Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-04-20
OLD FAMILY HISTORY.
The Traditional Avarice Of the Great
Duke Of Marlborough.
London Society.

London Society.
There is probably scarcely single an
cient roble family-the terms are not
quite synonymous-which does not pos
which have never been edited or calen-
dared, and it fairly makes the mouth Of
the historical student water to think
what treasures of history and of anti
quarian gossip lie thus buried. Now
and then noble lord graciously puts
his name to small compilation, or per-
mits some laborious antiquarian to rum
mage amongst his family archives, and
the little that is given to the world in
this way creates an irresistible longing
for more. One such volume was prepar-
&c 2Ome sixty yeass ago for the gratifi
cation of the then Earl of Bridgewater
Only small number of eopes were
printed; the book itself was never pub
lished, and in its present form it natu-
rally belongs to the category of libri
rarrissimi. If any member of the house
of Egerton could be induced to reprint
it,and to add to it from the stores of fam
lily papers preserved at Worsley, he
would do a service to literature and to
the public generally, the value of which
it would not be easy to overestimate.
In the meantime it may be worth while
to pick from the book of Family An
ecdotes" few of the most striking.
The Egerton family, as every one who
Is well up in his Burke or Debrrtt ought
to know, has intermarried with about
half the peerage, and has alliances with
every one of those great governing FAM
lilies whose predominance has given such
strength to the nation in time of politi-
cal storm and stress. Among these fam
lilies that of Churchill is not the least
distinguished.
The family traditions preserved by the
Earl of Bridgewater chiefly relate to
the avarice of the great Duke of Marl-
borough. When in the early years of
the eighteenth century the Earl of
Peterborough was in command of the
English forces in Spain and Portugal,he
found great difficulty in obtaining the
necessary supplies In order to rectify
matters he returned home; but on ap-
plication at headquarters he found all
his demands held over for further con-
sideration, whilst the Duke of Marbor-
ough obtained all he wanted without the
smallest difficulty. "Much disgusted
withal," says Lord Bridgewater, "he
threw himself into a sedan chair and
drew the curtains at the sides as well as
at the front that he might not be known
or seen. The populace took up an idea
that the person in the chair was the
Duke of Marlborough; they gathered
round it. "God bless the Duke of Marl-
borough" Gentlemen" said Lord Pc
terborough, pushing down one of the
windows, 81 am not the Duke of MARI
borough" 20 yes" said spokesman of
the multitude, "you are the Duke of
Marlborough; we know you well
enough" Gentlemen" said Lord Pc
terborough, "I am not the Duke of Marl-
borough, tell you, and will give you
two convincing proofs am not. One is
that have but single guinea" and ne
turned his pockets inside out; "the 9TH
er is that give it to you" and he threw
it among them.
On the eve of great pitched battle,
which was to be fought under the Joint
command of the Duke of Marlborough
and Prince Eugene of Savoy, the latter
waited upon Duke after dinner to settle
the plan of action for the following day.
The Duke had taken up his headquar-
ters at small house which had a little
garden before it and a coach-road.
Prince Eugene was received in great
state. In driving cut of the coach-road
it struck Prince Eugene that there was
one maneuvre which he had not notifi-
ed to the Duke. "Drive me back again!"
He skipped nimbly into the house, and
in the drawing room where he had been
received, he found the Duke of Marl-
borough perched upon q chair, with his
handkerchief under his shoes, and Whit
fing out the candles of the middle piece
of luotra