who was their head, and President of the Council, and most certainly enter'd then and some time before into underhand measures with Harley to ruin my Lord Marlborough, who he abhorr'd; he the said Manwaring told my Lady Duchess, that this was the happy opportunity to drive her mortal enemy Mrs. Masham from the Queen; that an Address of both Houses of Parliament would infallibly do it; that if my Lord Sommers, who was head of the Whig Party in the House of Lords, could be brought to promote it there, and that I would propose it in the House of Commons, and she, by her influence over my Lord Godolphin, would oblige him to engage my Lord Carlton and Mr. Smith, the Speaker, to support me, it was not possible it could miscarry in either House; and that he would undertake to bring my Lord Sommers, notwithstanding the coolness had been for some time between them, upon this occasion to come to my Lord Marlborough, and to give him all the assurances his Grace could expect.
My Lord Duke was catch'd in this snare, and my Lord Sommers on a Saturday came and dined with the Duke of Marlborough privately, none being present but my Lady Duchess and this Manwaring, and then advis'd the Duke to write a letter to the Queen that he could no longer serve, in case her Majy insisted on Hill's having the regiment; and then to go the next morning out of town and wait the event; which he accordingly did on Sunday morning, without imparting the fatal secret to any one friend in the world; but order'd Manwaring to acquaint me with the part he hoped I would act in it, which he never did, and trusted all the rest to my Lord Sommers; who, I can assure your Majesty, not five hours after my Lord Duke was gone to Windsor, it being the same Sunday before the Queen went to church, having an audience of her, and her Majesy shewing him my Lord Marlborough's letter, and complaining that the hardship he would impose upon her by it was so great, that in case she knew who to send over to command the confederate army in his place she would readily accept of his resignation; my Lord Somers immediately replied, that the letter (tho by himself advis'd as before) was an insolence not to be born by a sovereign from a subject, and that her Majesty need not be in pain for a general, since your sacred Majesty might supply that place; but if she did not approve of that, the Prince of Savoy, who had had the greatest share in the glorious successes past, if commission'd by her Majesty, might perform things full as great when he had the single command.
This so encouraged the Queen and her new counsellours that she sent for all the heads of either party, Tories or Whigs, in both Houses, and all in her service, to know if they would stand by her in case any such insolent Address as that
