New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-11-11
THE AGE OF QUEEN ANNE.
MRS. ELEPHANTS ESTIMATE OF A BRILL
liant PERIOD.

plant Po tx. 207. The Century Company.
The least significant OF the figures portrayed
in this book Is the one which makes II reason
able to associate all the rest together Ii there
had been no Queen Anne. nobody could nave
brought together characters so diverse as those
of the Duchess OF Marlborough, Dean Swl't
Daniel Defoe and Joseph Addison for pict-
ure in group One might well imagine swirl
and the Duchess 1nglng taunts In their grave
clothes And the Queen is, after all. the best
of these strangely met personages she Is
faithful and loving with no bitterness or heart
and none her tongue Commonplace as she
u.s. she appeals through Mrs. ELEPHANTS brilliant
pages straight TO the heart. An ironical fate
made her the ruler of England in one OF the
nations most remarkable periods. But her
simplicity and dircctness stood heI IN better
stead than genius would have done. As prin-
cess she would probably not have cherished
cnmity against William. If she had not felt
the continual malicious inspiration OF Mar'bor-
ough's wife. Mrs. Oliphant puts the queens
case in n different light from that cast on II
by Macaulay: and though she adds little or
nothing i'm the way Of documentary evidence,
she gives fresh and kindly meaning To
words that perhaps have been misjudged. me
reader follows this woman. who calls herseii
unfortunate" with n mOurnfu! emphasis. from
her cradle to her coronation. and then 10 h''
dcathbcd and concludes that there was a Just
explanation OF her life. and that TINS eHp'ah'-
ton shows her course to have been CONSISTENT
even II not free from partisanship. she WAS
n woman Of principle, but her education WI"
planned by those who thought little or such q
matter Had Charles II or his brother james
conceived the possibility that the daughters OF
the latter might come successfully I" inc
throne they would probably not have conceded
TO them an exclusively Protestant training
Even the cynical Charles would haze had second
thoughts on the subject while tn" bg''rh james
would have made serious rcsis Ihe'
Welded to what they knew were the
.,sho. NJ the nation This Wtra-I'ro-
tcstant education IS the key 10 tho He
story OF Anne as princess and as Queen. h'r
instincts were identical with those Of the pe"-
nj. over whom she ruled. and they made her
succossf,I The people loved her all the better
hecause che was good without being great. be-
cause she was narrow and devout. because she
know little about politics and more than Ut
lie about tho affairs Of the Church. Sh' was
more Ike one 81 themselves than IA" great men
and women who were sometimes ruue cn'u'"
10 wrangle in her presence. peath gave" ~.
from the only fatal blunder when shc '"u'"
have committed-an attempt 10 set as'"e '"'
u,novorian succession and to bring the Stuart
Pretender 20 the throne.
Nor can one help adm.rng tina; beautiful fury
Marlborough's Duchess. Mrs Olipnant complains
that al those VIII, write about THIS great lazy s'eh
=, lose their tempers. Po,siby that Is wa people
have OF taking vengeance for what they kh'"
they would have suffered IL Sarah Jennings ma
crossed their path in real life. Few ~hn me- h'F
ooula cay that they escaped unscathcd. II -
,l,. Ia ff,ll L.
author makes on, between the Duchess and the
Dean IL that Of delighted recognition on the pa''
~ the former that Swift dared 10 be as malicious
+, ,,rio, a. she could b.. herself in conVcrsati' n
"rn ber old age" on reading "Gulllver. says
Nrs Oljphant. Duchess Sarah chucklcd and
,orqova the Dean" II Is indirect testimony 'o n
yonulne goodness Of heart In spite Of stormy man
ners and a tongue like dagger. that IN" PLACID
,i,iposs NJ Anne WIS unrufile1 by years ~ IN
,iracv with the Duchess. The Queens temper
woud surely have been heated In some degree
II her daily companion had been all that she WAS
called And the faithfulness through 20 many
years OF a woman az gent" as the queen seem"
in,possiblc unless the favorte was worthy. 'i'
Ollphant pleads strongly for N" Duchess aGa'h-'
her accusers She does not tolerate the charges
Of grave dishonesty and she condemns the queen
| Cor breaking at last with her friend. But her
| argument jusincs Anne. Looked AT IRON IN"
vantage point OF "A later time. the WING she "'s
| the winning one. and the one which deserved Sue
cess But Anne's position as churcnWomah
must have required her, according 10 heI own
standard Of duty. to sympathtze with the Tories.
The two friends managed to stine their differences
,or long time. But the Duchess was deter
mined TO rule She had convictions about what
was best for Neutrality-suspicious. which Mrs.
/
the royal favor IN urging her view OF pubic al
t.trs IN the Queen In that famous conversation
whom Anne finally set her favorlte aside fne
t,us,ed herself to utter but sentence, ana TINS
| shc r.itepated again and again "a her only reply
| 20 tho impa ssioned appeals OF the Duchess. One
! NAV divine In this circumstance that she dared
not say more lest she should yield she GER
tainly felt that she was doing her duty 'housh
! f, gave her pain. The fact mat the Duchess
showed no perception Of this III her memoirs ne
trays a hardness OF temper when even MIS-.
| ELEPHANTS eloquent plea does not make attrac-
tive The Duchess was an excellent person to
admire from a distance.
The same must be said OF Swift. Mrs. Oliphant
really makes a pet Of the Dean. She even ex-
cuses him for deserving his party and going over
TO his political foes. But for Defoes crime IN
doing the same thing she has only bitter cen-
sure or course Defoes offence was aggravated
|. by the cunning with which he used the Tory
newspapers to advance Whg purposes. But II
he had the right to play the renegade ne had
also the right to make his work useful. Swifts
change was not from conviction. His only am
was advancement. Defoe's abandonment OF MS
party was feigned. He was ony marplot In
the enemy's camp. His guilt has certainly been
exaggerated One reason for this Is that the
| rhole oph ha
Is comparatively modern discovery. Wrath
over Swfts perfdy was practically exhausted
by mis- contemporaries while Defoes was left
to awaken the anger of another generation to
which the feelings OF needy writer's In Queen
s rrc,s he aI,ia i..i.a. rfnn.ly knnWu II