Stuarts

WILLIAM AND MARY 203
to have been no generosity on the part of William and Mary towards Anne,
who had made sacrifices for the sake of the security of their throne. The
Royal pair squabbled over her lodgings in Whitehall ; they refused Richmond
to her ; they begrudged the .£30,000 a year she was allowed ; and when
Parliament, through the exertions of Lady Marlborough, gave her £50,000,
this was a cause of offence, and things were brought to a climax when the
dismissal of Lady Marlborough was demanded by the Queen. This demand
was even carried by Mary into the chamber of the Princess after her
confinement at Syon House, where she had taken refuge. But, lying on her
bed "as white as the sheets," Anne refused with stammering accents, saying
it was unreasonable to ask it of her. Whereupon the angry Queen left the
room without another word, and they never met again.
Macaulay, in his elaborate description of William's character and person,
speaks of his slender and feeble frame, of his lofty and ample forehead, the
nose curved like the beak of an eagle, an eye rivalling that of an eagle in
brightness and keenness, a thoughtful and somewhat sullen brow, a cheek
pale, thin, and deeply furrowed by sickness and care. His mental gifts and
force of will are subjects of the enthusiastic praise of the great Whig historian ;
but in England " Dutch William " was never popular. This was largely due
no doubt, to his inability to speak the language, but above all to his taciturn
nature and cold manner. This frigid exterior belied the nature of the man,
as revealed in his letters to his faithful servant and lifelong friend, Bentinck,
ancestor of the present Ducal house of Portland.
The same writer has graphically described how abiding and real was
William's fondness for his native land. This, no doubt, was one of the
causes of his want of popularity in England. English people, Macaulay
says, were provoked at William being so happy at the prospect of any visit
to Holland. They hoped that "when no call of duty required him to cross
the seas, he would generally, during the summer and autumn, reside in his
fair palaces and parks on the banks of the Thames, or travel from country
seat to country seat, and from cathedral town to cathedral town, making
himself acquainted with every shire of his realm, and giving his hand to
be kissed by multitudes of squires, clergymen, and aldermen, who were not
likely ever to see him unless he came amongst them." But "he was sick
of the noble residences which had descended to him from ancient princes . . .
sick of Windsor, of Richmond, and Hampton. . . . Whilst he was forced to
be with us he was weary of us, pining for his home ... he turned his back