of making peace and war. This author, treating the queen with as little consideration as his patrons used to do, does not so much as consult her majesty's wisdom and inclination; but supposes, "no British parliament will ever be chosen here, that will ratify an ill peace, or will not crush the bold man who shall propose it." This is like what he says, "That the time will come, when it will be as safe to speak truth of the present ministry, as it is to belie the old." What can one suppose from these threatenings? They are such as in wisdom should never be made, scarce with an army to back them: did I not know the loyalty of ours, I should fear, from our author's great intelligence, that they were in the secret, to frighten the ministry and parliament from taking into consideration the unanimous wishes and wants of our people, who have sustained so long a war, to the ruin of their trade, and a vast expense of their blood and treasure, upon such disinterested views as sure no people besides ever did. We very well know his reasons, for providing peace should not be made without Spain[1]; yet, when all those kingdoms and dependencies were united to the empire, the house of Austria was more terrible to Europe than the house of Bourbon has been since; and a confederate war was then successfully carried on, as now, to fix the
- ↑ Though Marlborough showed less apathy than was expected from his former character, his enemies furnished him with sufficient reasons for his resentment. The accusation which chiefly ruined his credit with the nation appears now to have been malicious and unjust. He was said to have sacrificed the war in Spain to his own operations in Flanders, to gratify his ambition, and glut his inordinate avarice.
