The coy Lady Credit had been wavering in her attachment to England; any sudden change would fright her away altogether.

As for the pooh-pooh cry of the Tories that the national credit was of no consequence, that a nation could not be in debt to itself, and that their moneyed men would come forward with nineteen shillings in the pound for the support of the war, Defoe treated this claptrap with proper ridicule.
But in spite of all Defoe's efforts, the crash came.

On the 10th of August the Queen sent to Godolphin for the Treasurer's staff, and Harley became her Prime Minister.

How did Defoe behave then?
The first two numbers of the _Review_ after the Lord Treasurer's fall are among the most masterly of his writings.

He was not a small, mean, timid time-server and turncoat.