Throughout Queen Anne's reign there were so many contests that it will be necessary sometimes to mention the two parties between whom they occurred, though as little as possible will be said on the subject of politics, and none of the dry details and intricacies of the various projects shall be recounted. The two powerful parties to which we refer were called Whigs and Tories, and probably no one will object to knowing how they were distinguished. In the reign of Queen Anne the policy of the Whigs was to keep up a perpetual war against France, in order to prevent the son of James II. from claiming his right to the throne of England. They were opposed to the Church of Rome and equally so to the reformed Catholic or "High Church" of England. Though the queen was the acknowledged head of the church, they desired that her power to fill vacancies should be bestowed on the prime minister. {443}The Tories, on the other hand, supported the sovereign in her right to appoint church dignitaries, and were opposed to the so-called "Low Church" party. They were generally considered Jacobites, and would gladly have been such if the Prince of Wales had not been a Roman Catholic. Now that we have shown the distinction between these two parties, any future reference to them will be clearly understood. With Queen Anne fairly established on the throne, Lady Marlborough was at the very height of her glory, because she still retained unbounded influence over her majesty, and had a voice in every appointment. She even gave herself credit for many praiseworthy acts of the queen's, whether she deserved it or no. For example, she assured her friends that the command issued by the queen forbidding the sale of places in the royal household was really her own order, though it was probably no such thing. This was a French custom that had been introduced into England with the Restoration, whereby places were purchased of the former possessor without granting the sovereign any choice in the matter whatever. A man sold his position to the highest bidder, and felt not the slightest shame at pocketing the proceeds, nor was any privacy observed in the proceeding. It was a very injurious practice, and by no means insured good servants, so whether its abolition was due to the queen or Lady Marlborough, or both, it was certainly wise.