Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and of the Court of Queen Anne Vol. 2 (of 2)

Memoirs of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and of the Court of Queen Anne Vol. 2 (of 2)

Character of Lord PeterboroughOf Lord MontagueMarriage of the Lady Mary Churchill with Lord MonthermerCharacter and success of her husbandThe violence of party spirit at this eraConduct of the Duchess in politicsHer dislike to Lord RochesterHis character Preferment of Harley to the secretaryshipViews originally entertained by Marlborough and Lord GodolphinAnecdote of Lord Wharton at BathA proof of political rancour. Amongst those friends who hastened to pour forth their condolences to the Duchess of Marlborough on the loss of her son, the celebrated 2Charles Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough, was one of the first, and amongst the most eager to testify his concern. This nobleman, whose enmity towards Marlborough became afterwards conspicuous, was at this time one of the numerous votaries of the arrogant Duchess. Lord Peterboroughs extravagances gave a meteor-like celebrity to his general character. Among many of the celebrated individuals who illumined the age, he would, nevertheless, have been eminent, even had his course been less peculiar, and his deportment like that of ordinary men. The eventful public life of this nobleman began in the reign of Charles the Second; at the early age of eighteen, he had distinguished himself in the cause of patriotism by attending Algernon Sidney to the scaffold, an act of kindness and of courage, which was the commencement of his singular career. He lived, says Horace Walpole, a romance, and was capable of making it a history.[1] At this period of his life, nature and fortune alike combined to favour the brilliancy of that career, which, in its eccentricities, and in the rapid succession of events by which it was marked, had not a parallel in the times of which we treat. Lord Peterborough owed much to circumstances. 3Of high ancestry, an earl by birth, and afterwards by creation, being the first Earl of Monmouth, he graced his favoured station by the charm of his manners, by his varied accomplishments, and by the union of a daring courage with the highest cultivation of the intellectual powers. Celebrated for the wit which he delighted to display, his enterprising character was enhanced in the estimation of all who admired valour, by those personal advantages which the imagination is disposed to combine with heroism and with eloquence. In both, he exceeded most other men of his time. Without being worthy of challenging a comparison with Marlborough, he dazzled, he interested, he astonished the world. He was a man, as Pope truly describes him, resolved neither to live nor to die like other men.[2] In those days, when a constellation of bright stars threw a lustre over the annals of our country, Lord Peterborough shone conspicuous, even whilst Marlborough lived to pursue successive triumphs. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 65781
Author: Thomson, A. T.
Release Date: Jul 6, 2021
Format: eBook
Language: English