第1171章 CHAPTER XXIII(42)

Portland too would lend his assistance. He had just returned. He had always considered his mission as an extraordinary mission， of which the object was to put the relations between the two great Western powers on a proper footing after a long series of years during which England had been sometimes the enemy， but never the equal friend， of France. His task had been well performed； and he now came back， leaving behind him the reputation of an excellent minister， firm yet cautious as to substance， dignified yet conciliating in manner. His last audience at Versailles was unusually long； and no third person was present. Nothing could be more gracious than the language and demeanour of Lewis. He condescended to trace a route for the embassy， and insisted that Portland should make a circuit for the purpose of inspecting some of the superb fortresses of the French Netherlands. At every one of those fortresses the governors and engineers had orders to pay every attention to the distinguished stranger. Salutes were everywhere fired to welcome him. A guard of honour was everywhere in attendance on him. He stopped during three days at Chantilly， and was entertained there by the Prince of Condé with all that taste and magnificence for which Chantilly had long been renowned. There were boar hunts in the morning and concerts in the evening. Every gentleman of the legation had a gamekeeper specially assigned to him. The guests， who， in their own island were accustomed to give extravagant vails at every country house which they visited， learned， with admiration， that His Highness's servants were strictly forbidden to receive presents. At his luxurious table， by a refinement of politeness， choice cider from the orchards round the Malvern Hills made its appearance in company with the Champagne and the Burgundy.

Portland was welcomed by his master with all the kindness of old times. But that kindness availed nothing. For Albemarle was still in the royal household， and appeared to have been， during the last few months， making progress in the royal favour. Portland was angry， and the more angry because he could not but perceive that his enemies enjoyed his anger， and that even his friends generally thought it unreasonable； nor did he take any pains to conceal his vexation. But he was the very opposite of the vulgar crowd of courtiers who fawn on a master while they betray him. He neither disguised his ill humour， nor suffered it to interfere with the discharge of his duties. He gave his prince sullen looks， short answers， and faithful and strenuous services. His first wish， he said， was to retire altogether from public life.

But he was sensible that， having borne a chief part in the negotiation on which the fate of Europe depended， he might be of use at Loo； and， with devoted loyalty， though with a sore heart and a gloomy brow， he prepared to attend William thither.

Before the King departed he delegated his power to nine Lords Justices. The public was well pleased to find that Sunderland was not among them. Two new names appeared in the list. That of Montague could excite no surprise. But that of Marlborough awakened many recollections and gave occasion to many speculations. He had once enjoyed a large measure of royal favour. He had then been dismissed， disgraced， imprisoned. The Princess Anne， for refusing to discard his wife， had been turned out of the palace， and deprived of the honours which had often been enjoyed by persons less near to the throne. Ministers who were supposed to have great influence in the closet had vainly tried to overcome the dislike with which their master regarded the Churchills. It was not till he had been some time reconciled to his sister in law that he ceased to regard her two favourite servants as his enemies. So late as the year 1696 he had been heard to say， "If I had been a private gentleman， my Lord Marlborough and I must have measured swords." All these things were now， it seemed， forgotten. The Duke of Gloucester's household had just been arranged. As he was not yet nine years old， and the civil list was burdened with a heavy debt， fifteen thousand pounds was thought for the present a sufficient provision. The child's literary education was directed by Burnet， with the title of Preceptor. Marlborough was appointed Governor； and the London Gazette announced his appointment， not with official dryness， but in the fervid language of panegyric.

He was at the same time again sworn a member of the Privy Council from which he had been expelled with ignominy； and he was honoured a few days later with a still higher mark of the King's confidence， a seat at the board of Regency.

Some persons imagined that they saw in this strange reconciliation a sign that the influence of Portland was on the wane and that the influence of Albemarle was growing. For Marlborough had been many years at feud with Portland， and had even--a rare event indeed--been so much irritated as to speak of Portland in coarse and ungentlemanlike terms. With Albemarle， on the other hand， Marlborough had studiously ingratiated himself by all the arts which a mind singularly observant and sagacious could learn from a long experience in courts； and it is possible that Albemarle may have removed some difficulties. It is hardly necessary， however， to resort to that supposition for the purpose of explaining why so wise a man as William forced himself， after some delay caused by very just and natural resentment， to act wisely. His opinion of Marlborough's character was probably unaltered. But he could not help perceiving that Marlborough's situation was widely different from what it had been a few years before. That very ambition， that very avarice， which had， in former times， impelled him to betray two masters， were now sufficient securities for his fidelity to the order of things which had been established by the Bill of Rights. If that order of things could be maintained inviolate， he could scarcely fail to be， in a few years， the greatest and wealthiest subject in Europe. His military and political talents might therefore now be used without any apprehension that they would be turned against the government which used them. It is to be remembered too that he derived his importance less from his military and political talents， great as they were， than from the dominion which， through the instrumentality of his wife， he exercised over the mind of the Princess. While he was on good terms with the Court it was certain that she would lend no countenance to any cabal which might attack either the title or the prerogatives of her brother in law. Confident that from this quarter， a quarter once the darkest and most stormy in the whole political horizon， nothing but sunshine and calm was now to be expected， William set out cheerfully on his expedition to his native country.