Her early medical attendant, and that of her family, Dr. Ratcliffe, the singular benefactor of Oxford, was not present at her sick-bed. He died soon afterwards. This humorist, and shrewd physician, had offended her Majesty some time previously, by saying that her complaint was nothing but “_vapours_.” Possibly he was so far right, that repose, not medicine, was what the poor, harassed Queen required. Dr. Ratcliffe had been sent for to Prince George by the Queen’s express desire. On that occasion he had given her Majesty no hopes; telling her that however common it might be for surgeons to use caustics in cases of burning and scalding, “it was irregular for physicians to expel watery humours by the same element.” To this dogmatic assertion he added a promise that the dying Prince should have an easy passage out of this world, since he had been so “tampered with,” he could not live more than six days.—_Ingram’s Memorials of Oxford_, vol. iii. p. 8. For some further notice of this extraordinary man, see the concluding portion of this volume. Footnote 221: Somerville, Appendix II p. 656. Footnote 222: Lediard, p. 447. Footnote 223: Coxe, vol. vi. p. 296. Footnote 224: Ibid. p. 305. Footnote 225: Lediard, p. 453. Footnote 226: Coxe, p. 6. 308. Footnote 227: Macauley. Lediard. Footnote 228: Macaulay. Chesterfield. Footnote 229: Coxe, vol. iii. p. 610. Footnote 230: A portion of that task, namely, her letter to Mr. Hutchison, she is stated, in a note in Dr. Coxe’s handwriting, to have begun during her residence abroad. Footnote 231: The principal of Sir J. Vanburgh’s works, besides Castle Howard and Blenheim, were Eastleving, in Dorsetshire; King’s Weston, near Bristol; the Opera House, and St. John’s Church, Westminster—not to mention his own residence at Whitehall, of which Swift writes— “At length they in the rubbish spy A thing resembling a goose-pie.” Footnote 232: Swift’s pun on this occasion was, that he might now “build houses.” Footnote 233: Hist. Vanburgh’s House, 1708. Footnote 234: This anecdote is pronounced by Mr. D’Israeli, in his “Curiosities of Literature” (1823), to be a mere invention. Footnote 235: Vanburgh died in 1726. Footnote 236: Coxe MSS., vol. xlvi. p. 76. Footnote 237: Coxe MSS., vol. xlvi. p. 76. Footnote 238: Coxe Papers. Footnote 239: Coxe Papers. See Appendix. Footnote 240: Coxe Papers, vol. xlvi. p. 148. Footnote 241: This marriage, unhappily for the Duke, was childless, thus disappointing his hopes of being able proudly to deduce the origin of his posterity from the great Marlborough.—Coxe Papers, vol. xlvi. p. 148. Footnote 242: This letter, together with the rest of this curious correspondence, is to be seen in the Appendix. Footnote 243: Coxe MSS. Footnote 244: Coxe MSS., vol. xlvi. p. 148. Footnote 245: Ibid. p. 145.