‘A MAN UNDONE.’ 1754
Jacobite hopes—Blighted by the conduct of Charles—His seclusion—His
health is affected—His fierce impatience—Miss Walkinshaw—Letter from
young Edgar—The Prince easily tracked—Fears of his English
correspondents—Remonstrances of Goring—The English demand Miss
Walkinshaw’s dismissal—Danger of discarding Dumont—Goring fears the
Bastille—Cruelty of dismissing Catholic servants—Charles’s lack of
generosity—Has relieved no poor adherents—Will offend both Protestants
and Catholics—Opinion of a Protestant—Toleration desired—Goring asks
leave to resign—Charles’s answer—Goring’s advice—Charles’s reply—Needs
money—Proceedings of Pickle—In London—Called to France—To see the Earl
Marischal—Charles detected at Liège—Verbally dismisses Goring—Pickle’s
letter to England—‘Best metal buttons’—Goring to the Prince—The Prince’s
reply—Last letter from Goring—His ill-treatment—His danger in Paris—His
death in Prussia—The Earl Marischal abandons the Prince—His distress—‘The
poison.’
THE year 1754 saw the practical ruin of Charles, and the destruction of
the Jacobite party in England. The death of Henry Pelham, in March, the
General Election which followed, the various discontents of the time, and
a recrudescence of Jacobite sentiment, gave them hopes, only to be
blighted. Charles no longer, as before, reports, ‘My health is perfect.’
The Prince’s habits had become intolerable to his friends. The ‘spleen,’
as he calls it, had marked him for its own. His vigorous body needed air
and exercise; unable to obtain these, it is probable that he sought the
refuge of despair. Years earlier he had told Mademoiselle Luci that the
Princesse de Talmond ‘would not let him leave the house.’ Now he
scarcely ventured to take a walk. His mistress was obviously on ill
terms with his most faithful adherents; the loyal Goring abandoned his
ungrateful service; the Earl Marischal bade him farewell; his English
partisans withdrew their support and their supplies. The end had come.
The following chapter is written with regret. Readers of Dickens
remember the prolonged degradation of the young hero of ‘Bleak house,’
through hope deferred and the delays of a Chancery suit. Similar causes
contributed to the final wreck of Charles. The thought of a Restoration
was his Chancery suit. A letter of November 1753, written by the Prince
in French, is a mere hysterical outcry of impatience. ‘I suffocate!’ he
exclaims, as if in a fever of unrest. He had indulged in hopes from
France, from Spain, from Prussia, from a Highland rising, from a London
conspiracy. Every hope had deceived him, every Prince had betrayed him,
and now he proved false to himself, to his original nature, and to his
friends. The venerable Lord Pitsligo, writing during the Scotch campaign
of 1745, said: ‘I had occasion to discover the Prince’s humanity, I ought
to say tenderness: this is giving myself no great airs, for he shows the
same disposition to everybody.’ Now all is changed, and a character
naturally tender and pitiful has become careless of others, and even
cruel.
The connection with Miss Walkinshaw was the chief occasion of many
troubles. On January 14, 1754, young Edgar wrote from Aisse to his
uncle, in Rome, saying that Clementina Walkinshaw ‘has got in with the
Prince, borne two children to him [probably only one], and got an extreme
ascendant over him. The King’s friends in England are firmly persuaded
of this being true, and are vastly uneasy at it, especially as his sister
is about Frederick’s widow (the Dowager Princess of Wales), and has but
an indifferent character. This story gives me very great concern, and,
if true, must be attended with bad consequences, whether she truly be
honest or not.’ {254}
The fact was that, being now accompanied by a mistress and a child,
Charles was easily traced. His personal freedom, if not his life, was
endangered, and if he were taken and his papers searched, his
correspondents would be in peril. On January 4, 1754, Dormer wrote,
warning the Prince that ‘a young gentleman in hiding with a mistress and
child’ was being sought for at Liège, and expressing alarm for himself
and his comrades. Dormer also reproached Charles for impatiently urging
his adherents to instant action. Goring, as ‘Stouf,’ wrote the following
explicit letter from Paris on January 13, 1754. As we shall see, he had
been forbidden by the French Government to come within fifty leagues of
the capital, and the Bastille gaped for him if he was discovered.
Goring, it will be remarked, warns Charles that his party are weary of
his demands for money. What did he do with it? His wardrobe, as an
inventory shows, was scanty; no longer was he a dandy: seventeen shirts,
six collars, three suits of clothes, three pocket-handkerchiefs were the
chief of his effects. He did not give much in charity to poor adherents,
as Goring bitterly observes. We learn that the English insist on the
dismissal of Miss Walkinshaw. To discard Dumont, as Charles proposed,
was to provide England with an informer. The heads of English gentlemen
would be at the mercy of the executioners of Archy Cameron. To turn
adrift Charles’s Catholic servants was impolitic, cruel, and deeply
ungrateful. This is the burden of Goring’s necessary but very uncourtly
epistle, probably written from ‘La Grandemain’s’ house:
‘You say you are determined to know from your professed friends what
you are to depend on. I wish it may answer your desires, you are
master, Sir, to take what steps you please, I shall not take upon me
to contradict you, I shall only lay before you what I hear and see,
if it can be of any service to you, I shall have done my duty in
letting you know your true interest, if you think it such. In the
first place, I find they [the English adherents] were surprized and
mortifyed to see the little man [Beson] arrive with a message from
you, only to desire money, so soon after the sum you received from
the gentlemen I conducted to you, and some things have been said on
the head not much to the advancement of any scheme for your service.
Secondly they sent me a paper by Sir James Harrington of which what
follows is a copy word for word:
‘“Sir, your friend’s Mistress is loudly and publickly talked off and
all friends look on it as a very dangerous and imprudent step, and
conclude reasonably that no Corespondance is to be had in that
quarter, without risk of discovery, for we have no opinion in England
of female politicians, or of such women’s secrecy in general. You
are yourself much blamed for not informing our friends at first, that
they might take the alarum, and stop any present, or future
transactions, with such a person. What we now expect from you, is to
let us know if our persuasion can prevail to get rid of her.”
‘For God’s sake, Sir, what shall I say, or do, I am at my wits end,
the greif I have for it augments my illness, and I can only wish a
speedy end to my life. To make it still worse you discard Dumont; he
is a man I have little regard for, His conduct has been bad, but he
has kept your secret, now, Sir, to be discarded in such a manner he
will certainly complain to Murray and others; it will come to your
friends’ ears, if he does not go to England and tell them himself.
He knows Mac. {256} Mead and D. [Dawkins] what will our friends think
of you, Sir, for taking so little care of their lives and fortunes by
putting a man in dispair who has it in his power to ruin them, and
who is not so ignorant as not to know the Government will well reward
him. Nay, he can do more: he can find you out yourself, or put your
enemies in a way to do it, which will be a very unfortunate
adventure.
‘As for me it is in his power to have me put into the Bastille when
he pleases. Perhaps he may not do this, but sure it is too dangerous
to try whether he will or no; they must be men of very tryed Virtue
who will suffer poverty and misery when they have a way to prevent
it, so easy too, and when they think they only revenge themselves of
ingratitude; for you will always find that men generally think their
services are too little rewarded, and, when discarded, as he will be
if you dont recall ye sentence, what rage will make him do I shall
not answer for. If, Sir, you continue in mind to have him sent off I
must first advise those gentlemen [the English adherents] that they
may take propper measures to put themselves in Safety by leaving the
Country, or other methods as they shall like best. Now, Sir, whether
such a step as this will not tend more to diminish than augment your
Credit in England I leave you to determine; I only beg of you, Sir,
to give me timely notice that I may get out of the way of that horrid
Bastille, and put our friends on their guard, I cannot but lament my
poor friend Colonel H. who must be undone by it. Ld M. [Marischal]
thinks it too dangerous a tryall of that man’s honour: for my part I
shall not presume to give my own opinion, only beg of you once again
that we may have time to shift for ourselves. I am obliged to you,
Sir, for your most gracious Concern for my health; the doctors have
advised me to take the air as much as my weakness will permit, are
much against confinement, and would certainly advise me against the
Bastille as very contrary to my distemper!
‘I have one thing more to lay before you of greatest Consequence: you
order all your Catholick Servants to be discarded, consider, Sir, the
thing well on both sides; first the good that it will produce on the
one side, and the ill it may produce on the other; it may indeed
please some few biggotted protestants, for all religions have their
biggots, but may it not disgust the great number of ye people, to see
you discard faithfull men, for some of them went through all dangers
with you in Scotland, upon account of their religion—without the
least provision made for them. Your saying, Sir, that necessity
obliges you to do it, will look a little strange to those people who
send you money, and know how far you can do good with it. I assure
you, Sir, if you did necessary acts of Generosity now and then, that
people may see plainly that you have a real tenderness for those that
suffer for you, you would be the richer for it, more people would
send money than now do, and they that have sent would send more, when
they saw so good use made of it.
‘I have been hard put to it when I have been praising your good
qualities to some of our friends, they have desired me to produce one
single instance of any one man you have had the Compassion to relieve
with the tenderness a King owes to a faithfull subject who has served
him with the risk of his life and fortune. {259}
‘Now Sir, another greater misfortune may happen from sending off
these servants in so distinguishing a manner; you will plese to
remember that in the Course of your affairs the Protestants employ
the Papists; the Papists join with the Protestants in sending you
money and in everything that can hasten your restoration, they are a
great body of men and if they should once have reason to believe they
should be harder used under your government than they are under the
Usurper, self preservation would oblige them to maintain the Usurper
on the throne, and be assured if they take this once in their heads,
they have it in their power to undoe you.
‘A man of sense and great riches as well as birth, a great friend of
yours, talking with me some time past of your royal qualities (note
this man is a most bigotted Protestant), was observing the happyness
all ranks of men would have under your reign; he considered you, Sir,
as father to the whole nation, that no one set of men would be
oppressed, papists, presbyterians, quakers, anabaptists,
antitrinitarians, Zwinglians, and forty more that he named, though
they differ, in their Creed, under so great and good a prince as you,
would all join to love and respect you; that he was sure you would
make no distinction between any of them, but let your Royal bounty
diffuse itself equally on all. He said further that for you to
disgust any of them, as they all together compose the body, so
disgusting any one set of men was as if a man in full vigour of
health should cut off one of his leggs or arms. He concluded with
saying he was sure you was too prudent to do anything of that kind,
to summ up all, he said that he looked on you as a prince divested of
passions; that the misfortunes and hardships you had undergone had
undoubtedly softened your great Mind so far as to be sensible of the
misfortunes of others, for which reason he would do all that lay in
his power to serve you; these reflections, Sir, really are what
creates you the love of your people in general, and gains you more
friends than yr Royal Birth.
‘Observe, Sir, what will be the event of your discarding these poor
men, all of them diserving better treatment from you: they will come
to Paris begging all their way, and show the whole town, English,
French, and strangers, an example of your Cruelty, their Religion
being all their offence; do you think, Sir, your Protestants will
believe you the better protestant for it? If you do, I am affraid
you will find yourself mistaken; it will be a handle for your enemies
to represent you a hippocrite in your religion and Cruel in your
nature, and show the world what those who serve you are to expect.
‘Now, Sir, do as you think fitt, but let me beg of you to give such
Comitions to somebody else; as I never could be the author of any
such advice, so I am incapable of acting in an affair that will do
you, Sir, infinite prejudice, and cover me with dishonour, and am,
besides these Considerations, grown so infirm that I beg your R.H.
will be graciously pleased to give me leave to retire. . . . I may
have been mistaken in some things, which I hope you will pardon, I do
not write this as my own opinion, but really to get your affairs in a
true light. . . I sware to the great God that what I write is truth,
for God’s sake Sir have compassion on yourself . . . you say you
“will take your party,” alas, Sir, they will coldly let you take it,
don’t let your spleen get the better of your prudence and judgement . . .
‘One reflection more on what you mention about ye papist servants,
may not the keeping publickly in employment ye two papist gentlemen
[Sheridan and Stafford] do more harm than turning away three or four
papist footmen, who can, by their low situation, have no manner of
influence over your affairs . . . one of the papist footmen is
besides a relation {261} of the poor man who was lately hanged . . .
when all this comes to be publick it will much injure your carackter.
To summ up all, these commissions you give me, give me such
affliction as will certainly end my life, they are surely calculated
by you for that very reason. . . . I once more beg you will
graciously please to permit me to retire, I will let my family know
that my bad health only is the reason, and I don’t doubt they will
maintain me.’
Charles might have been expected to answer this very frank letter in a
fury of anger. He kept his temper, and replied thus:
_The Prince to Stouf_.
‘January 18, 1754.
‘Sir,—I received yours of ye 13th. Current, and am resolved not to
discard any of my Cervants, that is to say, for ye present . . .
‘It is necessary also you should send as soon as possible 300l. to be
remitted to Stafford and Sheridan . . . you may give out of that sum
Morison’s wages for half a year . . . My compliments to Sir J.
Harrington, assuring him of my friendship and when you are able remit
to him fifty Louis d’ors. . . . It is true I sent to E. [England] six
Months ago for Money, but it was not for ye Money alone, that served
only for a pretext, however I was extremely scandalized not to have
received any since I thought fit to Call for it, it is strenge such
proceeding. People should, I think, well know that If it was only
Money that I had at hart I would not act as I have done, and will do
untill I Compass ye prosperity of My Country, which allways shall be
My only Studdy: But you know that without Money one can do nothing,
and in my situation the more can be had ye better. I have received
nothing since ye profet [Daniel] but Mistress P.’s hundred Pounds
given to Woulfe. I forgot to mention fifty pounds sterling to be
given to Kely. . . . I am glad you have taken my Pelise, for nothing
can do you more good than to keep yourself warm.’ {263}
Goring answered on February 26. The English, he said, would not send a
farthing if Charles persisted in his sentiments about their ‘duty.’ His
repeated despatch of messengers only caused annoyance and alarm. ‘They
expect a Prince who will take advice, and rule according to law, and not
one that thinks his will is sufficient.’ Charles replied as follows:
_Prince to Stouf_.
‘March 6, 1754.
‘I received yours tother day and am sory to find by it yr Bad State
of Health. You are telling me about Laws, I am shure no one is more
willing to submit to ye Laws of my Country than myself, and I have ye
Vanity to say I know a little of them . . . All what I want is a
definitive answer, and it is much fearer [fairer] to say “yes” or
“no,” than to keep one in suspence, which hinders that distressed
person of taking other measures, that might make him perhaps gain his
Lawsute. However, I shall neither medle or make in it untill I here
from you again, which I hope will be soon, for my friend has lost all
patience, and so have I to see him Linger so Long.
‘I wish with all my heart it may mend.’
At this time Pickle was not idle. He wrote to Gwynne Vaughan from London
on February 25, 1754. He was going over to Paris, to extract information
from the Earl Marischal. He signs ‘Roderick Random,’ and incidentally
throws light on his private tastes and morals. His correspondent was,
apparently, an old man, ‘Worthy old Vaughan,’ Pickle calls him later. He
often addresses him as ‘Grandpapa.’ In this letter he ministers to Mr.
Vaughan’s senile vices.
Add. 32,734.
‘Monday. London: February 25, 1754.
‘Dr. Sir,—I have apointed a meeting with Mr. Alexander [Lochgarry]
from whom I recevd a verbal message, by a friend now in town, that
came over by Caron [Mariston] that I am desir’d by Monsr. St.
Sebastian [Young Pretender] to go streight to Venice [Ld. Marshal],
to settle for this summer every thing relative to his amours with
Mrs. Strenge [the Highlands], and that, when we have settled that
point, that he is to meet me upon my return from Venice [Ld. Marshal]
in Imperial Flanders, where he is soon expected. . . . Every thing
lays now upon the carpet, and if I go privately to Venice [Ld.
Marshal] I will be at the bottom of the most minute transactions.
Without going to Venice [Ld. Marshal] I can dow little or nothing,
and _I give you my word of honour_, that I reserv’d out of the last
mony not 10_l._ st., but at any rate I cross the watter to save my
own credit with _our_ Merchants [the Jacobites], and if I am suplayd
here, without which I can dow nothing, I am certain to learn what
can’t be obtained through any other Chanel.
‘I recev’d by old Caron [Mariston] two extraordinary patez, which
surprisingly answer Pompadour’s intentions. {265} I have tray’d the
experiment, and as I found it so effective, I have sent one of them
by a Carrier that left this Saturday last in the morning, and how
[who] arrives at Bath to-morrow, Tuesday, 26th. Instant; It’s simply
adrest to you at Bath, It operates in the same lively manner upon the
faire sex as it does on ours. (The Lord have mercy upon the Lassies
at Bath!) The Patez was sent by the Wiltshire Carrier how [who]
seets up at the Inn on the Market place at Bath, derected to the
Honble. Quine Vaughan. I have had [several] Bucks this day dining
upon the relicks of your sister pattez, which is all the apologie I
make for this hurried scrawle. I wait your answer with Impatience,
but allwaies believe me, with great sincerity and estime—My Dr. Sir,
‘Your most affte, oblidged, humble Servt.
‘RODERICK RANDOM.’
From France, when he arrived there, Pickle wrote to Gwynne Vaughan as
follows:
Add. 32,735.
‘Aprile: Monday 8. 1754. 4 o’clock.
‘Dear Sir,—I am still in such agitation after fourteen hours passage,
and sitting up with our friends _Alexr._ [Lochgarry] and _Agent_
[McDonald], how [who] luckly meet me here, that I am scarse able to
put pen to paper. I must here confess the difficultys I labour under
since the loss of my worthy great friend [Henry Pelham, recently
dead] on whose word I wholly relay’d. But now every thing comes far
short of my expectations. I am now to aquent you that _Alexr._
[Lochgarry] meet me here, by order, to desire my proceeding to Venice
[Ld. Marshal] as every thing without that trip will be imperfect.
All I can say at this distance and in so precarious a situation is
that I find they play _Mrs. Strange_ [the Highlanders] hard and fast.
They expect a large quantity of the very best _Brasile snuff_ [the
Clans] from hir, to balance which severl gross of good sparkling
_Champagne_ [Arms] is to be smuggled over for hir Ladyship’s use.
The whole accounts of our Tobacco _and wine trade_ [Jacobite schemes]
I am told, are to be laid before me by my friend at _Venice_ [Ld.
Marshal]. But this being a Chant [jaunt] I can’t complay with,
without a certain suplay, I must beg, if this proposal be found
agreeable, that I have ane imediate pointed answer.
‘But if, when I leave _Venice_ [Ld. Marshal] I go to meet St.
Sebastien [the Young Pretender], the remittance must be more
considerable that the sume I mention’d whilest you were at Bath . . .
‘Yours most affly
‘ALEXR. PICKLE.
‘To Mr. Tamas Jones, at Mr. Chelburn’s, a Chimmist in Scherwood
Street, Golden Square, London.’
Pickle wrote again from France on April 11. {267} His letter follows:
‘Dr. Sir,—I hope my last to you upon landing came safe to hand. I
will be very uneasy untill you accknowledge the recet of it. Tho’
you can’t expect an explicite or regular Corespondence from me, least
our smuguling [secret correspondence] so severely punish’d in this
country, should be any ways discover’d. Mr. _Davis_ [Sir James
Harrington] was here for a few hours last night, the particulars I
reffer till meeting. Great expectations from the _Norwegian fir
trade_ [Sweden] which Merchants here think will turn out to good
account, by offering them ane ample Charter to open a free trade; but
_Davis_ [Sir James Harrington] is not well vers’d in this Business,
but I believe my friend at _Venice_ [Ld. Marshal] is: I am certain
that Mr. Oliver [King of Spain] and his principal factors would
harken to any proposals of St. Sebastien’s [the Young Pretender] upon
this topick. Mr. _Davis_ [Sir James Harrington] is of opinion that a
quantity of _best mettle buttons_ [Parliament men] {268} could be
readly and cheaply purchas’d: _Mr. Johnson_ [London] will make
considerable advances, but I believe this can’t arrive in time for
the Market, as aplication has not yet been made to _Monsr. la force_
[Paris Mont Martell]. I think I can easily divert them from this, as
I can convince St. Sebastien [Young Pretender] in case I see him,
that they would leave him in the lurch. This proposal comes from
your side the watter. I find _Mrs. Strange_ [Highlanders] will
readly except of any offer from _Rosenberge_ [King of Sweden] as that
negotiant can easily evade paying duty for any wine he sends hir. I
can answer for _Mrs. Strange’s_ [Highlanders] conduct, as it will
wholly depend upon _me_, to promote or discourage this branch of
trade. But I can’t be answerable for other branches of our trade, as
my knowledge in them depends upon others. I will drop this subject
till meeting, and if then all my burdens are discharg’d, and done
otherwise for, according to my former friend’s intentions, and if
satisfactory, nothing will be neglected in the power of Dr. Grand
Papa
Your oblidged affte, humble Servant
‘ALEXR. PICKLE.
‘11 Aprile 1754.
‘P.S. I can’t conclude without declaring once for all that I shant
walk but in the old course, that is, not to act now with any other
but Mr. _Kenady_ [the Duke of Newcastle] and yourself, the moment any
other comes in play, I drop all business; But nothing essential can
be done without going to Venice [Lord Marshal].
‘To Mr. Tamas Jones, at Mr. Chelburn’s a Chymist, in Scherwood
Street, Golden Square, London.’
To exaggerate his own importance, Pickle gave here a glowing account of
the Prince’s prospects. These were really of the most gloomy character.
A letter forwarded by Dormer (March 18) had proved that he was tracked
down in Liège by the English Government. He tried Lorraine, but found no
refuge, and was in Paris on April 14, when he wrote to the Earl
Marischal. He thought of settling in Orleans, and asked for advice. But
Goring now broke with him for ever, on the strength, apparently, of a
verbal dismissal sent in anger by Charles, who believed, or affected to
believe, that Goring was responsible for the discovery of his retreat.
Goring wrote in these terms:
_Stouf to Charles_.
‘May 5, 1754.
‘It is now five years since I had ye honour of waiting on you in a
particular manner, having made your interest my only study,
neglecting everything that regarded myself. The people I have
negotiated your business with, will do me the justice to own what you
seem to deny, that I have honourably acquitted myself of my charge.
I do not now or ever did desire to be a burthen on you, but I thank
God I leave you in a greater affluence of money than I found you,
which, though not out of my own purse, has been owing to my industry
and trouble, not to mention the dangers I have run to effect it; all
I desire now of you for my services is that you will be so gracious
as to discharge me from your service, not being able to be of further
use to you, yourself having put it out of my power; what I ernestly
beg of you, since you let me know that you cannot support me further,
[is] to give me at least what I think my services may justly claim,
viz. a gracious demission, with which I will retire and try in some
obscure corner of ye world to gain the favour of God, who will I hope
be more just to me than you have been; though I despair of ever
serving him so well as I have done you. My prayers and wishes shall
ever attend you, and since I am able to do you no more good I will
never do you any harm, but remain most faithfully yours
‘STOUF.’
Charles answered angrily:
‘May 10, 1754.
‘Sir,—I have yrs of ye 5th. May Directed “For His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales. Signed Stouf.”
‘I shoud _think_ since the Begining was write (id est, ye superficial
superscription) the _signing might accompani it_, but _Brisons Sur
Les Bagatelles_, I must speke French to you, since I am affraid you
understand no other Language; for my part I am true English, and want
of no Equivocations, or Mental resarvations: will you serve me or
not? will you obey me? have you any other Interest? Say yes or no, I
shall be yr friend iff you will serve me; Iff you have anybody
preferable to me to serve, Let me alone, have you ye Interest of yr
Contre at hart, or a particular one, for my part I have but one God
and one Country, and Untill I compas ye prosperity of my Poor Cuntry
shall never be at rest, or Let any Stone unturned to compas my Ends.’
Goring answered, and here his part of the correspondence closes.
_Stouf to the Prince_.
‘May 16.
‘I recd ye most gracious letter you honoured me with dated ye 10th.
of this present, and must beg your pardon if I do not rightly
understand ye Contents; first it is so different from ye Orders you
were pleased to send me by Mr. Obrien who by your Command told it to
Mittie, {271} who Communicated it to me, as well as I can remember in
these words, or to this purpose, “that you would neither see me, or
write to me neither would you send me any money to Carry me out of
this Town” [Paris]. This very Town I am, as you well know, by a
special order from the King of France, under severe penalties never
to approach nearer than fifty leagues; for no other crime than
adhering to you when Abandoned by every body; this very town that was
witness to my zeal and fidelity to you at the utmost hazzard of my
life, is the very place where you abandoned me to my ill fortune
without one penny of money to get out of the reach of the lettre de
Cachet, or to subsist here any longer in Case I could keep myself
hid. You conceive very well, Sir, ye terrible situation I was in,
had I not found a friend who, touched at my misfortunes, supplied me
for my present necessities, and I know no reason for the ill usage I
have now twice received from you, but that I have served you too
well.
‘Your friends on the other side of the water, at least those who not
long since were so, can, and will when necessary, testifye with what
zeal and integrity I have negotiated your affairs with them, and
persons of undoubted worth on this side the water have been witness
to my conduct here; and when I examine my own breast I have, I thank
God, nothing to reproach myself with, nobody has been discovered by
any misconduct of mine, nobody taken up, or even suspected by ye
Government of having any correspondence with you, whether this has
been owing to experience or chance I leave you Sir to determine.
Here are Sir no Equivocations, or Mental reservations; I have, I may
justly say, the reputation of a man of honour which I will carry with
me to ye grave. In spite of malice and detraction, no good man ever
did, nor do I believe ever will, tax me with having done an ill thing
and what bad men and women say of me is quite indifferent. {273}
‘You say, Sir, you will be my friend if I will serve you, and obey
you. I have, Sir, served and obeyed you, in everything that was
just, at the hazard very often of my life, and to the intire
destruction of my health, must I then, Sir, begin again to try to
gain your favour? I am affraid, Sir, what five years service has not
done, five hundred years will not attain to. I have twice, Sir, been
turned off like a Common footman, with most opprobrious language,
without money or cloaths. As I am a bad courtier and can’t help
speaking truth, I am very sure it would not be long before I
experienced a third time your friendship for me, if I was unadvized
enough to make the tryall. No, Sir, princes are never friends, it
would be too much to expect it, but I did believe till now that they
had humanity enough to reward Good services, and when a man had
served to the utmost of his power, not to try to cast dishonour on
him to save the charges of giving him a recompense. Secure in my
innocence and Content with a small fortune, having no ambition (nor
indeed ever had any but of seeing my Prince great and good) I with
your leave, Sir, small retire, and spend the rest of my life in
serving God, and wishing you all prosperity, since I unfortuneately
cannot be for the future of any use to you.
‘STOUF.’
Charles now invited the Lord Marischal to communicate with him through a
fresh channel, as Goring was for ever alienated. But the Earl replied in
a tone of severe censure. He defended Goring: he rebuked Charles for not
attending to English remonstrances about Miss Walkinshaw, and accused him
of threatening to publish the names of his English adherents. Charles
answered, ‘Whoever told you I gave such a message to Ed. as you mention,
has told you a damned lie, God forgive them. I would not do the least
hurt to my greatest enemy, were he in my power, much less to any one that
professes to be mine.’ He had already said, ‘My heart is broke enough
without that you should finish it.’ {274}
This was, practically, the end of the Jacobite party. Goring went to
Berlin, and presently died in Prussian service. The Scottish adherents,
in the following year, made a formal remonstrance in writing, but the end
had come. Pickle (May 11) reported the quarrel with Lord Marischal to
his employers. Lord Albemarle (May 29) mentioned his hopes of catching
Charles by aid of his tailor! This failed, but Charles was so hard
driven that he communicated to Walsh his intention to retreat over the
Spanish frontier. After various wanderings he settled with Miss
Walkinshaw in Basle, where he gave himself out for am English physician
in search of health.
There are some curious notes by Charles, dated November 26, 1754. Among
them is this:
‘Cambel: his plot: ye poison, and my forbiding instantly by Cameron.’
Had Mr. Campbell, selected by Goring as a model of probity, proposed to
_poison_ ‘the Elector’? Not once only, or twice, perhaps, had the Prince
refused to sanction schemes of assassination. We need not forget these
last traces of nobility in this ‘man undone.’