Soon after Marlborough had won the sanguinary battle of Malplaquet, the celebrated trial of the noted Doctor Sacheverell took place; on which occasion an incident occurred which completed the downfall of the Duchess. The prosecution of Sacheverell had been advised by the Duke, lest he should preach him and his party out of the kingdom.
FOOTNOTES:
[42] This habit of drinking had then invaded even the highest ranks of English society, the Queen herself not being exempt. Walpole, Harley’s enemy, has traced a curious and tolerably accurate portrait of him in his “Letters.”
[43] He was only created Viscount Bolingbroke in 1712, but we give him the name by which he is best known in history.
[44] Lediard, vol. ii., p. 2.
[45] The extent of her insolence towards the Queen on this occasion is scarcely conceivable. “The Duchess gave her her gloves to hold,” relates Walpole; “and, on taking them back, suddenly turned away her head, as though the breath of her royal mistress had imparted a disagreeable odour.”
[46] MSS. Brit. Mus., Coxe Papers, vol. xliv.
[47] Private Correspondence, vol. i., p. 105.