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INVASION OF ENGLAND.

231

and took from the city one thousand stand of arms. He gave his Ch. 19 followers but little time for repose, and soon advanced against A. D. the royal troops, commanded by Sir John Cope. The two 1745. armies met at Preston Pans, and were of nearly equal force. The attack was made by the invader, and was impetuous and unlooked for. Nothing could stand before the enthusiasm and valor of the Highlanders; in five minutes the rout commenced, and great slaughter occurred. Among those who fell was the distinguished Colonel Gardiner, an old veteran, who refused to fly.

of

Edward.

Charles followed up his victory with moderation, and was soon Modemaster of all Scotland. He indulged his taste for festivities, ration at Holyrood, for a while, and neglected no means to conciliate Charles the Scotch. He flattered their prejudices; gave balls, and banquets; made love to their most beautiful women, and denied no one access to his presence. Poets sang his praises, and women extolled his heroism and beauty. The light, the gay, the romantic, and the adventurous were all on his side; but the substantial and wealthy classes were against him, for they knew he must be conquered in the end.

Charles played on a desperate game for the small chance of winning a splendid prize. After resting his troops, and collecting all the force he could, he turned his face to England at the head of five thousand men, well armed, and well clothed, but discontented and dispirited, for the mass of his followers had never contemplated the invasion of England, but only the recovery of the ancient independence of Scotland.

sion of

On the 8th of November he set foot upon English soil, and Invaentered Carlisle in triumph. But his forces, instead of increas- Enging, diminished, and no popular enthusiasm supported the cou- land. rage of his troops. Still he advanced towards the south, and reached Derby unmolested on the 4th of December. There he learned that the royal army, headed by the Duke of Cumberland, with twelve thousand veterans, was advancing rapidly against him.

His followers clamored to return, and refused to advance another step. Charles was obliged to yield to an irresistible

232

A. D.

BATTLE OF CULLODEN.

Ch. 19 necessity. His spirits, hitherto buoyant and gladsome, now fell, and despair succeeded to vivacity and hope. He abandoned 1746. himself to grief and vexation, lingered behind his retreating army, and was reckless of his men and of their welfare.

His miserable and dejected army succeeded in reaching Scotland, although pursued by cavalry and suffering much from hunger and fatigue. On the 26th of December, he entered Glasgow, levied a contribution on the people, and prepared for a final battle. He retreated to the Highlands, and spent the winter in recruiting his troops, and in taking Battle fortresses. On the 15th of April, 1746, he drew up his army on the moor of Culloden, near Inverness, with the desperate resolution of attacking, with vastly inferior forces, the Duke of Cumberland, who was intrenched nine miles distant. The design was foolish and unfortunate. The royal troops attacked the dispirited followers of Charles Edward before they could form themselves in battle array. They were totally routed, and on that day the hopes of the Pretender perished.

of Culloden.

The most horrid barbarities were inflicted by the victors. The wounded were left to die. The castles of the rebel chieftains were razed to the ground. Herds and flocks were driven away, and the people left to perish with hunger. Some of the captives were sent to Barbadoes, others were imprisoned, and many were shot. A reward of thirty thousand pounds was offered for the head of the Prince; but he Flight nevertheless escaped. After wandering as a fugitive, disof the guised, wearied, and miserable, hunted from fortress to fortress, and from island to island, he succeeded, by means of the unparalleled loyalty and fidelity of his few Highland followers, in escaping to France. His adventures among the Western Islands, especially those which happened while wandering in the disguise of a female servant, with Flora Macdonald, are highly romantic. Wonderful, too, is the fact that, of the many to whom his secret was intrusted, not one was disposed to betray him, even in view of so splendid a bribe.

Prince.

RETIREMENT OF THE PELHAMS.

233

A. D.

1756.

His

charac.

ter.

The latter days of the Pretender were spent in Rome and Ch. 19 Florence. He married a Polish princess, and assumed the title of Duke of Albany. He never relinquished the hope of 1746 securing the English crown, and always retained his polite- to ness and grace of manner. But he became an object of pity, not merely from his poverty and misfortunes, but also from the vice of intemperance, which he acquired in Scotland. death He died of apoplexy, in 1788, and left no legitimate issue. and The last male heir of the House of Stuart was the Cardinal of York, who died at Rome in 1807. He was buried in St. Peter's, and a marble monument, by Canova, was erected over his remains at the cost of George IV., to whom the Cardinal had left the crown jewels which James II. had carried with him to France. This monument bears the names of James III., Charles III., and Henry IX., kings of England; titles never admitted by the English. With the battle of Culloden expired the hopes of the Catholics and Jacobites to restore Catholicism and the Stuarts.

The great European war, which was begun by Sir Robert Walpole, not long before his retirement, and carried on during the administration of the Pelhams, will be treated in another place.

ment of New

Misfortunes of various kinds, but especially the defeat of Retirethe English armies in America, contributed to make the Pelhams unpopular; and in 1746 the Duke of Newcastle was castle. compelled to call Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge into the Cabinet. After being at the head of the Government for ten years, he was, at length, obliged to resign; and George II., much against his will, entrusted the helm of state to William Pitt; the Duke of Devonshire being nominally Premier. This was in 1756.

Mr. Pitt, who was now rising into importance, was born in 1708, of good family, his grandfather having been Governor of Madras, and the purchaser of the celebrated diamond which bears his name, and which was sold to the Regent of France for one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds. William was sent to Oxford at the age of seven

234

A. D.

MINISTRY OF MR. PITT.

Ch. 19 teen, and at twenty-seven became a member of Parliament. From his first appearance he was heard with attention, and, 1757 when years and experience had given him wisdom and to power, his eloquence was overwhelming. No one ever 1759. equalled him in brilliant invective and scorching sarcasm. f

Mr. Pitt

forms a

n..nistry.

His brilliant

Career.

The Administration formed at the close of 1756 lasted only five months; but during that time Admiral Byng was executed, and the Seven Years' War commenced, of which Frederic II. of Prussia was the hero.

In April, 1757, Pitt and his colleagues were dismissed. But never was popular resentment more fierce and terrible. Again was the King obliged to bend to the " great commoner." An arrangement was made, and a coalition formed. Pitt became Secretary of State, and virtually Premier, but the Duke of Newcastle came in as First Lord of the Treasury. Pitt selected the Cabinet. His brother-in-law, Lord Temple, was made Keeper of the Privy Seal, and Lord Grenville Treasurer of the Navy; Fox became Paymaster of the Forces; the Duke of Bedford received the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland; Hardwicke, the greatest lawyer of his age, was made Lord Chancellor; and Legge, the ablest financier of his day, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Murray, a little while before, had been elevated to the bench, as Lord Mansfield. There was scarcely an eminent man in the House of Commons who was not included in the Administration. All the talent of the nation was laid at the feet of Pitt, and he had the supreme direction of the army and of foreign affairs.

Nothing could exceed the brilliancy of his career, which was marked, in America, by the conquest of Canada, and in the East by the acquisition of India. Equal success attended the allied armies, who were defending Prussia. On all sides the English were triumphant, and the nation became intoxicated with joy. The funds rose, and the bells rang an almost incessant peal for victories. In the midst of these public rejoicings, King George II died.

His grandson, George III. entered upon his long reign in

ACCESSION OF GEORGE THE THIRD.

235

October, 1760, in the twenty-third year of his age. He, or Ch. 19 rather his ministers, resolved to prosecute the war then A. D. raging on the Continent, with vigor, and Parliament voted 1760 liberal supplies. The object of Pitt was the humiliation of to France and Austria, and the protection of Prussia, strug- 1763 gling against overwhelming forces. He secured his end by administering to the nation continual draughts of flattery and Acces military glory.

sion of

George

III.

But however sincere the motives or brilliant the genius of the minister, it was impossible that a practical nation should not awake from such delusions. Statesmen began to calculate the cost of the war. Jealousies sprang up, and enmities were cherished. Some were offended by the haughtiness of the minister, and others were estranged by his withering invective. At length, he wished to declare war against Spain. The Cabinet could not be persuaded of its necessity, and Pitt resigned. He received a pension of three thousand pounds a year, and his wife was made a baroness. Soon after his retirement, under the administration of his successor, Lord Bute, Close of the war. the Peace of Paris, effected in 1763, put an end to hostilities. We must now resume the history of France, and of other continental powers.

REFERENCES.-Lord Mahon's "History of England;" Coxe's “Memoirs of Walpole;” Bolingbroke's “State of Parties;" Tytler's "History of Scotland;" Archdeacon Coxe's "History of the Pelham Administration;" Horace Walpole's "Reminiscences;" and Jesse's "Memoirs of the Pretenders." See also the "Marchmont Papers;" Ray's "History of the Rebellion;" Horace Walpole's “Memoirs of George II.;" Lord Waldegrave's "Memoirs ;" and Doddington's "Diary."

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