were sent out. The Duke was joined by Prince Eugene of Savoy.

And now commenced a very brilliant course of victories over the French and their allies. Many cities were taken, many battles were gained; and Louis, after all his proud boasting, was so completely humbled, that he began even to beg for peace. The chief battle for you to remember in this reign was that of Blenheim. By that victory the English and their allies got possession of a very large territory in Germany; and Marlborough was rewarded for his bravery by his country; for he received a large estate, and a magnificent mansion was erected for him near Oxford, called Blenheim House.

But notwithstanding all this success, there were evils connected with these victories of a very serious kind. The country was becoming almost ruined by the heavy expenses which war always brings with it; and when, after a time, the Whig ministers were dismissed, and the Tories got into power, hostilities were terminated, Marlborough was recalled, and peace established by the Treaty of Utrecht. As this is an important event to be remembered in English History, you will do well to bear the date of it in your minds. It took place in the year 1713.

So ended the brilliant career of Marlbo

rough. As a commander, his fame all through that long campaign was unsullied. It is said of him, that he always advanced, and never retreated; and that on no occasion did he lose an advantage once gained over the enemy. But though he was such a great man as a soldier, there were some charges brought against him which must lessen our admiration of him as a man. The great fault in the character of Marlborough was avarice.

Even when a child he shewed this. It is said that the first purchase he ever made was a box to hold his money. That money was hoarded and increased, and with it increased the natural avarice of the owner, until it formed the blemish of his after life. During the war with France, it was found that he had been guilty of taking bribes; and he was even accused of having prolonged hostilities, in order that he might enrich himself by the plunder of the foreign troops. These were indeed heavy charges; but they proved to be too true; and Marlborough was in consequence deprived of all the honourable employments in which he had hitherto been engaged. The Duchess, having at last wearied out the Queen by the violence of her temper, was dismissed likewise.

And now, in accordance with our usual plan of gaining instruction from the different characters which, from time to time, come be

and

fore us, let us pause here for a moment, talk a little about this quality of avarice which so tarnished the brilliancy of Marlborough's fame. You see how early the love of money appeared in him, and how, in after years, it increased, until it led to actual dishonesty. You have not forgotten, I hope, another instance of a great public character, whose reputation suffered from a cause very similar to that of the case we are now speaking of,-I mean Lord Bacon. This quality of avarice is, unhappily, a very common one. It pervades all classes, and is found in persons of all ages, and therefore we should guard carefully against any approach in ourselves to a vice so mean, as well as so wicked. And it is important too to guard against it in early life. The child who loves to get and to hoard money, instead of expending it wisely in what is good and useful to himself or others, will assuredly grow up an avaricious, a selfish, perhaps even a dishonest man, unless the habit be carefully checked, and the natural disposition counteracted. Such a child should be taught, from experience, the pleasure of generosity; and when once he has learnt this, he will desire no more to lay up money in a box,—there to remain and to increase, but to do good to no one. No, he will take care of his money indeed; but it will not always remain in the

box. It will be taken out, and applied to some useful purpose for that child will remember that money is one of the talents entrusted to us by God; and that whether we have much or little, He will call us to account for the use we make of it. Do you recollect what is said in the Bible about this? "Charge them who are rich in this world, that they be ready to give, and glad to distribute." And even if we have but little, we are gladly "to give of that little."-But we must return to the affairs of Queen Anne's reign.

I must not forget to mention, that a very valuable possession came into the hands of the English about this time. This was Gibraltar.

If

you look at the situation of Gibraltar in the map of Europe, you will find out the importance of that acquisition. It is just at the entrance of the Mediterranean sea; so that the possession of the fortress gives us the power of watching every vessel that enters or passes through the straits, and this is a great advantage in times both of war and peace. Gibraltar was taken by Sir George Rooke.

You see that in this reign, the English had great success on land; but they were not quite so successful at sea. One unfortunate defeat took place near the West Indies, while contending with the French. The English fleet was commanded on that occasion by a brave

man named Admiral Benbow. Notwithstanding his own bravery, however, he suffered defeat from the bad conduct of some of his officers, who left him to fight almost alone. Still he continued to use all his efforts against the enemy; and even the loss of a leg by a cannon ball, did not prevent him from continuing to give his orders, as he lay wounded on the deck of his vessel. At last, the only ship that remained to him, was almost shattered to pieces, and then further resistance seemed impossible. The defeat grieved Benbow much more than his bodily sufferings could do. When one of his lieutenants sympathized with him on the loss of his limb, he said, "I am sorry for it; but I had rather have lost both my legs, than have seen the disgrace of this day. But do you hear? If another shot should take me off, do you behave like men, and fight it out." The brave Admiral did not long survive his disasters. He died of his wounds soon after, and the officers who had so basely deserted him, were, on their return, tried, and sentenced to be shot, by a court martial.

But the chief event in Anne's reign was the union of England and Scotland. You know that, from the accession of James I, these two countries had been ruled by one Sovereign; but still they continued to have different Par