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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER HI. A TETE-A-TETE AT MAHLROROUGE HOUSE. Never had a drawing-room at Saint-James's been more numerously or brilliantly attended than on the present occasion. It was remarked, however, that the queen looked somewhat jaded and out of spirits, while a slight inflammation about the eyes increased her general appearance of indisposition. Noticing these symptoms with concern, the Duke of Marlborough alluded to them to the Prince of Denmark, who replied hastily and heedlessly, as was hiswont, " The queen owes her illness to herself. If she did not sit up so late at night, her eyes would not be so red, nor her spirits so indifferent." "Indeed!" exclaimed the duke; "I thought her majesty retired to rest early." " So she does, generally," replied the prince, in some confusion at the indiscretion he now perceived he had committed; " but sometimes she will sit up talking for an hour or two—talking to me, your grace— merely to me—asking my opinion on matters before the cabinet—much better go to bed—late hours don't agree with either of us—ha! ha!" And he thrust his snuffbox into the duke's hand to put an end to the discourse. Marlborough acknowledged the attention with a bow, but he muttered to himself— " She sits up o' nights, ha! Some one besides the duchess is in her confidence. This must be looked to." Later on in the day, when the drawing- room was over, the duke was alone with his illustrious lady, at Marlborough house. The duchess was radiant. Her fine eyes sparkled with pleasure, and her cheeks were flushed with triumph. Her step, as she crossed the chamber towards a sofa at the further end of it, was prouder than usual, and her mien statelier. A magnificent woman still was Sarah of Marlborough, and little of decay was visible about her. There was somethi...
