motion to be withdrawn. But the opposition, elated with hope,
insisted on dividing, and were confounded by finding that, with
all the advantage of a surprise, they were only one hundred and
thirty-three to one hundred and seventy-three. Their defeat would
probably have been less complete, had not all those members who
were especially attached to the Princess of Denmark voted in the
majority or absented themselves. Marlborough used all his
influence against the motion; and he had strong reasons for doing
so. He was by no means well pleased to see the Commons engaged in
discussing the characters and past lives of the persons who were
placed about the Duke of Gloucester. If the High Churchmen, by
reviving old stories, succeeded in carrying a vote against the
Preceptor, it was by no means unlikely that some malicious Whig
might retaliate on the Governor. The Governor must have been
conscious that he was not invulnerable; nor could he absolutely
rely on the support of the whole body of Tories; for it was
believed that their favourite leader, Rochester, thought himself
the fittest person to superintend the education of his grand
nephew.

From Burnet the opposition went back to Somers. Some Crown
property near Reigate had been granted to Somers by the King. In
this transaction there was nothing that deserved blame. The Great
Seal ought always to be held by a lawyer of the highest
distinction; nor can such a lawyer discharge his duties in a
perfectly efficient manner unless, with the Great Seal, he
accepts a peerage. But he may not have accumulated a fortune such
as will alone suffice to support a peerage; his peerage is
permanent; and his tenure of the Great Seal is precarious. In a
few weeks he may be dismissed from office, and may find that he