in the year 1678. It was then that Charles, irritated by the refusal of Louis to increase his pension, appeared for a time well disposed to renew the triple alliance; and it was in consequence of this dispute that Churchill, now promoted to the rank of colonel of a regiment of foot, was despatched to Brussels for the purpose of concerting measures with the prince. It is not necessary to describe in detail either the circumstances which attended this mission, or the events which arose out of it. Let it suffice to state, that it was followed by the embassy of sir William Temple, and the conclusion of an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the United Provinces ; that a body of troops were embarked to reinforce the Dutch and Spanish armies; that with the last division of the corps allotted to this service colonel Churchill put to sea; but that the whole arrangement came to nothing. Before Churchill could reach his point of destination, a treaty of peace was signed; and the English troops being recalled, the colonel hastened back, to rejoin the society in which his best affections were centred.

It accords not with the plan of this work to attempt any account of the cabals and intrigues, political and religious, which gave a character to the concluding years of the reign of Charles II. The suspected conversion of James to the Romish faith; the death of his first wife in communion with the Romish church; and his subsequent marriage to the princess Maria d'Este, sister to the reigning duke of Modena, had already excited,

*The chief obstacle to their union was the absence of an adequate fortune; for though colonel Churchill's elder brother had died, his father's circumstances were too much embarrassed to render the event, in a pecuniary point of view advantageous. When they did marry, they were forced to subsist upon his military pay, and an annuity of 500l. a year, which he had purchased from lord Halifax. Miss Jennings's dowry was, indeed, princely in the end; but this was owing to the unexpected death of her brother without issue.

in no ordinary degree, the fears of the nation. These received additional strength from the measures adopted by Charles to ensure to all classes of his subjects an absolute toleration; whilst the avowed abandonment by James of the protestant religion, which soon afterwards followed, brought the spirit of party to its height. Measures were forthwith adopted, on one side,to exclude the popish prince from the throne: these were met by opposite measures, which had for their tendency the preservation of the right of succession, though hampered by a great limitation of authority; whilst all parties were, in their turn, content to appeal, not only to the worst passions of the populace, but to foreign powers. Then came rumours of plots, which were the more greedily received in proportion as they exceeded the bounds of credibility, till the whole nation may be said to have become one grand arena for a trial of strength between opposing factions.

In spite both of the situation which he held about the person of the duke of York, and his intimate connexion with most of the leading men opposed to his master, colonel Churchill abstained from taking any part in these intrigues. It has even been asserted of him, that he declined a seat in the house of commons, from "a consciousness that the frankness of his temper would involve him in political broils;" and his conduct in so doing has received the commendation of almost all his biographers, who see in it marks of extraordinary prudence alone. There cannot be a doubt that the entire course of this great man's public life exhibits a degree of selfish caution, such as has rarely been paralleled; but we are not sure that his backwardness to join in the struggle now pending furnishes just ground of admiration or praise. If it be true that "he considered the conduct of the party in opposition as equally unjust, disrespectful, and unconstitutional," the court had a right to look for something more than neutrality at his bands; whilst he who could assert, in a private letter to a friend, that "though he had an aversion to popery, yet he was no less averse to persecution for conscience sake," and that "he deemed it the highest act of injustice to set any one aside from his inheritance upon bare supposition of intentional evils," deserves little credit for holding back from a public declaration of the same sentiments. Be this, however, as it may, colonel Churchill withdrew not from attendance on the duke, even during the most alarming period of the struggle. He was not only the agent through whom most of the confidential negotiations between the courts of England and France were conducted; but when James, at his brother's suggestion, retired, in 1679, into Holland, colonel Churchill did not forsake him.*

* It was not on this occasion, as it had been on others, that he was condemned to go alone; for the duchess accompanied her royal consort. The temporary exile of Churchill was thus enlivened by the society of his young and accomplished wife.

From this period up to the year 1681, few events befell calculated seriously to affect the fortunes or prospects of our hero. When James was suddenly recalled by the illness of his brother, Churchill, as in duty bound, attended him; and he returned again with his master, on the king's recovery, to their asylum in the Low Countries. In like manner, when permission was granted that James should fix his residence in Scotland, Churchill, though he left his wife in London, removed to Edinburgh. Here his popular manners, not less than his reputed influence at court, gained for him many friends and flatterers; and here his zeal in the cause which he as yet professed to maintain was frequently shown. Thus we find him, in 1680, while James was again endeavouring to establish himself in London, seeking by a variety of means to forward the measure; and, when every effort failed, returning once more, with his wife and the duchess, to Edinburgh.

During the session of 1680, the state of parties ran so high as to threaten a repetition of those scenes of anarchy and misrule which had paved the way to the grand rebellion. The exclusion bill, though carried in the house of commons, was rejected in the house of Lords. The commons, enraged at the defeat, brought forward bills and passed resolutions still more alarming, till Charles, roused into exertion of which he was believed to be incapable, suddenly dissolved the parliament. Still the king's necessities were great; for his revenues were forestalled on every hand, and his stubborn commons had refused to vote him any supplies. It appeared, therefore, exceedingly improbable that he could carry on the government without summoning another. Now there was no measure which threatened so materially as this to injure the cause of James. He knew perfectly well that the spirit of opposition in the country, so far from being allayed, was increased by the recent act of his brother, and he looked forward with intense alarm to the measures which the new house of commons were likely to originate. He accordingly determined to exert all his influence for the purpose of avoiding so serious a calamity, and Churchill was again employed as a fit agent in the management of affairs so delicate.

In the month of January, 1681, colonel Churchill set out for London. His first and most important business was to dissuade the king from assembling a new parliament; his second, to hinder such an alliance from being formed with Spain and Holland as must necessarily draw on a war with France. This, again, was followed up by a strong recommendation to unite the fortunes of France and England together; whilst the last, and not the least urgent, petition of the whole pressed upon the king, that he would either sanction the return of the duke to London, or invest him with the chief command of the forces in Scotland. So sensible was James of the extreme delicacy of this commission, that he enjoined his

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