own company, he scaled the
ramparts, and planted the banner of France on the very summit,
escaping with a slight wound. Louis XIV. was so highly pleased with
his conduct that he thanked him at the head of the army, and soon made
him lieutenant-colonel. The Duke of Monmouth afterward confessed to
the king, that he was indebted for his life, on this occasion, to our
hero's gallantry and discretion.

On his return to England, he was made gentleman of the bedchamber and
master of the robes to his earliest patron, the Duke of York. At this
period he was captivated by the beauty of Miss Sarah Jennings,
daughter of a gentleman of ancient family, and maid of honor to the
duchess. Their marriage took place in 1678.

The services Colonel Churchill continued to yield the royal brothers
did not pass unrewarded. He was created Baron Churchill of Agmouth, in
Berwickshire; and a friendship sprung up between Lady Churchill and
the Princess (afterward queen) Anne, who, when she married Prince
George of Denmark, got her friend appointed lady of her bedchamber.

The day after James II. was proclaimed, he made his favorite,
lieutenant-general. The battle of Sedgemoor, in which the ill-fated
Duke of Monmouth with his rebel army was defeated, was won chiefly by
Churchill's courage and decision. Till the closing scene of James's
reign, there is little stated of Lord Churchill, although it is known
that he used his influence with his royal master to prevent the
arbitrary system of government the king endeavored to introduce.
Finding the monarch determined to persist in his encroachments, Lord
Churchill felt it his duty, however painful, to go over to the Prince
of Orange, by whom he was received with distinguished marks of
attention and respect; and, two days before his coronation, the prince
raised him to the dignity of Earl of Marlborough.

The affection the earl still felt toward his late benefactor, the
ex-king, led him into a correspondence with him. This, being
discovered, brought the displeasure of King William upon him, and for
some time he was deprived of all his appointments. At length a
governor being wanted for the young Duke of Gloucester, son of the
Princess Anne, the king, as an earnest of his returning favor,
conferred this honor on Marlborough. "Teach him, my lord," said his
majesty, "to be what you are yourself, and he will not want
accomplishments."

On the accession of Queen Anne, Marlborough was made captain-general,