Books: The Letters of Horace Walpole, Volume 1

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(1128) This circumstance is thus alluded to in Sir C. H.
Williams's ballad of "The heroes.

"Three regiments one Duke contents,
With two more places you know:
Since his Bath Knights, his Grace delights
In Tri-a junct' in U-no."

The Duke of Montagu was master of the great wardrobe, a place
worth eight thousand pounds a-year. He was also grand-master
of the order of the Bath.-D.

(1129) In the May following, Mr. Pitt was appointed paymaster
of the forces.-E.

(1130) Pattee Byng, second Viscount Torrington. He had
been made vice-treasurer of Ireland upon the going out of the
Walpole administration.-D.

(1131) @ James Fitzgerald, twentieth Earl of Kildare; created
in 1761, Marquis of Kildare, and in 1766 Duke of Leinster-
-Irish honours.-D.

(1132) By an inundation of the Arno.

449 Letter 186
To Sir Horace Mann.
Arlington Street, Nov. 15, 1745.

I told you in my last what disturbance there had been about
the new regiments; the affair of rank was again disputed on
the report till ten at night, and carried by a majority of 23.
The King had been persuaded to appear for it, though Lord
Granville made it a party point against Mr. Pelham.
Winnington did not speak. I was not there, for I could not
vote for it, and yielded not to give any hindrance to a public
measure (or at least what was called so) ' just now. The
Prince acted openly, and influenced his people against it; but
it, only served to let Mr. Pelham see, what, like every thing
else, he did not know, how strong he is. The King will scarce
speak to him, and he cannot yet get Pitt into place.

The rebels are come into England: for two days we believed
them near Lancaster, but the ministry now own that they don't
know if they have passed Carlisle. Some think they will
besiege that town, which has an old wall, and the militia in
it of Cumberland and Westmoreland; but as they can pass by it,
I don't see why they should take it; for they are not strong
enough to leave garrisons. Several desert them as they
advance south; and altogether, good men and bad, nobody
believes them ten thousand. By their marching westward to
avoid Wade, it is evident they are not strong enough to fight
him. They may yet retire back into their mountains, but if
once they get to Lancaster, their retreat is cut off; for Wade
'will not stir from Newcastle, till he has embarked them deep
into England, and then he will be behind them. He has sent
General Handasyde from Berwick with two regiments to take
possession of Edinburgh. The rebels are certainly in a Very
desperate situation: they dared not meet Wade; and if they had
waited for him their troops would have deserted. Unless they
meet with great risings in their favour in Lancashire, I don't
see what they can hope, except from a continuation of our
neglect. That, indeed, has nobly exerted itself for them.
They were suffered to march the whole length of Scotland, and
take possession of the capital, without a man appearing
against them. Then two thousand men sailed to them, to run
from them. Till the flight of Cope's army, Wade was not sent.
'Two roads still lay into England, and till they had chosen
that which Wade had not taken, no
army was thought of being sent to secure the other. Now
Ligonier, with seven old regiments, and six of the new, is
ordered to Lancashire: before this first division of the army
could get to Coventry, they are forced to order it to halt,
for fear the enemy should be up with it before it was all
assembled. It is uncertain if the rebels will march to the
north of Wales, to Bristol, or towards London. If to the
latter, Ligonier must fight the n: if to either of the other,
I hope, the two armies may join and drive them into a corner,
where they must all perish. They cannot subsist in Wales, but
by being supplied by the' Papists in Ireland(. The best is,
that we are in no fear from France; there is no preparation
for invasions in any of their ports. Lord Clancarty,(1133) a
Scotchman of great parts, but mad and drunken, and whose
family forfeited 90,000 pounds a-@ear for King James, is made
vice-admiral at Brest. The Duke of Bedford goes in his little
round person with his regiment: he now takes to the land, and
says he is tired of being a pen and ink man. Lord Gower too,
insisted upon going with his regiment, but is laid up with the
gout.

With the rebels in England, you may imagine we have no private
news, nor think of foreign. From this account you may judge,
that our case is far from desperate, though disagreeable, The
Prince, while the Princess lies-in, has taken to give dinners,
to which he asks two of the ladies of the bedchamber, two of
the maids of honour, etc. by turns, and five or six others.
He sits at the head of the table, drinks and harangues to all
this medley till nine at night; and the other day, after the
affair of the regiments, drank Mr. Fox's health in a bumper,
with three huzzas, for opposing Mr. Pelham--

"Si quel fata aspera rumpas,
Tu Marcellus eris!"

You put me in pain for my eagle, and in more for the Chutes;
whose zeal is very heroic, but very ill-placed. I long to
hear that all my Chutes and eagles are safe out of the Pope's
hands! Pray wish the Suares's joy of all their espousals.
Does the Princess pray abundantly for her friend the
Pretender? Is she extremely abbatue with her devotion? and
does she fast till she has got a violent appetite for supper?
And then, does she eat so long that old Sarrasin is quite
impatient to go to cards again? Good night! I intend you
shall be resident from King George.

P. S. I forgot to tell you, that the other day I concluded the
ministry knew the danger was all over; for the Duke of
Newcastle ventured to have the Pretender's declaration burnt
at the Royal Exchange.

(1133) Donagh Maccarty, Earl of Clancarty, was an Irishman,
and not a Scotchman.-D.

451 Letter 187
To Sir Horace Mann.
Arlington Street, Nov. 22, 1745.

For these two days we have been expecting news of a battle.
Wade marched last Saturday from Newcastle, and must have got
up with the rebels, if they stayed for him, though the roads
are exceedingly bad and great quantities of snow have fallen.
But last night there was some notice of a body of rebels being
advanced to Penryth. We were put into great spirits by an
heroic letter from the mayor of Carlisle, who had fired on the
rebels and made them retire; he concluded with saying, "And so
I think the town of Carlisle has done his Majesty more service
than the great city of Edinburgh, or than all Scotland
together." But this hero, who was crown the whole fashion for
four-and-twenty hours, had chosen to stop all other letters.
The King spoke of him at his levee with great encomiums; Lord
Stair said, "Yes, sir, Mr. Patterson has behaved very
bravely." The Duke of Bedford interrupted him; "My lord, his
name is not Paterson; that is a Scotch name; his name is
Patinson." But, alack! the next day the rebels returned, having
placed the women and children of the country in wagons
in front of their army, and forcing the peasants to fix the
scaling-ladders. The great Mr. Pattinson, or Patterson (for
now his name may be which one pleases,) instantly surrendered
the town and agreed to pay two thousand pounds to save it from
pillage. Well! then we were assured that the citadel could
hold out seven or eight days but did not so many hours. On
mustering the militia, there were not found above four men in
a company; and for two companies, which the ministry, on a
report of Lord Albemarle, who said they were to be sent from
Wade's army, thought were there, and did not know were not
there, there was nothing but two of invalids. Colonel Durand,
the governor, fled, because he would not sign the
capitulation, by which the garrison, it is said, has sworn
never to bear arms against the house of Stuart. The Colonel
sent two expresses, one to Wade, and another to Ligonier at
Preston; but the latter was playing at whist with Lord
Harrington at Petersham. Such is our diligence and attention!
All my hopes are in Wade, who was so sensible of the ignorance
of our governors that he refused to accept the command, till
they consented that he should be subject to no kind of orders
from hence. The rebels are reckoned up to thirteen thousand;
Wade marches with about twelve; but if they come southward,
the other army will probably be to fight them; the Duke is to
command it, and sets out next week with another brigade of
Guards, and Ligonier under him. There are great apprehensions
for Chester from the Flintshire-men, who are ready to rise. A
quartermaster, first sent to Carlisle, was seized and carried
to Wade; he behaved most insolently; and being asked by the
General, how many the rebels were, replied, "enough to beat
any army you have in England." A Mackintosh has been taken,
who reduces their formidability, by being sent to raise two
clans, and with orders, if they would not rise, at least to
give out they had risen, for that three clans would leave the
Pretender, unless joined by those two. Five hundred new
rebels are arrived at Perth, where our prisoners are kept.

I had this morning a subscription pool@ brought me for our
parish; Lord Granville had refused to subscribe. This is in
the style of his friend Lord Bath, who has absented himself
whenever any act of authority was to be executed against the
rebels.

Five Scotch lords are going to raise regiments `a l'Angloise!
resident in London, while the rebels were in Scotland; they
are to receive military emoluments for their neutrality!

The Fox man-of-war of twenty guns is lost off Dunbar. One
Beavor, the captain, had done us notable service: the
Pretender sent to commend his zeal and activity, and to tell
him, that if he would return to his allegiance, be should soon
have a flag. Beavor replied, "he never treated with any but
principals; that if the Pretender would come on board him, he
would talk with him." I must now tell you of our great Vernon:
without once complaining to the ministry, he has written to
Sir John Philipps, a distinguished Jacobite, to complain of
want of provisions; yet they do not venture to recall him!
Yesterday they had another baiting from Pitt, who is ravenous
for the place of secretary at war: they would give it him; but
as a preliminary, he insists on a declaration of our having
nothing to do with the Continent. He mustered his forces, but
did not notify his intention; only at two o'clock Lyttelton
said at the Treasury, that there would be business at the
House. The motion was to augment our naval force, which, Pitt
said, was the only method of putting an end to the rebellion.
Ships built a year hence to suppress an army of Highlanders,
now marching through England! My uncle attacked him, and
congratulated his country on the wisdom of the modern young
men; and said he had a son of two-and-twenty, who, he did not
doubt, would come over wiser than any of them. Pitt was
provoked, and retorted on his negotiations and greyheaded
experience. At those words, my uncle, as if he had been at
Bartholomew fair, snatched off his wig, and showed his gray
hairs, which made the august senate laugh, and put Pitt out,
who, after laughing himself, diverted his venom upon Mr.
Pelham. Upon the question, Pitt's party amounted but to
thirty-six: in short, he has nothing left but his words, and
his haughtiness, and his Lytteltons, and his Grenvilles.
Adieu!

453 Letter 188
To Sir Horace Mann.
Arlington Street, Nov. 29, 1745.

We have had your story here this week of the pretended
pretender, but with the unlucky circumstance of its coming
from the Roman Catholics. With all the faith you have in your
little spy, I cannot believe it; though, to be sure, it has a
Stuart-air, the not exposing the real boy to danger. The Duke
of Newcastle mentioned your account this morning to my uncle;
but they don't give any credit to the courier's relation. It
grows so near being necessary for the young man to get off by
any evasion, that I am persuaded all that party will try to
have it believed. We are so far from thinking that they have
not sent us one son, that two days ago we believed we had got
the other too. A small ship has taken the Soleil privateer
from Dunkirk, going to Montrose, with twenty French officers,
sixty others, and the brother of the beheaded Lord
Derwentwater and his son,(1134) who at first was believed to
be the second boy. News came yesterday of a second privateer,
taken with arms and money; of another lost on the Dutch coast,
and of Vernon being in pursuit of two more. All this must be
a great damp to the party, who are coming on--fast--fast to
their destruction. Last night they were to be at Preston, but
several repeated accounts make them under five thousand--none
above seven; they must have diminished greatly by desertion.
The country is so far from rising for them, that the towns are
left desolate on their approach, and the people hide and bury
their effects, even to their pewter. Warrington bridge is
broken down, which will turn them some miles aside. The Duke,
with the flower of that brave army which stood all the fire at
Fontenoy, will rendezvous at Stone, beyond Litchfield, the day
after to-morrow: Wade is advancing behind them, and will be at
Wetherby in Yorkshire to-morrow. In short, I have no
conception of their daring to fight either army, nor see any
visible possibility of their not being very soon destroyed.
My fears have been great, from the greatness of our stake; but
I now write in the greatest confidence of our getting over
this ugly business. We have another very disagreeable affair,
that may have fatal consequences: there rages a murrain among
the cows; we dare not eat milk, butter, beef, nor any thing
from that species. Unless there is snow or frost soon, it is
likely to @spread dreadfully though hitherto it has not
reached many miles from London. At first, it was imagined
that the Papists had empoisoned the pools; but the physicians
have pronounced it infectious, and brought from abroad.

I forgot to tell you, that my uncle begged the Duke of
Newcastle to stifle this report of the sham Pretender lest the
King should hear it and recall the Duke, as too great to fight
a counterfeit. It is certain that the army adore the Duke,
and are gone in the greatest spirits; and on the parade, as
they began their march, the Guards vowed that they would
neither give nor take quarter. For bravery, his Royal
Highness is certainly no Stuart, but literally loves to be in
the act of fighting. His brother has so far the same taste,
that the night of his new son's christening, he had the
citadel of Carlisle in sugar at supper, and the company
besieged it with sugar-plums. It was well imagined,
considering the time and the circumstances. One thing was
very proper; old Marshal Stair was there, who is grown child
enough to be fit to war only with such artillery. Another
piece of ingenuity of that court was on the report of Pitt
being named secretary at war. The Prince hates him, since the
fall of Lord Granville: he said, Miss Chudleigh,(1135) one of
the maids, was fitter for the employment; and dictated a
letter which he made her write to Lord Harrington, to desire
he would draw the warrant for her. There were fourteen people
at table, and all were to sign it: the Duke of
Queensberry(1136 would not, as being a friend of Pitt, nor
Mrs. Layton, one of the dressers: however, it was actually
sent, and the footman ordered not to deliver it till Sir
William Yonge was at Lord Harrington's-alas! it would be
endless to tell you all his Caligulisms! A ridiculous thing
happened when the Princess saw company: the new-born babe was
shown in a mighty pretty cradle, designed by Kent, under a
canopy in the great drawing-room. Sir William Stanhope went
to look at it; Mrs. Herbert, the governess, advanced to
unmantle it; he said, "In wax, I suppose."--"Sir!"--"In wax,
Madam?"--"The young Prince, Sir."--"Yes, in wax, I suppose."
This is his odd humour? when he went to see this duke at his
birth, he said, "Lord! it sees!"

The good Provost of Edinburgh has been with Marshal Wade at
Newcastle, and it is said, is coming to London-he must trust
hugely to the inactivity of the ministry! They have taken an
agent there going with large contributions from the- Roman
Catholics, who have pretended to be so quiet! The Duchess of
Richmond, while her husband is at the army, was going to her
grace of Norfolk:(1137) when he was very uneasy at her
intention, she showed him letters from the Norfolk, "wherein
she prays God that this wicked rebellion may be soon
suppressed, lest it hurt the poor Roman Catholics." But this
wise jaunt has made such a noise that it is laid aside.

Your friend Lord Sandwich has got one of the Duke of Montagu's
regiments: he stayed quietly till all the noise was over. He
is now lord of the admiralty, lieutenant-colonel to the Duke
of Bedford, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Richmond, and colonel
of a regiment!

A friend of mine, Mr. Talbot, who has a good estate in
Cheshire, with the great tithes, which he takes in kind, and
has generally fifteen hundred pounds stock, has expressly
ordered his steward to burn it, if the rebels come that way: I
don't think this will make a bad figure in Mr. Chute's brave
gazette. As we go on prospering, I will take care to furnish
him with paragraphs, till he kills Riviera(1138) and all the
faction. When my lovely eagle comes, I will consecrate it to
his Roman memory; don't think I want spirits more than he,
when I beg you to send me a case of drams: I remember your
getting one for Mr. Trevor.

I guessed at having lost two letters from you in the
packet-boat that was taken: I have received all you mention,
but those of the 21st and 28th of September, one of which I
suppose was about Gibberne: his mother has told me how happy
you have made her and him, for which I much thank you and your
usual good-nature. Adieu! I trust all my letters will grow
better and better. You must have passed a lamentable scene of
anxiety; we have had a good deal; but I think we grow in
spirits again. There never was so melancholy a town; no kind
of public place but the playhouses, and they look as if the
rebels had just driven away the company. Nobody but has some
fear for themselves, for their money, or for their friends in
the army: of this number am I deeply; Lord Bury(1139) and mr.
Conway, two of the first in my list, are aide-de-camps to the
Duke, and another, Mr. Cornwallis,(1140) is in the same army,
and my nephew, Lord Malpas(1141)--so I still fear the rebels
beyond my reason. Good night.

P. S. It is now generally believed from many circumstances,
that the youngest Pretender is actually among the prisoners
taken on board the Soleil: pray wish Mr. Chute joy for me.

(1134) Charles Radcliffe, brother of James, Earl of
Derwentwater, who was executed for the share he took in the
rebellion of 1715. Charles was executed in 1746, upon the
sentence pronounced against him in 1716, which he had then
evaded, by escaping from Newgate. His son was Bartholomew,
third Earl of Newburgh, a Scotch title he inherited from his
mother.-D.

(1135) Afterwards the well-known Duchess of Kingston.-D.

(1136) Charles Douglas, third Duke of Queensberry, and second
Duke of Dover: died 1778.-D.

(1137) Mary Blount, Duchess of Norfolk, the wife of Duke
Edward. She and her Husband were suspected of Jacobitism.-D.

(1138) Cardinal Riviera, promoted to the purple by the
interest of the Pretender.

(1139) George Keppel, eldest son of the Earl of Albemarle,
whom he succeeded in the title in 1754.

(1140) Edward, brother of Earl Cornwallis, groom of the
bedchamber to the King, and afterwards governor of Nova
Scotia.

(1141) George, eldest son of George, Earl of Cholmondeley, and
of Mary, second daughter of Sir Robert Walpole.

455 Letter 189
To sir Horace Mann.
Arlington Street, December 9, 1745.

I am glad I did not write to you last post as I intended; I
should have sent you an account that would have alarmed you,
and the danger would have been over before the letter had
crossed the sea. The Duke, from some strange want of
intelligence, lay last week for four-and-twenty hours under
arms at Stone, in Staffordshire, expecting the rebels every
moment, while they were marching in all haste to Derby.(1142)
The news of this threw the town into great consternation but
his Royal Highness repaired his mistake, and got to
Northampton, between the Highlanders and London. They got
nine thousand pounds at Derby, and had the books brought to
them, and obliged every body to give them what they had
subscribed against them. Then they retreated a few miles, but
returned again to Derby, got ten thousand pounds more,
plundered the town, and burnt a house of the Countess of
Exeter. They are gone again, and got back to Leake, in
Staffordshire, but miserably harassed, and, it is said, have
left all their cannon behind them, and twenty wagons of
sick.(1143) The Duke has sent General Hawley with the
dragoons to harass them in their retreat, and despatched Mr.
Conway to Marshal Wade, to hasten his march upon the back of
them. They must either go to North Wales, where they will
probably all perish, or to Scotland, with great loss. We
dread them no more We are threatened with great preparations
for a French invasion, but the coast is exceedingly guarded;
and for the people, the spirit against the rebels increases
every day. Though they have marched thus into the heart of
the kingdom, there has not been the least symptom of a rising,
not even in the great towns of which they possessed
themselves. They have got no recruits since their first entry
into England, excepting one gentleman in Lancashire, one
hundred and fifty common men, and two parsons, at Manchester,
and a physician from York. But here in London the aversion to
them is amazing: on some thoughts of the King's going to an
encampment at Finchley, the weavers not Only offered him a
thousand men, but the whole body of the Law formed themselves
into a little army, under the command of Lord Chief-Justice
Willes,(1144) and were to have done duty at St. James's, to
guard the royal family in the King's absence.

But the greatest demonstration of loyalty appeared on the
prisoners being brought to town from the Soleil prize - the
young man is certainly Mr. Radcliffe's son; but the mob,
persuaded of his being the youngest Pretender, could scarcely
be restrained from tearing him to pieces all the way on the
road, and at his arrival. He said he had heard of English
mobs, but could not conceive they were so dreadful, and wished
he had been shot at the battle of Dettingen, where he had been
engaged. The father, whom they call Lord Derwentwater, said,
on entering the Tower, that he had never expected to arrive
there alive. For the young man, he must only be treated as a
French captive; for the father, it is sufficient to produce
him at the Old Bailey, and prove that he is the individual
person condemned for the last rebellion, and so to Tyburn.

We begin to take up people, but it is with as much caution and
timidity as women of quality begin to pawn their Jewels; we
have not ventured upon any great stone yet!

The Provost of Edinburgh is in custody of a messenger; and the
other day they seized an, odd man, who goes by the name of
Count St. Germain. he has been here these two years, and will
not tell who he is, or whence, but professes that he does not
go by his right name. He sings, plays on the violin
wonderfully, composes, is mad, and not very sensible. He is
called an Italian, a Spaniard, a Pole; a somebody that married
a great fortune in Mexico, and ran away with her jewels to
Constantinople; a priest, a fiddler, a vast nobleman, The
Prince of Wales has had unsatiated curiosity about him, but in
vain. However, nothing has been made out against him -.' he
is released: and, what convinces me that he is not a
gentleman, stays here, and talks of his being taken up for a
spy.

I think these accounts, upon which you may depend, must raise
your spirits, and figure in Mr. Chute's royal journal.-But you
don't get my letters: I have sent you eleven since I came to
town; how many of these have you received? Adieu!

(1142) The consternation was so great as to occasion that day
being named Black Friday. (Fielding, in his True Patriot,
says, that, "when the Highlanders, by a most incredible march,
got between the Duke's army and the metropolis, they struck a
terror into it scarce to be credited." An immediate rush was
made upon the Bank of England, which, it is said, only
escaped bankruptcy by paying in sixpences, to gain time. The
shops in general were shut up; public business, for the most
part, was suspended, and the restoration of the Stuarts was
expected by all as no improbable or distant occurrence. See
Lord Mahon, vol. iii. p. 444.)

(1143 "Charles arrived at Derby in high spirits, reflecting
that he was now within a hundred and thirty miles of the
capital. Accordingly, that evening, at supper, he studiously
directed his conversation to his intended progress and
expected triumph--whether it would be best for him to enter
London on foot or on horseback, in Highland or in English
dress. Far different were the thoughts of his followers, who,
early next morning, laid before him their earnest and
unanimous opinion for an immediate retreat to Scotland,
Charles said, that, rather than go back, he would wish to be
buried twenty feet under ground. On the following day he
sullenly consented to retreat, but added, that, in future, he
would call no more councils; since he was accountable to
nobody for his actions, excepting to God and his father, and
would therefore no longer either ask or accept their advice."
See Sir Walter Scott's Tales of a Grandfather, vol. v. p. 226.-E.