370 ikings of tbe Ifounttng^fftelt) 



was Lord President of the Council under James the 

 Second, and stood high in the favour of that monarch, but 

 found it expedient to give in his allegiance to William of 

 Orange, and was able to reconcile with his principles 

 the acceptance of office as Lord Chamberlain under 

 the new regime. The King paid him a visit at Althorp, 

 when, as Macaulay puts it, 'All Northamptonshire 

 crowded to kiss the Royal hand in that fine gallery 

 which had been embellished by the pencil of Vandyke 

 and made classical by the muse of Waller.' And the 

 Earl tried to conciliate his Tory neighbours, who re- 

 garded him as an ' evil Ahitophel,' by feasting them at 

 eight tables, all blazing with plate. 



Charles, son of Robert, and third Earl of Sunderland, 

 was the greatest man the Spencers have so far produced. 

 As Secretary of State under Anne and Lord Privy Seal 

 and First Lord of the Treasury under George the First, 

 he left his mark on English politics. And yet, though 

 he condescended to hold office under a monarchy, he pro- 

 fessed to be a republican. Titles he affected to despise. 

 ' Don't call me " my lord," ' he would say irritably, to those 

 who thus addressed him. ' I don't call myself a lord. 

 Pm plain Charles Spencer.' But, though he was a con- 

 spicuous figure in the political world, he always, 

 like all the Spencers, hankered after a private life. 

 Books were his hobby, and it was his ambition to 

 possess the most magnificent library in England — an 

 ambition which he did not live to realise ; but he laid 

 the foundation of that priceless collection which is now 

 one of the chief glories of Manchester. 



It was through Charles, third Earl of Sunderland, who 

 married Lady Anna Churchill, daughter of the Victor of 

 Blenheim, that the dukedom of Marlborough came into the 



