forgotten that he was the great moving figure of his age,
and, like Buonaparte, for a time entirely filled the European
eye, not only as the generalissimo and leading statesman of
the Grand Alliance, but as the virtual prime-minister of
England, pending the brief but eventful and stirring period
of Queen Anne's reign.

Although Mr. Coxe must needs have laboured under
an embarrassment of riches, there has been a great acces-
sion of new materials since his time; and our own task
of revision, beyond the correction of a few careless expres-
sions, has mainly consisted in supplying omissions and eluci-
dations from more recent sources of information. Besides
the general histories of Hallam, Lord John Russell, and Lord
Mahon, together with the voluminous remains of Horace
Walpole, several works have lately appeared, especially de-
voted to the Duke of Marlborough, or his hardly less cele-
brated duchess. ^*

We have looked into all these; but though some of them
claim to be original discoveries in the forgotten archives of
Woodstock, we are convinced, from a careful collation, that
they had not escaped the industry of Archdeacon Coxe, and
of his chief assistant, the Rev. George May.

Nevertheless, we have, from these and other sources,
gleaned some additional illustrations of public characters and
events, that will help to render more accurate and complete
the picture of the martial age in which the great general
flourished. J. W.

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