This proved to be the Duke of Marlborough’s last great battle and his last great victory.  “A deluge of blood” it had been.  And, what was worse, rarely has a great victory produced so little fruit.  Marlborough had quite expected to see his success at Malplaquet put an end to the war.  It did nothing of the kind; for two more years the war continued.  The rest of its story, however, may be told in a very few words.

Louis XIV once more asked for peace, and made certain offers to the Allies, but these would be contented with nothing less than the expulsion of Philip from Spain.  The conference, at Gertruydenberg, therefore came to nothing.  This was in the early part of 1710.  The work of capturing the fortresses in French Flanders and the province of Artois was proceeded with, and in 1711 Marlborough took Bouchain, in France.  But the Duke had apparently lost heart to some extent, and there was no very vigorous action.  At home the war had become hateful to a very large proportion of the people; its cost in men and money frightened them.

The year 1710 was a busy and a decisive time in Spain.  At first success seemed to lean to the side of the Allies, General Stanhope, the English leader, defeating the French and Spanish at Almanza, and the Dutch General Staremberg doing the like at Saragossa.  Charles the Archduke, styling himself Charles III, now for the first time entered Madrid.  It was also the last time.  Presently Stanhope was badly defeated at the important battle of Brihuega, and Staremberg shortly afterwards lost at Villa Viciosa.  This decided matters in Spain.  Charles was compelled to flee the country, and Philip’s throne was finally secured to him.

The end of the war came in an altogether unexpected and strange fashion.  This was the sudden downfall of the Marlboroughs and of the Whig interest.  For some time the Queen had been tired of the Duchess of Marlborough, and had been inclining more and more to Mrs. Masham, formerly Abigail Hill, a cousin of Harley, through whom the minister was intriguing for the overthrow of the Churchills.  Then Dr. Sacheverell, a London clergyman, afterwards so notorious, had preached violently against the Whigs, who were foolish enough to impeach him.  Sacheverell was suspended for three years, and in consequence became exceedingly popular among the Tories, and their party gained greatly in the country.  Moreover the writings of certain pamphleteers tended much to damage the cause of the Whigs.  Dean Swift was at once the ablest and the bitterest of these.  Harley managed to get Godolphin dismissed from office.  And one day, early in 1711, Anne suddenly took from the Duchess her various offices at Court, while later in the same year the Duke himself was deprived of his command of the army, and was succeeded by the Irish peer Ormonde.  He, however, was ordered to take no active steps in the war which was still in theory going on.  A general election came soon after, and the Tories had a large majority over the Whigs.  The Tories came into office, and all Whig members of the Whig ministry were dismissed.  From that time to the present the principle has obtained of having the King’s Ministers, or the Cabinet, with the other chief administrators, drawn from the same side in politics.