When Mrs. Jennings stepped out of her coach at St. James's she wore a fine white linen collar or tippet over a pointed stomacher; a handsome brocaded silk petticoat of large design, which reached only to her ankles; sleeves to the elbows, trimmed with beautiful old lace; a pair of high-heeled shoes with long toes, and green silk stockings, that being the fashionable colour; over all a travelling pelisse of black silk, with a hood. Mrs. Jennings also carried a large muff known in Paris as a chien manchon, because it was customary there to carry a small dog on it. Sarah was attired very much. after the style of her mother. Both wore their hair flat on the top of their heads in natural curls, slightly friezed at the sides. This simple style of coiffure was peculiar to England at this particular period, French ladies preferring the Fontange. It is said that an adventure was the origin of this head-dress. Mdlle. de Fontange, mistress of Louis XIV., was out riding with him one day when her coiffure became disordered. her garter and twisted it round her hair. pleased the King that he begged she would wear it that way. All the ladies of the court adopted the fashion, and then added feathers, ribbons, gauze, &c., until the headdress grew to enormous proportions. This fashion was dropped at the end of the seventeenth century, but was again revived in 1715, when it became still more exaggerated.

She took off This style so

There are two versions of this change of fashion. One is that Louis XIV., becoming disgusted at the preposterous height of the Fontange, on October 1679 said, "Cette coiffure me parait désagreable." Next day all the ladies had adopted low head-dresses. Another version was that Louis complained that no one paid any attention to his objections until "une Inconnue une Guenille d'Angleterre (no less a person than Lady

Sackville, the English ambassadress) avec une petite coiffure très basse" appeared at the court, when the principal ladies went to the other extreme.1

It is reported in the private correspondence of the day that on more than one occasion Sarah and her mother had a desperate quarrel. This was in 1676, when Mrs. Jennings, becoming alarmed at her daughter's surroundings, wished her to leave the court, which the wilful girl had no intention of doing. Sarah, with her natural impetuosity and passion, said unbecoming things which possiby she regretted afterwards. She declared that if her mother remained at St. James's, "where she was sheltering from debt, she (Sarah) would run away."

In the end the daughter gained the day, and Mrs. Jennings received orders to depart. The estrangement was not permanent, as some years later, when Mrs. Jennings died, she left in her will everything "to her dear daughter Sarah." Quarrels at court were of frequent occurrence, sometimes even in the presence of royalty. It was by no means uncommon in those days of slight self-repression for open quarrels to take place, when candlesticks were called into requisition and freely thrown about to emphasise the disputants' remarks.

Sarah was not, therefore, altogether singular in showing uncontrolled temper. Although Mrs. Jennings certainly instilled in her daughters a love of virtue and honour, they laboured under distinct disadvantages. "Sarah's natural instincts were good, but she never learnt in childhood to curb her temper, nor was any effort made to train her mind." The wonder is that she resisted the many temptations she was exposed to in the depraved court of Charles II.

2

1 Planché, "Cyclopedia of Costume."

2 Lord Wolseley, in "Life of John, Duke of Marlborough."

CHAPTER II

UNDER CHARLES II

(1671-1685)

"Here lies our sovereign lord the King,
Whose word no man relies on,

Who never said a foolish thing,

And never did a wise one."

-ROCHESTER.

ANNE HYDE, Duchess of York, died in 1671. Two years later the Duke of York married Mary Beatrice d'Este, Princess of Modena, a girl fourteen years of age and very beautiful.

On her arrival at St. James's she found two stepdaughters, the Princesses Mary and Anne, and in attendance on the latter, still a child, was a tall, flaxenhaired, beautiful girl, Sarah Jennings, who had been established at the court about a year.

Among the Duke of York's household at this time was a young man named John Churchill. His father, Sir Winston, had lost the greater part of his fortune in the Civil Wars, as many had done, fighting for the Royal cause. He had therefore retired into private life and devoted himself to the education of his sons. Young Churchill had been brought up strictly in the Protestant faith, and these principles greatly influenced his after-life. He came of a good family, being descended from Roger de Courselle or Courcil, one of the barons of Poitiers who accompanied the Conqueror to England. This family settled first in Somersetshire and afterwards in

Wiltshire, the name becoming corrupted in time from De Courcil to Chourchille and Churchill.

Sir Winston had married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Drake of Ash in Devonshire, and here a good deal of young Churchill's childhood had been spent. As a boy of sixteen he became page to the Duke of York, who soon favoured the handsome and spirited lad, obtaining for him a commission in the Guards in 1667.

When very young, John Churchill attracted the attention of the Duchess of Cleveland, who was supposed to entertain a passion for him. It was therefore thought more prudent for him to leave the court. Charles begged Louis XIV. to appoint young Churchill to command the British regiment in the French king's service, and this request was granted in 1674.

He served under the great Turenne, who used to style him "my handsome young Englishman," and he was in all the hard-fought battles during two summers on the Rhine. The French always admired Churchill, even when later he beat them. They felt he owed his military genius to the experience he had gained under their own famous commander, and judged him therefore an opponent worthy of their steel.

Churchill returned to St. James's during the winter months, and resumed his duties about the court. But before long he was promoted to command an English foot regiment, and at the time of Princess Mary's marriage, Colonel Churchill bought-from Mr. Villiers, who was appointed to the suite of the Prince of Orange-the post of Master of the Horse to the Duke of York. Churchill gave £1800 for this vacancy,1 which a little later enabled him to marry.

It was entirely a political move on Charles's part 1 H.M.C., Twelfth Report.

choosing the Prince of Orange as a husband for his niece Mary; it was in order to bring about a peace with the Dutch.

There was a very sad parting between James and his daughter, who was by no means in love with William's cold exterior, although later she became a devoted wife to him. The Duchess of York wept so copiously that the Prince of Orange, who hated emotion, preferred to start in a very light wind and "tug only eight miles the hour, rather than return to make a second scene of grief." The Prince of Orange and his wife arrived in Holland at last, but landed in such a bad place that coaches were unable to come within four miles. The princess had to walk this distance in a hard frost. The Prince of Orange left her shortly after to join his army.

The courts, both of St. James's and Whitehall, had attended the wedding ceremony which had taken place on 4th November. Among the guests in the princess's suite was Sarah Jennings, who, in all the beauty of youth and with the sparkle of her keen wit, had first attracted Colonel Churchill at a ball given in the Duchess of York's drawing-room. On this memorable occasion she was fifteen, while he was twenty-five. There were many opportunities for Churchill to renew his courtship with Sarah during the festivities. She had then been at court five years. Having heard much of the exploits of the young soldier, she felt proud of his acquaintance, and what no doubt enhanced the value of his attentions was the thought of his having left the Duchess of Cleveland's side for the sake of one of the youngest maids of honour.

Sir Winston and Lady Churchill opposed their son's engagement, which was shortly announced, as Sarah 1 Rutland MSS., H.M.C.