Vanbrugh, on his part, wrote an account of the whole thing to the Duke of Newcastle :

"I need make no remarks to your Grace", he said, prefatory to making them, upon this abominable woman's proceeding; which shall not, however, lessen my regard to my Lord Duke, nor good opinion of his grand-daughter, who I do not think has one grain of this wicked woman's temper in her; if I did, I would not advise you to take her, though with the allay of a million.”ı "She [the Duchess]", he wrote five days later, " comes off sadly. . . in saying it was my turn to speak, for it was nobody's turn to speak, but those who had something new to say, which I had not, not having seen your Grace; but she had, having employed Mr. Walter to you She's not a fool, though she's a

worse thing."

2

The Duke of Newcastle, in fact, was not deterred. Had he not come to an absolute resolution to marry before the winter was over? Perhaps, too, he remembered that Lady Harriet's other grandmother had been the saintly Margaret Blagge, to whose praise John Evelyn had devoted a whole book.3 So the negotiations proceeded, resolving themselves into a haggling for terms. The Duchess, however, was not prepared to increase her bid for this particular grandson-in-law, although, according to Vanbrugh, she was "much disposed to persuade the Duke to part with his money, and was only for saving her own ".4 She had expressly warned the Duke of Newcastle, through Mr. Walter, that she would not now be able to give as much as would have been possible when the proposal was first made, since she now had her Spencer (Sunderland) grandchildren to look after.

And to make matters more complicated, at this most exciting juncture the Duke of Marlborough had a severe

2 Ibid., 15th Nov. 1716. 4 Add. MSS. 33064: 15th Nov. 1716.

Add. MSS. 33064: 10th Nov. 1716. 3 Margaret Godolphin.

M

relapse. It was feared that he would die, and all the members of his family gathered around him. If he did die, of course the whole question of the dowry would be different. The Duke of Newcastle was perplexed. He sent an emissary to both Mr. Walter and Sir John. The latter advised that the suitor should bide his time, for the Duchess would never give what was asked, or anything near it; "but if my Lord Godolphin should have what is expected he will, [on the Duke's death] then everything might be much easier adjusted than it can be now." 1 But the Duke of Marlborough did not die; the bargaining went on, and a little later Vanbrugh, after seeing the young woman's father, wrote that the latter approved the match, but could not judge what other folks would do': "But he is of opinion nobody can help the Birth forward with the Great Lady, but that she must be left to her own throws, and we must wait a little to see what that will bring forth." 2

·

The Great Lady did eventually bring forth twenty-two thousand pounds, with which, and the prospect of having a posterity descended from the famous Duke of Marlborough, the bridegroom had to be content. The marriage took place on the 2nd April of the next year; but the bargain proved bad. The Duchess of Newcastle never bore her lord any children.

If the negotiations brought no material benefit to Vanbrugh, at least he was finally enlightened as to the true character of her Grace of Marlborough, and earned the everlasting gratitude of the Duke of Newcastle. The kindly Duke of Marlborough was, for his part, surprised at no more seeing the good fellow of an architect he had been used to meet at Blenheim and discuss the grounds

1 Add. MSS. 33064: 24th Nov. 1716.

2 Ibid., 27th Nov. 1716.

with so pleasantly. His wife told him he had thrown up the job. And he soon accustomed himself to the change in architects, especially as he was rapidly becoming less and less capable of doing business, preferring to rest himself at St. Albans, and watch his grandchildren acting Alt for Love, with old Mr. Jennings, his father-in-law, in the part of Ventidius.1