her pretended brother, instead of your sacred Majesty. And he fell into these wicked measures so warmly, that it soon appeared he had a superior interest with the Queen to my Lord Godolphin, who, contrary to the advice of all his friends, promoted him.
And by his often telling the Queen that he, i. e. my Lord Godolphin, notwithstanding the repeated assurances he had formerly given her Majesty of hastening the peace, and of altering the Succession according to her wishes, was now so absolutely influenc'd by my Lady Marlborough's passions, who was, in opposition to her Majesty and in hatred to Mrs. Masham, as entirely govern'd by the Whig Lords, and attach'd to that interest, that he thought no more of those engagements.
He, Mr. Harley, soon became strong enough to form a scheme of government in which the first proposition was, to remove my Lord Godolphin from the place of Treasurer, in order to put the staff into his own destructive hands. And so sure was he of the fix'd resolution in the Queen to enter into these his ruinous measures at that time, that he made her write a letter to my Lord Marlborough, who the Queen thought (and she had then too much reason to think so) would readily enter into the same scheme, to acquaint him with the whole affair. And this letter was carried to his grace by Mr. St. John, now Lord Bullingbroke, then my Lord's chief favourite and most trusted friend, whose part in this new scheme was to be Secretary of State, and my Lord Harcourt Lord Chancellour.
And there having been a party of Whig Lords call'd the Junto, and wch consisted of Lord Sommers, Lord Oxford, Lord Halifax, Lord Wharton, and Lord Sunderland, who had for some time before openly shown themselves envious at, and jealous of, my Lord Marlborough's exorbitant encrease of power and riches, and who in the House of Peers, where the interest of the Lords aforenamed only prevailed, had done several things to lessen his grace's great and emminent services to the publick, and particularly on all occasions whenever they were mention'd in the House, by applying the greatest share of them to Prince Eugene's skill and conduct in military affairs; and my Lord Marlborough having this provocation from the Whigs added to his inclination to the Tories, and more particularly to St. John, Harcourt, and Mansell, (and at this instant, even to Harley himself,) on account of their inveteracy to the Junto Lords; and my Lord Godolphin and my Lord Sunderland, both hurried on by my Lady Marlborough's furious passion, having, notwithstanding their near relation to my Lord Marlborough, enter'd into as close or closer engagements with the Junto Lords, in opposition, even in personal things, to my Lord Marlborough himself; his grace, if he had not under-
