Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 3, Anatomy-Astronomy

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ANN
inno. character, was both willing and able to keep in check the
7 queen’s private inclinations : not less fortunate was it that
the sway exercised by the next possessor of the royal favour
was speedily cut short by her mistress’s death. The course
of English history might have flowed less smoothly, if the
Duchess of Marlborough and her husband had not become
convinced that their own interest lay in supporting the prin¬
ciples of the Revolution; and those principles might have
sustained a rude shock, if Mrs Masham and her Jacobite
allies had been allowed a few months longer to mature the
queen’s plans and their own.
The reign of Queen Anne, lasting for twelve years, falls
naturally into two unequal periods.
During the first of these, the Duke of Marlborough was
paramount in the houses of parliament, and his wife in the
royal closet. A ministry of Tories was formed on the
queen’s accession ; but the leaders of it were Marlborough
and Godolphin, who immediately began to edge off from
their party. The principal measures were, from the begin¬
ning, in substantial conformity to the policy of King Wil¬
liam : the war with France, hardly resisted then by any part
of the nation, was prosecuted with ardour and success; and
the victories of Oudenarde, Ramillies, and Blenheim, gained
by the consummate generalship of Marlborough, made Eng¬
land formidable and illustrious throughout Europe. In the
internal affairs of the kingdom, Whig principles for a time
prevailed more and more ; the party acquired a decided ma¬
jority in the House of Commons ; and the ministry came to
he composed almost entirely of Whigs, some of the Tories
being dismissed, and others, like the two leaders, showing
the accommodating flexibility of opinion which was so rife
among the statesmen of that slippery age. The Union of
England and Scotland was carried through in the face of
many difficulties ; and, while the proceedings of the minis¬
try in the matter were by no means perfectly pure, the
measure owed its success mainly to the independent and
honourable assistance of the best man among the Whigs,
the accomplished and patriotic Lord Somers. During several
years, in short, barriers were gradually and firmly built up
against the old system, and the old parties. But other days
were at hand. The domineering favourite of the queen pre¬
sumed rashly on her power, and offended the self-esteem of
her mistress. Mrs Masham, a poor relation of the duchess,
whom she had introduced into the royal household, soothed
Anne’s fretful temper, gratified her vanity, and quickly,
though secretly, acquired her confidence and affection ; and,
under the guidance of the new favourite, and her prompter
Harley, the queen was encouraged to hope for the attain¬
ment of all her most cherished aims. The state of public
opinion underwent a corresponding change. Even under
the masterly government of William, disappointments had
been felt by those who expected impossibilities from the
Revolution : discontent now diffused itself very widely, the
main cause being the increase of taxation which had been
rendered necessary by the continental war. The Tories
and Jacobites, led by some of the ablest of the statesmen,
and assisted by some of the most skilful and energetic of
the political writers, dexterously used the combustible ma¬
terials that were accumulating, and made the Church also
an active engine of mischief. The ministry saw their par¬
liamentary majorities wasting away; they were personally
treated at court with open contumely: and their ruin was
completed when, still relying too boldly on their supposed
strength, they impeached Sacheverell for publicly preach¬
ing in favour of Jacobitism and the divine right of kings.
In August 1710 the Whig administration was ignominiously
discarded.
The second period of the queen’s reign began at this
point. She was thenceforth governed by Mrs Masham; Mrs
Masham was governed by Harley and St John, the chiefs of
voi.. in.
ANN 217
the new ministry ; and these able and unscrupulous men ex- Anne
erted themselves to the utmost of their power in undoing all Boleyn
that had been done by their predecessors. The fruits of the II
vvar were immediately abandoned, and the allies of England St ;A'nne’s
shamefully betrayed, by the Treaty of Utrecht. If open at- > Day‘ ,
tacks were not made on the constitution, it was only because v
the parliament could not be trusted in such a case ; and be¬
cause, also, the two ministerial leaders became jealous of each
other, and formed separate intrigues. Harley, the Sinon
of the time, corresponded both with St Germains and with
Hanover; St John, more decidedly Jacobite, plotted with
Mrs Masham and the queen to procure the crown for the
Pretender, on the ostensible condition of his professing Pro¬
testantism. But these cabals oozed out sufficiently to alarm
the honourable Tories, and to array them and the bishops
against the ministry in parliament. The time, likewise,
during which the danger was growing, proved too short to
allow it to become ripe. Harley and Mrs Masham came
to an open quarrel one evening in Anne’s presence: after
they had squabbled for hours, the poor queen just retained
strength enough to insist that the minister should resign on
the spot: she then retired, at two in the morning, and lay
down on her deathbed. She was seized with apoplexy, and
died on the 1st of August 1714. St John’s schemes were
not ready for execution ; and, by the prompt activity of a
few patriotic statesmen, the accession of George I. was im¬
mediately and peaceably secured. (w. s.)
ANNE Boleyn or Bullen, queen of King Henry VIII.,
was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, a nobleman of a
powerful family and numerous alliances. The daughter of
the Duke of Norfolk was her mother, and during the reign
of the former king her father had been honoured with seve¬
ral embassies. Mary, the king’s sister, who married Louis
XII., carried over this lady with her to France at an early
age, where she imbibed the freedom, the vivacity, and the
openness of manners of that nation. After the death of
Louis, that queen returned to England, and Anne conti¬
nued to attend her royal mistress. Having some time after
left her service, she was introduced into the family of the
Duchess of Alencon. On her return to England, famed for
personal beauty and acquired accomplishments, the king, in¬
fluenced as much by his passion for the youthful Anne as by
regard to the canon law, began to express his scruples con¬
cerning his union with Catherine of Aragon. Anne was
placed at court and distinguished by many marks of royal
favour, and the enamoured monarch openly expressed his
attachment to her ; but she was possessed of too much vir¬
tue and policy to confer any improper favours. This pru¬
dent and virtuous restraint only increased the passion of the
impetuous Henry; who at length came to the resolution of
divorcing his queen, to make way for his favourite. Various
delays and difficulties occurring to the divorce, Henry pri¬
vately married Anne during the month of November 1532 ;
and in April following he publicly declared her queen of
England. The issue of this marriage was the wise and fortu¬
nate Queen Elizabeth, who was born in September follow¬
ing. For some time Anne enjoyed a considerable share of
the royal favour, and she made use of that influence in sub¬
duing the haughty prelate Wolsey, and widening the breach
between the king and the pope. But this favour was not of
long continuance ; for the king, ever varying in his temper,
allowed jealousy to enter his bosom, which her thoughtless
demeanour tended in some measure to excite. She was ac¬
cused of adultery with several of the household officers, and
even with her own brother Lord Rochford; and having been
tried on a charge of high treason, was condemned on very
inadequate evidence to be beheaded; which sentence was
executed in May 1536. She resolutely denied to the last
any serious guilt.
St Anne’s Day, a festival of the Roman and Greek
2 E