Queen.

"By his eagerness to rectify that false statement of the Gazette, which
had been written by his Grace's secretary, Mr. Cardonnel, Mr. Webb, not
being able to reach his Grace the Commander-in-Chief on account of the
gentlemen seated between them, placed the paper containing the false
statement on his sword, so that it might more readily arrive in the
hands of his Grace the Duke of Marlborough, who surely would wish to do
justice to every officer of his army.

"Mr. Webb knows his duty too well to think of insubordination to his
superior officer, or of using his sword in a campaign against any but
the enemies of her Majesty. He solicits permission to return to England
immediately the military duties will permit, and take with him to
England Captain Esmond, of his regiment, who acted as his aide-de-camp,
and was present during the entire action, and noted by his watch the
time when Mr. Cadogan arrived at its close."

The Commander-in-Chief could not but grant this permission, nor could
he take notice of Webb's letter, though it was couched in terms the most
insulting. Half the army believed that the cities of Ghent and Bruges
were given up by a treason, which some in our army very well understood;
that the Commander-in-Chief would not have relieved Lille if he could
have helped himself; that he would not have fought that year had not the
Prince of Savoy forced him. When the battle once began, then, for his
own renown, my Lord Marlborough would fight as no man in the world ever
fought better; and no bribe on earth could keep him from beating the
enemy.*

* Our Grandfather's hatred of the Duke of Marlborough
appears all through his account of these campaigns. He
always persisted that the Duke was the greatest traitor and
soldier history ever told of: and declared that he took
bribes on all hands during the war. My Lord Marquis (for so
we may call him here, though he never went by any other name
than Colonel Esmond) was in the habit of telling many
stories which he did not set down in his memoirs, and which
he had from his friend the Jesuit, who was not always
correctly informed, and who persisted that Marlborough was
looking for a bribe of two millions of crowns before the
campaign of Ramillies.

And our Grandmother used to tell us children, that on his
first presentation to my Lord duke, the Duke turned his back
upon my Grandfather