To this heavy charge I know I need trouble the Duke of Marlborough with nothing more in my own justification than to beg he will just please to recollect that I never did anything without _his approbation_; and that I never had the misfortune to be once found fault with by him in my life. As to the Duchess, I took the liberty, in a letter I sent to her on this occasion, to say, “that finding she was weary of my service, (unless my Lord Duke recovered enough to take things again into his own direction,) I would do _as I saw she desired_, never trouble her more.” I thought after this I could not wait on the Duke when she was present; and that if I endeavoured to do it at any other time, she would not like it. There has been no other reason whatever why I have not continued to pay my constant duty to him. The other service I have mentioned, which her grace thought proper to lay her commands upon me, was the doing what might be in my power towards inclining the Duke of Newcastle to prefer my Lady Harriot Godolphin to all other women who were likely to be offered him. Her grace was pleased to tell me, on the breaking of this matter, I was the first body she had ever mentioned it to; and she gave me commission to open it to the Duke of Newcastle’s relations, as well as to himself, which I accordingly did, and gave her from time to time an account of what passed, and how the disposition moved towards what she so much desired. Her grace did not seem _inclined to think_ of giving _such a fortune_ as should be any great inducement to the _Duke’s prefering this match_ to others which might probably be offered; but she laid a very great and very just stress on the extraordinary qualifications and personal merits of my Lady Harriot, which she was pleased to say she thought might be more in my power to possess him rightly of than any other body she knew; and did not doubt but I would have that regard for the Duke of Marlborough, _and the advantage of his family_, as to take this part upon me, and spare no pains to make it successful. This thing her grace desired I should do was so much with my own inclination, and what I was to say of the personal character of my Lady Harriot so truly my own opinion of her, that I had no sort of difficulty in resolving to use all the credit I had with the Duke of Newcastle to prefer the match to all others.