In high spirits they hurried towards their native village. At the
entrance to it they came all at once upon a gentleman walking in the
company of three ladies.
"Fieldsend!" declared Matthew.
"Yes, by Jove!" cried George, "And with three ladies all to himself.
It's too much!"
CHAPTER XI
THE HARDEST FIGHT OF THEM ALL
There had been an attempted descent on the shores of Scotland in 1708,
the Old Pretender, under the auspices of Louis XIV, seeking to land
4,000 men in the Firth of Forth. Admiral Byng with sixteen vessels was
ready for the French expedition, and their fear of the redoubtable
sailor kept the enemy from doing anything, so that this attempt came
to less even than that which followed seven years later.
Politics about this time demanded much of Marlborough's care and
thought. The power of the Whigs was still growing, Harley, St. John,
and others of the moderate Tories giving way to such strong and active
Whigs as Somers, Walpole, and Orford. It was in 1709 that a violent
quarrel took place between "Mrs. Morley" and "Mrs. Freeman." The Queen
was becoming more than ever dissatisfied with Marlborough's policy.
The overthrow of the Churchills was coming nearer.
Abroad matters did not improve.
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