University of Virginia Library

Arthur Maynwaring, Richard Steele, and the Lives of Two Illustrious Generals
by
Henry L. Snyder

Among the projected works of famous authors that were never completed, Augustan students must particularly regret 'The History of the Duke of Marlborough' that Richard Steele proposed to write. On 3 May 1714 he gave notice in his periodical the Reader (number six) that he had this work in hand. He informed his subscribers that he had "in his Custody, proper Materials for the History of the War in Flanders" and proposed to write a history of the general's career from his appointment as Captain-General until his dismissal from that post at the end of 1711.

No further discussion of it is to be found in any of his other publications or his correspondence. The proposal is barely mentioned by his biographers. But it may be wrong to presume that he abandoned the project without any attempt to begin it. To be sure the time was not propitious in early 1714. Marlborough was in disgrace and living abroad in self-imposed exile.

At Marlborough's death in 1722 a newspaper reported that the great general's papers had been put into Steele's hands for publication, but no further hint is to be found of their disposition.[1] There is one work, however, hitherto ignored by students of Steele that may be linked to this abandoned project. This is The Lives of the Two Illustrious Generals, John, Duke of Marlborough, and Francis Eugene, Prince of Savoy, which appeared in 1713.

This work consists of two separate biographies joined together in one volume. The biography of Marlborough, which covers the whole of his life up until his departure for the continent in December 1712, is written in the style of a personal observer. Events in his life from the 1680's are described as though the writer was present as a witness. This was of course a common practice to create versimilitude but perhaps could point to a person close to the general as the author or at least collaborator in the writing of the book.

In many of the critical episodes in his life the first-hand knowledge of the author is offered as testimony to the propriety of Marlborough's conduct. As these episodes are controversial ones, used by his enemies against him, one is inclined to believe that the work was written with the general's privity and advice and was intended to present his version of these events to confute his detractors (see pp. 13, 19, 50, 89 etc.). The dedication of the book clearly identifies one of the authors. The editor, in making the dedication to the Duke of Montagu, Marlborough's son-in-law, states:

After some further commentary the writer proceeds to "give an Account of our Anonymous Author, so far as is consistent with the Promises I made him, when he consigned the Manuscript over to my Care, upon his Deathbed."

This description refers to Marlborough's devoted friend and apologist, Arthur Maynwaring. Maynwaring's history need not be repeated here, though one regrets that no adequate account of his life has ever been written.[2] Born into a Tory landed family, he passed from study at Oxford and the Inns of Court into post-Revolution society under the patronage of the Earl of Dorset and the Duke of Somerset. A ready wit and gifted pen, lent first to Jacobite panegryics, were directed by his noble relations to the service of the Whigs. At the turn of the century he entered the government in a minor post under the Treasury and remained in office until his death. His celebrated conversation and wit, which gained him entrance into the Kit-Kat Club, gave him considerable prominence in his own day. His friendship with Lord Treasurer Godolphin and the Marlboroughs (he acted as a secretary and confidant to the Duchess) made him important politically, and he used his position to benefit his friends in the world of letters. As the fortunes of his distinguished friends declined, he devoted the remaining few years of his life to defending their actions and the ministry which they had headed, as journalist, pamphleteer and editor. His last service to Marlborough was to act as an intermediary with Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, then Lord Treasurer, to obtain a pass for the Duke that would permit him to go to the continent. He was often in ill-health in his last years and succumbed to a fatal chill on November 13, 1712.

We know that he had had in hand a history of Marlborough's military exploits. He began this project as a narrative of the famous march to the Danube in 1704 which had resulted in the immortal battle of Blenheim. Maynwaring had been given an account of the expedition by Francis Hare, the chaplain-general of the army, who had accompanied the Duke. As was the case with several political tracts in defense of Marlborough which Hare subsequently wrote, Maynwaring had been "desir'd to alter and improve it, but being mightily pleas'd with the particular Account of all that past in that surprising March, he resolv'd it should not be lost, and to give it a new more perfect Form himself, by reducing a kind of Diary, into a regular History" (Ibid., p. 73). So we are informed by John Oldmixon, who collaborated with Maynwaring in the writing of the Medley, and published a

biography of Maynwaring together with extracts from his writings. Oldmixon included a fragment of this work in his Life, as he did some other unpublished writings that he had obtained from Maynwaring's papers. Further corroboration of Maynwaring's involvement is to be found in those papers of his which survive in the muniments at Blenheim Palace. There is an autograph fragment of this narrative in his hand, which differs from that printed by Oldmixon, and may represent an earlier effort. The paper is indorsed by Maynwaring in these words. "I will endeavour to give some Account of the Duke of Marlboroughs Expedition to Germany." Then after a false start, "I write the Expedition," he commences:

One can only guess what Maynwaring ultimately intended, but the fragment printed by Oldmixon suggests that he conceived of a history of the Duke's career, which he reshaped into a vindication following the disastrous turn of events in 1710 and 1711. The fragment in the Blenheim archives is important because: 1) it substantiates Oldmixon's story; 2) it demonstrates that Maynwaring intended to use Hare's unpublished journal as the basic source for his work; and 3) the tone of his remarks implies that he undertook this task some years after the campaign, when Marlborough's career as Captain-General was under attack. The full draft he composed, left uncompleted at his death, is undoubtedly the basis of The Lives of Two Illustrious Generals.

If a portion of the Lives was written by Maynwaring, who completed it? The writer of the dedication, who also composed the balance of the work, does not identify the extent of his contribution. He only informs us that "I need not tell your Grace [Montagu], or the intelligent Reader, where that celebrated Author [Maynwaring] left off; That will be too soon discover'd by the Want of Stile and Method which displays it self in the Additions I have made to it." And he gives us only one clue to his own

identity. In describing the virtues of Montagu, he states, "I could tell the World what A Gracious and Indulgent Creditor those that are in Arrears to You in the last, have found You, and give it to understand, from the Observations I have drawn from the Words of several of your Grace's Tenants, (whom I am now among, even while I am hastening this to the Press)." One might suspect that Oldmixon completed the work if one considers his close relationship to Maynwaring. Indeed Maynwaring appointed him as his literary executor and Oldmixon undertook the Life and Works as a fulfillment of Maynwaring's own intentions (Oldmixon, p. xii). Much to his chagrin, however, he was not permitted to complete the life of Marlborough. After Maynwaring's death, "these original papers [the drafts, and the manuscripts upon which it was based] have since fallen into the Hands of Mr. Steele, and no doubt they will be very useful to him in his History of the Duke's glorious campaigns" (p. 73). Oldmixon's testimony receives independent confirmation in an undated note from Maynwaring's sister, Grizel, to the Duchess of Marlborough, apparently written after Maynwaring's death. "Mr Nightingale hath deliver'd the Writings to me. They are in two small Trunks. I desire to know whether I shall send them by my servant, or that the Duke of Marl[borough] will rather choose to have them brought by any other person." It is indorsed by the Duchess: "Mrs Maynwaring's letter about the writings her brother had concerning the Duke of Marlborough" (Blenheim MSS, E29). These must be the "original papers" turned over to Steele, the "Manuscript" which was completed as The Lives of Two Illustrious Generals, and the "authentick Papers" from which Steele intended to write his History.

The reference by the editor of the Lives to his status as a tenant of Montagu could well point to Steele. We know that Steele moved to Bloomsbury Square in the summer of 1712 and remained there for two years. The Duke of Montagu through his mother was a co-heir to the Southampton estates which included the manor of Bloomsbury. Though the Bloomsbury property had gone to his aunt, Lady Rachel Russell, his parents had bought a piece of land from her off the Square in 1675, where they built Montagu House. Most of the property in the Square and elsewhere in Bloomsbury was let on long leases and Montagu may well have acquired some of these or other interests in and around the Square through his family.[4] Montagu was an intimate of Steeles. The praise for Montagu's indulgence as a creditor could be Steele's way of acknowledging Montagu's generosity to him as his landlord. After Steele moved into Bloomsbury Square he passed through another of his regular financial crises and the Duke may well have suspended the rent or loaned him money to help him out of his difficulties. It is not unreasonable to presume then that Steele might have performed this last literary service for his friend. Both Montagu

and Steele were members of the Hanover Club, to whose meetings Maynwaring was also invited.[5] They had also a longer acquaintance through the Kit-Kat Club, and thus were in frequent social contact. Steele was closely attached to Maynwaring. Maynwaring may have introduced him to Harley and thus obtained the job of Gazetteer for him (Steele Corres., p. 45on). Thereafter Maynwaring solicited Godolphin and the Marlboroughs on behalf of Steele for both a lodging in one of the Queen's houses and other offices under the crown.[6] Maynwaring shared his friend's happiness at the success of the Tatler, launched in April 1709, and recommended it enthusiastically to the Duchess, making reference to it on many occasions in his letters, and often adding explanatory comments. Although he was immediately pointed to as one of the possible authors of this venture it is difficult to find any direct evidence that he made contributions himself, though it is quite possible he did so (Steele Corres., p. 45on). He certainly lent his learning and advice, if not his pen to assist Steele and his great knowledge of classical writers may explain some of the profuse allusions to them in this periodical.

On the one occasion where we have proof of his preparing a paper to be inserted in the Tatler, Maynwaring was constrained from doing so by the Duchess of Marlborough, to whom he sent the draft on 24 December 1709 with this explanation.

There is an implication in this letter that he had prepared other pieces for the Tatler, but had written them in the person of Bickerstaff as did other contributors. The ingratitude of which he wrote was that of the Queen and Abigal Masham to the Duchess. She replied on the 27th: Maynwaring acquiesced,[7] and held it for her return, but when he sent it to her on the first day of the new year, "so blotted, and indeed unfinished, as it is" he was still not without hope of obtaining her approval to insert it in the Tatler in amended form. "I complimented the Tatler so gravely, that no body might possibly think it to be his own. But if it signifies any thing to fright them [the Queen and Abigal] a little, a very short letter might be made out of this, onely to put him in mind of Ingratitude in General, without the Table, or any particular application: as I can easily show your Grace when I have the honour to see you."[8] Even this suggestion did not meet with her approval for there is no passage in the Tatler that meets this description. But Maynwaring's effort was not wasted for he revised the letter and published it later in the year as number five of the Medley.

Maynwaring's daily routine, which he described to the Duchess on one occasion, sounds almost like that of Bickerstaff himself. "I shall certainly be found at home all day, except at White's before dinner, and at the coffee House by St. Jame's in the evening, where I shall go to read the news."[9] His steadfast support of Steele is manifest throughout the later years of his life. Steele's devotion to him is evident from his dedication of volume one of the Spectator. The Lives were completed after Maynwaring's death in November 1712. Steele terminated the Spectator at the end of 1712 and was unoccupied until March when he started the Guardian, whose first number appeared on the 12th. Thus he was free to devote up to three months to the completion of the Lives. But to say that Maynwaring composed the basic part of the Lives and that Steele may have completed it is not enough. A closer examination of the dual biography reveals that it includes portions of other works which help to shed some light on its composition. The Life of Marlborough, the first part of the work, was based by Maynwaring upon the materials of Hare, who was Marlborough's first biographer.[10] Hare had accompanied Marlborough on all his campaigns since that of 1704, when James Smallwood, his previous chaplain,

had been forced to retire because of poor health.[11] Hare helped to prepare the official dispatches from Marlborough's headquarters which recounted the actions of his army, and his journal of the march to the Danube has been accepted as the basic source for all accounts of that famous expedition (Horn, p. 154ff.). Perhaps Maynwaring's close relationship with the Marlboroughs began upon this account, for the first printed account of the Blenheim campaign was put together in London by an unidentified person from materials sent over by Hare (Horn, p. 152). It could have been Maynwaring whose acquaintance with Godolphin dates from about this time. He spent the long vacation at Windsor in 1704 at a time when the Queen and her court were in residence. By 1706 he was already on familiar terms with the Duchess of Marlborough.[12] In any event Hare's life of 1705 and the apologia he composed in Marlborough's defence in 1712[13] all borrowed one from the other, and the Lives of Two Illustrious Generals is based in turn upon them. After the ministerial revolution of 1710 Hare wrote a number of other important tracts justifying the conduct of the late ministry and defending Marlborough's reputation. Besides writing a number of pieces himself, Maynwaring edited most of Hare's writing for the press. His share was so great that he may be reckoned a co-author, for Oldmixon tells us that "every line . . . was revised, and great alterations and improvements [were] made" by him (Oldmixon, p. 203). Many of these works found their way into the Lives.

The life of Marlborough runs to 174 pages. Of these the first 126 pages appear to be Maynwaring's own creation, though he was indebted to Hare for many of the facts. The next portion (pages 127 to 150) which covers the peace negotiations of 1709 and 1710 is drawn in large measure from works composed by Hare and revised by Maynwaring: The Conduct;[14] the Negotiations for a treaty of peace, in 1709, (1711) part I[15] and part II;[16] and the Management of the war, part II.[17] All through the life there are sections which appear to be based upon Maynwaring's own observations, especially those parts which relate to the events of the winter months when Marlborough was in England. The pages devoted to Harley's betrayal and resignation in 1708 (pages 114-6) and Marlborough's advice against the impeachment of Sacheverell (page 142) are of this kind. They are of

particular interest insofar as they may reflect Marlborough's own views. The balance of the life is a knitting together of speeches by Marlborough and passages which appeared in several contemporary prints. For example, the pages dealing with the campaign of 1711 include an account of the taking of Bouchain "sent me by a great officer amongst the Troops of Hanover" (page 156). This is part of the very same letter printed by Abel Boyer in the Political State of Great Britain for October 1711 as "A Letter from an Officer of the Confederate Army before Bouchain, to his Friend at the Hague." There is also an extended quotation from the Spectator (number 130). Where did Maynwaring leave off? One possibility is page 167. At this point the author relates that Marlborough had decided to leave the country, and just preceding he had included a fine panegyric to the General, which could have been intended as a conclusion. The paragraph is followed by a dash in the printed text, the only one of its kind I have discovered. Only seven more pages follow. These contain an account of Marlborough's departure and his reception on the continent and a few closing remarks. Maynwaring died just as Marlborough's pass was on the point of being issued. It is not unreasonable to assume that he had carried the narrative down to this point shortly before his death. A devoted friend completed the task for him.

The life of Prince Eugene which follows has its own title page and frontispiece as does the life of Marlborough, though the whole is preceded by a joint title page and dedication. Moreover, the pagination of the text is continuous. The life of Marlborough ends on page 174, that of Eugene commences on page 175 and runs to the end of the volume (page 283). We have noted that Maynwaring used the works of Hare as a principal source. He or his editor followed a similar practice, but more slavishly for the life of Eugene. The work plundered is little known: The Life of Prince Eugene of Savoy; Generalissimo of the Emperor's Army in Italy, "written originally in the German Tongue, translated out of that into French, and now into English," which appeared in 1702.[18] The publishers, Edward Castle and Samuel Buckley, noted that "the author promises another volume, which . . . will be more particular in the private passages of his life. When that is begun to be printed in either Germany or Holland, we shall be diligent to procure it, and oblige the Publick with a Translation of that by the same Hand that has done this." The first edition carried Eugene's life up to the battle of Cremona. The second edition appeared in 1707, this time under the imprint of Anita Baldwin. It consists of the 1702 life "with a continuation of his actions to the time of his being made governor of the Milaneze."[19]

Eugene's life from birth through the events covered by the second English edition is transcribed almost verbatim into the 1713 Lives. The main difference lies in the fact that the later work abridges the earlier and supplies transition passages where sections are omitted. Moreover, the role of Eugene in the events described is glorified. For example, when Eugene's troops fell back on Catinat as he attempted to pass the Po in 1689, Eugene himself barely escaped an ambush and had to hack his way through forty dragoons to get to safety. The earlier life adds "Tis said, that had it not been for a Dragoon of his own Regiment, who kill'd a French Trooper that was taking aim at him, he had certainly fallen" (page 57). This passage is omitted in the Lives (page 192) and one is left with the impression that Eugene escaped without aid. At the siege of Belgrade in 1688, where Eugene served under the Elector of Bavaria, the Imperialists had trouble penetrating the fortifications to gain entrance to the town. According to the earlier life (page 42), they "got up to the Top of the Walls by the help of a House that was in the Ditch, while others discover'd a little Gate, by which they got into the Place . . . [43] The Elector himself was wounded in the Face with an Arrow as he mounted the Breach with Prince Eugene, and Prince Commerci." The compiler of the Lives not only credits the entrance to Eugene but adds a few details to glorify his swashbuckling hero. The assault was made possible "by Means of the Prince's Discovery of a Place that opened a Passage into the Castle, and at the forcing of which the Elector himself was wounded in the Face by an Arrow, and his Highness of Savoy receiv'd a Cut thro' his Helmet by a Sabre, which he repaid, by laying him that gave it him dead at his Feet" (page 186). When the source work ends the scribe's inspiration also fails. The events of 1706, the last campaign in the second edition of the Life close on page 263 of the Lives. The writer passes over the Toulon expedition of 1707 as something too unfortunate and too well-known to recount. The campaigns of 1708-11 are similarly passed over with the excuse that they are covered in sufficient detail in the preceding Life of Marlborough. The two generals were in the field together during those years. Only Eugene's actions in 1712 are treated in any detail and the material for these must have been readily at hand through the Gazette and other newspapers, if not in the memory of the writer, for they were so recent. The life of Eugene and the book close with eulogy from "the inimitable Author of the Spectator" (number 340).

We can conclude that the first half of the Lives of Two Illustrious Generals, the life of Marlborough, is almost wholly the work of Maynwaring, who relied heavily on the works of Francis Hare for his raw material and in many instances for the text itself. The second half, the life of Eugene, is taken almost wholly from the 1707 edition of the anonymous life first published in German and republished in French at the Hague. The editor or compiler who completed the Lives for the press did not sign

his name to the work. To be sure the initials C. M. are appended to the dedication but one can not assume that they have any relation to the name of the editor. The only person in Maynwaring's acquaintance known to this writer to whom they might apply is Charles Montagu, Lord Halifax, a kinsman of the Duke of Montagu, and there is no evidence to connect him with this work.[20] Almost all political tracts (and this was one) published in the Augustan period appeared anonymously or with false initials or pseudonyms. When Steele published his Letter to Sir Miles Wharton in April 1713 he signed it "F. Hickes," and his most famous works bore such signatures as "Isaac Bickerstaff" and "Nicholas Ironside."

Was Steele the writer who picked up where Maynwaring left off and finished his work? Of Maynwaring's participation we can be confident. Of Steele's we can not be so sure, though the circumstantial evidence is strong. His great devotion to Marlborough is too well-known to require description here. It was sufficiently strong to break up his friendship with Swift (Steele Corres., p. 71n). Steele was even closer to Maynwaring than to Swift. Both were men of letters and men of business. Steele owed his preferment to him and the ties of friendship strengthened through the Kit-Kat Club, and the adversities of their party and its leaders tend to single him out as a likely candidate. At this stage in his career Steele gave up the Spectator to understake a more political paper, the Guardian. Soon after, he sundered his ties to the Oxford ministry to stand for election to Parliament as a Whig candidate. His close association with Montagu, the dedicatee of the Lives, culminated in their collaboration on a great Whig procession on Queen Elizabeth's birthday in November, which caused their names to be regularly linked together in the common gossip (Steele Corres., p. 57n). The evidence points most convincingly to Steele and students of his work will do well to give the Lives a scrutiny it has not had in the past. At the very least Maynwaring's own share can be acknowledged, and another title can be added to the canon of this distinguished, though neglected Augustan.

Notes