The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-25 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

LIFE OF THE DUCHESS OF MARL..
BOROUGH. Two Vols.
Colhurn, London, 1839.
The Life of the Duchess of Marlborough is a striking
illustration of the truth of the Scriptural adage, " Put
not your trust in Princes," for after swaying the mind
of Queen Anne with almost unlimited power, and mak-
ing her influence felt in no slight degree throughout the
nation, this remarkable woman was discarded by her
Royal friend and mistress, and died at an advanced age,
the victim of disappointed hopes and blasted ambition,
nearly, if not quite, forgotten by that world on which for
years she had set so high a value. In such utter ob-
scurity, indeed, were her latter days passed, and so little
did even her nearest relations care to know about her, that
her biographers have been unable to ascertain where she
died, some asserting that it was in London, and others
that it was in the neighbourhood of St. Albans, And
yet the woman, thus deserted and forgotten of all, was
the wife of one of the greatest heroes and statesmen
that England ever produced, and herself, for no small
portion of Queen Anne's reign, " viceroy" over her
Majesty 1 How true is Shakspeare's remark, " The
present eye praises the present object !" The Duchess
of Marlborough—the most commanding and intellectual
female spirit of her age—her part played out, dropped
as completely into oblivion, as if she had never paralyzed
parties, and filled all England with her name. A single
black look from Majesty effected this extraordinary re-
verse of fortune. The Queen frowned, and from that
moment the widow of the conqueror of Blenheim lost
her hold on the public recollection ! This remarkable
woman was born in the year 1660, at Holywell, a su-
burb of St. Alban's. Her maiden name was Sarah
Jennings, and she was the daughter of a country gentle-
man in good circumstances, whose family had for many
generations possessed an estate at Sandridge in Hertford-
shire ; had been held in high estimation by the Hoti:e
of Stuart ; and were distinguished among the adherents
to the Royal cause. At the darly age of twelve, Sarah
left Holywell, and entered into the service of the
Duchess of York, with whom she passed many years.
Here she first met her future husband, of whom we hive
the following interesting account :
" In the year 1673, John Churchill, afterwards Duke of
Marlborough, was appointed to be a gentleman of the bed-
chamber to the Duke of York. He was at this time a
colonel in the army, and already his fame stood high as an
officer of enterprise. Even from his childhood he had been
connected with a court, and destined to share a courtier's
duties and rewards. At the period of his appointment in
the household of the Duke of York, he was in his twenty-
fourth year. To the especial advantage of his military
character, he had fought under the banners of Marshal
Turrene, and signalized himself in the attacks on Nime-
guen, where his courage attracted the discerning eye of
Turrene, who gave him the name of tie ' handsome Eng-
lishmen.' He was endowed with personal beauty, height
of stature, being above the middle size, activity, and sweet-
ness of expression ; in short, the perfection of the
species ; high intellect, combined with perfect grace,
was exhibited in this great and when chastened by the
course of events, subsequently good man. His countenance
was mild, thoughtful, commanding; his brow lofty, his
features regular but flexible, his deportment was dignikfiteed:,
and at the same time winning. No one, said one who knew
of
him personally, ever said a pert thing
Marlborough. Lord Chesterfield even t°
afhtbtoreibpurtoetdectthede
great success of the Duke to the Graces,
dwhis Lordship,
and promoted him. His manner,
Likebis m ost
was irresistible, either by man orobv;rmvaaernm.s,
young men destined to the profession of
cianlmitnsess,
effects,the
educa-
tion was limited. To the cmitl
s
el
Marlborough, as King
the Third
iandrd e
xwparrems s e
dheart
he
owed his early and progressive
suavity of his temper, sLeassue,"ine rui
with on that, broke down his self-command ; his ..forbearance,
for others, the gentlenessth which he
his consideration
refused what ho could not grant, the grace with which he
conferred favours—
these qualities, combined with indefa-
tigable
industry, hardihood. and a judgment never pre-
judiced by passion, were the true sources of Churchill's
greatness."
With this illustrious and accomplished individual,
Sarah Jennings fell deeply in love, refusing for his sake,

viiEliii-triisi:
olio so.
THE ROYAL EE F
IRN
The subject ofßt°lllliss' .xtroct
(leo,' on an , to
pLicotnudroen,i:
fBo3u9n.
S 1 , 1851°'„e,
from the Times' Court Circular, of Sept.
the following effect :—.. Her Alajesty rode 0° 'l°thig
back, a splendid grey, to the review of the troaPs on
afternoon, his Majesty the King of the Belgile of
the Commander of the Forces riding on either 91 the
the Queen, while following in the Royal train vore the
Duke of Wellington and several Field Officers; the
illustrious party were escorted to the ground 111,ipg
Tenth, or Priuce of Wales' Regiment." The eogr3. is
now lying before us, which is taken from this picr'll:,e'er
by Reynolds ; it is executed in mezzotint, and i 5 3L-01-
cellen t specimen of its kind. The attitude Of 'ter 'the
jesty is remarkable for its ease and gra,ceila 1"
rides, is drawn with a vigour,c
likeness, ton, is good, without being undo,Y - ttsche
ing ; and the horse
aarngaetru—raoinn --a noble h whigh -
es.
Ts, and or
anatomical correctness, worthy of Cooper. to e_, whim
say so much for the King of the Belgians' stee°,
is somewhat
clumsy in its
_ating
proportions, and o'l •01;
spirit. But the likeness ' . ell):
.
of the loyal rider is t it is
ene catches it -
at a glance • indeed we may say that yet
the best t
011-lena.th .' small .e have ,i.
portrait, on a scale, 0 13(10o--
seen of his M '
. ajesty. Lord Hill's,too, is a elevertiveifinr
rate resemblance ; nor is that of the Duke of ,' 0 of
ton less OP„triao
able, though we get but an imperfect g'
his Grace. The grouping of the numerous egae-oon,
followers of her Majesty in the interun back-P.lr din
among whom we recognise Lord Palmerston, attired by
the Windsor uniform, is dexterously manage'', Rotheand
no means deficient in the requisite variety. e
orge
cavalcade is represented as passing under Ge,sod
Fourth's gate-way, on their way from the re
vialf the
'
close behind them rise the Gothic towers :er 00e,
Castle. Altogether the engraving is a very snPer'°: „au -I
-
finished with considerable care, wit', with the 010 s" -
pulous attention to details.
___........;.46.!..°1