Lesmahagow

(2nd Letter of Prince Charles Edward)

Pinkie House, September 21, 1745.

Sr-Since my last from Perth, it has pleased God to prosper your Majesty's army under my Command with success, yet even surpassed my hopes; on your 17' I entered Edinburgh Sword in hand and got possession of ye Town without being obliged to shed one drop of Blood or commit the least violence, and this morning I have gained a most signal victory with little or no loss. if I had had a Squadron or two of Dragoons to pursue ye flying enemie, there would not one man of them have escaped; as it is, they have hardly sav'd any but a few Dragoons, who by ye most precipitate flight, will I believe get into Berwick. If I had obtain'd this victory over Foreigners my joy would have been compleat, but as it is our English men, it has thrown a damp upon it that I litle imagined. the men I have defeated were your Majestys enemies 'its true, but they might have been your Friends and dutiful Subjects w° they had got their eyes opened to see the true Interest of their Country w°h I am come to Love and not to destroy; and For this reason I have dischargd all public rejoicings. I do not care to enter into the particulars of ye action, and choose rather your Majesty should hear it from another than myself. I send this by Stuart, to w'° you may give entire credit; he is a Faithful honest Fellow, and thoroughly instructed in everything yet has happened to this Day. I shall have a loss in him; but I hope it will be made up to me by his speedy return wt' the most agreeable news I can receive, I mean asyet of your Majestys a, and my Dearest Brothers health. I have seen two or three Gazettes filled with addresses and mandates from your B" to their Clergy. The Addresses are such as I expected and can impose on none but the weak and credulous. The Mandates are of ye same sort but more artfully drawn up. They order the Clergy to make their people sensible of ye great blessings they enjoy under the present Family yet governs them; particularly of ye strict adminisn of justice, of ye sacred regard yet is pd to ye Laws and ye great security of their Religion and property. This sounds all very well and may Impose on ye unthinking, but one who reads them with a litle care will easily see the Fallacy. What occasion has a Prince, who has learned ye Secret of corrupting that Fountain of all justice, ye Parliament to putt off ye mask by openly violating all ye ancient Laws and disturbing yo ordinary course of justice? Would not this be to give the alarm and amount to telling them yet he was not come to protect, as he pretended, but realy to destroy them ? When they talk of ye security of their religion, they take care not to mention one word of the Dreadfull growth of Atheism and Infidelity, we', I am extreamly sorry to hear from very sensible men, within these few years, is grown to a flaming height, even so far, yet I am assured many of their most fashionable men are ashamed to own themselves Christians; many of ye lower sort, act as if they were not.

Conversing on this melancholy subject, I was let into a thing, I never understood rightly before, w°h is, yet those men who are loudest in the cry of Popery and ye danger of ye Pr' Religion are not realy Protes, but a sett of profligate men of good Parts with some Learning and void of all principals, but pretending to be Republicans. I asked those who told me this, wt should make those men so zealous sbout professing y° Protestant Religion seeing they were not Xtians? I was answered it was in order to recommend themselves to ye Ministry, w°' if they can but write a Pamphlet for them, or get themselves chose Members of Parlt will be sure to provide amply for them and your motive to their extraordinary zeal I was told is yet they hereby procure to themselves the connivance at least if not ye protection of ye Government while they are propagating their Impiety and Infidelity. I hope to God Xtianity is not at so low an ebb in this country, as ye acct I have had represents it to be ; yet when I compare wt I have formerly seen and heard at Rome w' some things I have observed since I have been here, I am afraid there is to much truth in it. the BV' are as unfair and Partial in representing ye security of their property as yet of their Religion; for when they mention it, they don't say a word of your vast load of Debt yet is increasing yearly, under w°h the Nation is groaning and w°h must be paid, if ever they intend to pay it, out of their property; it is true all this Debt has not been contracted under the Princes of this Family, but a great part of it has, and the whole of it might have been cleared by a frugal adminn during the 30 years of profound Peace w°h the Nation has enjoyed, had it not been, for the Immensse Sums that have been squandered in corrupting Parl" and supporting Foreign Interests that can never be of any service to these kingdoms. I am afraid I have taken up to much of your Majestys time about these sorry Mandates but haveing mentioned them, I was willing to give my sense of 'em. I remember DT- Wagstaff, wt' whom I wish I had conversed more frequently, for he always told me truth, once said to me that I must not judge of y° English Clergy by ye BP" who were not promoted for their Piety, but for very different Talents, viz. for writing Pamphlets, for being active at Elections and voting as yo Ministry directed them. After I have won another Batle they will write for me and answer their own Letters. There is another sett of men amongst whom, I am inclined to believe the lowest sort are the honestest, as well as amongst the Clergy, I mean the Army. there never was a finer body of men to look at, than those I fought w' to-day, yet they did not behave so well as I expected. I thought I could see plainly that the common men did not like the cause they engaged in. had they been fighting against Frenchmen come to Invade their Country, I am convinced they would have made a better defence. The Poor men's Pay and their low Principles were not sufficient to corrupt their natural notions of justice and Honesty, w°h is not the case of their Officers, who incited by their ambition and false notions of Honour fought more desperately. I asked one of them who is my Prisoner and a Gallant man, why he would fight against his lawfull Prince and one who was come to rescue his Country from a Foreign yoke. He said, he was a man of Honour and would be true to his Prince whose bread he eat, and whose commission he bore. I told him it was a noble principal, but ill apply'" and ask' if he was not a Whigg. He reply'd He was; Well said I, how come you to look, on ye commission you bear, and ye Bread you eat, to be the Princes and not your Country's, who raised you and paid you to defend it against Foreigners, who come not to defend, but enslave it, for yet I have always understood to be yo principally of a Whigg. Have you not heard how your countrymen have been carried abroad to be insulted and ill treated by those Pretended Defenders and Butcher'd fighting in a cause in we' your Country has litle or no Interest only to enrich Hannover? to all this he made no answer but hung down his Head. The Truth is, there are few good Officers amongst them. They are Brave because an Englishman can't be otherwise, but they have generally litle knowledge in business, are corrupted in their morals and have few restraints from Religion they would have you believe they are fighting for it. As to their Honour they talk so much off, I shall soon have occasion to try it; for haveing no Strong Places to put my Prisoners in I shall be obliged to release them upon their Parole. if they don't keep it I wish they may not fall into my Hands again for it will not be in my Power to protect 'em from my Highlanders. My Haughty Foreigner thinks it beneath him, I supposse, to settle a cartel. I wish for it as much for the sake of His men as my own; I hope ere long to see him Glad to sue for it. I hear there are six Thousand Dutch Troops arrived and Ten Battalions of yo English sent for. I wish they were all Dutch that I might not have the Pain of shedding English Blood. I hope I shall oblige them to bring over ye rest, we' at all events will be one piece of service done my Country in helping it out of a ruinous Foreign War. It is hard my Victory slid put me under difficulties I did not feel before, and yet this is ye case. I am Charged both with the care of my Friends and Enemies. Those who slid bury the Dead are run away as if it was no business of theirs and my Highlanders think it beneath them to do it, and ye Country People are fled away: however I'm resolved to try if I can get People for money to undertake it, for I can't bear the Thoughts of suffering Englishmen to rot above ground. I am at a greater difficultie how to dispose of the wounded Prisoners; if I make an Hospital of a Church, it would be looked upon as a great Profanation; and if I take private Houses for ye Purposse I shall be accused by my ungenerous Enemies of haveing violated my Manifesto in w°h I promise to violate no man's Property. If Magistrates would act, they could help me out of this difficulty. Come wt will, I am resolved I will not suffer the poor wounded men to lie in the Streets, and if I cannot do better, will make an Hospital of your Palace and leave it to them. I am distracted w11` these cares, joined with those of my own People, yet I have only time to add that I am

Your Majestys Dutiful Son etc.

(Not signed.)