Knowing that in the circumstances a residence at the Cockpit would be anything but agreeable, Anne retained it only for those of her attendants who were not obnoxious to the government, and leased Berkeley House for herself. Then she wrote to Lady Marlborough, who was with her husband, and related all that had happened, closing her letter with assurances of undying devotion and a desire soon to be reunited. The battle of La Hogue was so decided a success for the English navy that it restored some of its lost credit. Queen Mary was well pleased with the valor of her sailors, and sent thirty thousand pounds in gold to be distributed among them, and a gold medal to each of the officers. But she deserves credit for a still worthier deed; she ordered the unfinished palace of Greenwich to be fitted up for the wounded seamen, and every possible care to be taken of them. After the victory of La Hogue the queen made an effort to keep alive the popular enthusiasm by receiving addresses of congratulation, dressed in her regal robes, and by reviewing the militia and artillery companies in person. But she was at the same time guilty of several acts of tyranny in causing the death of those whom the jury had failed to convict. She kept Lord Marlborough shut up in the Tower as long as possible, and only released him at last on bail. Meanwhile, Princess Anne was deprived of the society of her favorites, but she frequently wrote to Lady Marlborough, and referred to the king as "Caliban," or "that Dutch {394}monster"; she sometimes mentioned her little son, the Duke of Gloucester, and said that she patiently awaited the bright day when he should arrive at man's estate, so that England might flourish again. In order to rid the metropolis of burglars, and the neighboring roads of highwaymen, Queen Mary issued a proclamation offering forty pounds a head for such offenders. This led to the execution of an enormous number of people without remedying the evil, and the reward thus obtained was called "blood-money." Queen Mary's order was meant to benefit her subjects, but it proved a serious evil, for the prisons were soon filled to overflowing, and the jailers and thief-catchers played into each other's hands, and often punished innocent people for the sake of the "blood-money." They managed in this way: One of the villains would pretend to be a professional robber, and entice a couple of youths or dishonestly inclined men to join him in waylaying and robbing a certain party. That party would of course be a confederate, who would follow up the dupes, trace the stolen property with the assistance of the originator of the crime, and by that means cause two arrests and executions, for which the human fiends would receive eighty pounds. Then the chiefs engaged in the plot would meet and divide the spoils at an entertainment to which they gave the name of "the blood-feast."