John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, was born at Ashe in Devonshire, the seat of his maternal grandfather, Sir John Drake, June 24, 1650. His father, Sir Winston Churchill, was a man of some literary repute, a zealous royalist, and in good esteem at the court of Charles II., to which John Churchill was introduced at the early age of twelve. He soon became one of the Duke of York’s pages; gained that prince’s favour, and was presented with a commission in the guards. In 1672, he held the rank of Captain in the English troops which served as auxiliaries to France under the Duke of Monmouth; and he was so fortunate as to gain the good opinion of Turenne, and to be honoured with the public thanks of Louis XIV. for his gallant conduct at the siege of Maestricht. On his return to England, he was again attached to the Duke of York’s household. He married Miss Sarah Jennings in 1681; and was created a peer of Scotland in 1682, and a peer of England soon after the Duke’s accession to the throne, by the title of Baron Churchill of Sandridge in Hertfordshire. In this early part of his life he prudently abstained from active interference in politics. Gratitude and present interest combined to render him averse to thwart the wishes or policy of his master: political foresight and attachment to the established church warned him not to co-operate in the King’s imprudent measures. He does not appear to have been embarrassed by an over-generous and enthusiastic temper; and therefore, whether or no he was of those who invited William of Orange to England, he had the less difficulty, on the landing of that prince, in making up his mind to the painful task of abandoning a kind master and a falling cause. But, in doing so, he was guilty of no treachery. Entrusted with the command of 6000 men, he carried over no troops, and betrayed no post; but quietly withdrew with a few fellow-officers from King James’s camp. [Illustration: _Engraved by J. Posselwhite._ MARLBOROUGH. _From the Picture by G. Kneller in the Collection of the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim._ Under the Superintendance of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. _London. Published by Charles Knight, Ludgate Street._ ]