Stuarts

CHAPTER XVII
THE END
Here's to the king, sir,
Ye ken wha' I mean, sir. — Jacobite Song.
HE preceding chapter dealt with the youth of Charles Edward,
showed the disastrous course of his Scottish campaign, and traced
an outline of the wonderful escapes which followed it. The third
act of his career is one upon which his friends would gladly drop
the curtain of oblivion. When the Prince returned to France in the autumn
of 1 746, Louis, in spite of all that had happened, renewed his assurances of
assistance, but, now, the help must be conditional : Ireland must be ceded as
the price of the French King's support. " Tout ou rien, point de partage,"
was Charles's reply. Time passed on until, in 1 748, even promises ceased, and,
as the outcome of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the Young Chevalier was
requested to quit France. He refused, and his refusal brought upon him
the indignity of being expelled by force. He then removed to Avignon, but
still the Hanoverian Government objected, whereupon he departed no one
knows whither.
For the next few years his movements are shrouded in mystery. We
hear of him being secretly in Paris with his mistress, Miss Walkinshaw. He
was undoubtedly in London in 1750, when he is said to have declared himself
a Protestant, in the belief that it would improve his chances of succeeding to
the throne, and curry favour with his English supporters. According to a
writer in " Notes and Queries" this espousal took place at St. Mary's le Strand.
He is even said to have taken a turn in the Mall. Mrs. Hetherington and
Lady Primrose were the ladies who entertained the Prince. Some say he
was also here in 1752, and again in 1754 ; but all his efforts to rouse the
Jacobites proved fruitless. And now the shadows deepen, and one would fain