the earl of Godolphin, as I have above related, going out of town, was met by the latter of these two lords near Kensington gate. The earl, in a high fit of jealousy, goes immediately to the queen, reproaches her for privately seeing Mr. Harley, and was hardly so civil as to be convinced, by her majesty's frequent protestations to the contrary.
These suspicions, I say, made it hard for her majesty and Mr. Harley to have private interviews: neither had he made use of the opportunities he met with to open himself so much to her, as she seemed to expect, and desired; although Mrs. Masham, in right of her station in the bedchamber, had taken all proper occasions of pursuing what Mr. Harley had begun. In this critical juncture, the queen, hemmed in, and as it were imprisoned, by the duchess of Marlborough and her creatures, was at a loss how to proceed. One evening a letter was brought to Mr. Harley, all dirty, and by the hand of a very ordinary messenger. He read the superscription, and saw it was the queen's writing. He sent for the messenger, who said, "he knew not whence the letter came, but that it was delivered him by an under gardener," I forget whether of Hampton Court or Kensington. The letter mentioned the difficulties her majesty was under; blaming him for "not speaking with more freedom and more particularly; and desiring his assistance." With this encouragement, he went more frequently, although still as private as possible[1], to the back stairs; and from that time be-
- ↑ 'As private as possible,' &c. It should be 'as privately as possible.'
