Bolingbroke (Henry St. John) Lord Viscount, descended from an ancient and noble family as we have already seen. His Mother was Mary, daughter of Robert Rich, Earl of Warwick. He received a liberal education at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, and when he left the University was considered to possess uncommon qualifications, but with great parts he had strong passions, which as usually happens, hurried him into many follies and indiscretions. Contrary to the inclinations of his family he cultivated Tory connections, and gained such influence in the House of Commons, that in 1704 he was appointed Secretary of War and of the Marines. He was closely united in all political measures with Mr. Harley; when therefore that gentleman was removed from the seals in 1707, Mr. St. John resigned his office; and in 1710, when Mr. Harley was made Chancellor of the Exchequer, the post of Secretary of State was given to Mr. St. John. In 1712, he was created Baron St. John of Lediard Tregose in Wiltshire, and Viscount Bolingbroke. But being overlooked in the bestowal of vacant ribands of the Order of the Garter, it is said he resented the affront and renounced the friendship of Harley, then Earl of Oxford, and made his court to the Whigs; nevertheless, on the accession of George 1st, the seals were taken from him. Having been informed that a resolution was taken to pursue him to the scaffold for his conduct regarding the treaty of Utrecht, Signed 11th of April, 1713, he withdrew into France and joined the Pretender's[1] service and accepted the seals as his Secretary. But he was as unfortunate in his new connection as those he had renounced, for the year 1715 was scarcely expired, while being attainted of high treason at home, he was accused by the Pretender of neglect, incapacity and treachery, and had the papers and seals of Foreign Secretary's Office taken away. Such a complication of distressful events threw him into a state of reflection that produced by way of relief "a consolatio philosophica," which he wrote the same year under the title of "Reflection upon Exile." The next year he drew up a vindication of his conduct with respect to the Tories in the form of a letter to Sir William Wyndham. In 1718 his first wife died; in 1720 he married a niece of the famous Madam Maintenon and widow of the Marquis de Villette,[2] with whom he had a very large fortune. In 1723, after being in exile seven years, the King was prevailed upon to grant him a free pardon, and he returned in consequence to England. But his spirit was not satisfied within while he remained a mere titular Lord, and excluded from the House of Peers. His recall had been assented to by Sir Robert Walpole, but he cherished a secret dislike to Walpole and regarded him as the cause of his not receiving the full extent of the King's clemency. Walpole invited Bolingbroke to dine with him at Chelsea, but it appeared to Bolingbroke rather to shew his power and prosperity than for any other reason.