Earls of Middleton, Lords of Clermont and of Fettercairn

Charles, Second Earl of Middleton. 165
her royal pupil, the Princess Louisa Mary, June 21st,
1692. James received this, his youngest child, born a
little more than a month after the disastrous battle of
La Hogue, with joy. " She was his comforter," he
said, " sent by God to be a consolation in his exile —
the one daughter who had not sinned against him."
Lady Middleton was appointed her state governess. 1
The malcontents had by this time become so dis-
gusted with William, that Lord Middleton found them
ready to receive with ardour the assurances of James,
which he conveyed to them. The last Declaration,
however, which had been circulated before the battle
of La Hogue, had displeased many friends even by
the imperiousness of its language, and the many
exceptions mentioned to the promised Act of In-
demnity. In order to obtain a more conciliatory one,
Lord Middleton repaired to St. Germains in January,
1693, carrying with him eight proposals from those
who wished to restore the late king, as he was now
called, upon conditions. 2
He gives an account of his reception at that
Court in the following letter to a correspondent in
London. The letter is deciphered by Colonel Sack-
ville's cipher : —
" Though, dear cousin, I am pressed in time, yet I
cannot forbear complying with the earnest desire (my
1 MS. Memorials of Mary Beatrice. 2 Macpherson.