|
No. I.
This letter was addressed
by the Rev. Joseph Spence, author of "Polymetus," and of "Spence's
Anecdotes,'" and prebend cf Durham, to his father, who had forbidden him
to enter into the society of the Chevalier, at Rome.
The Rev. Joseph Spence
left this letter, with other MSS. and books, to the late Mrs. Coltman,
mother of Samuel Coltman, Esq.. of Darley Dale. It is not dated, but
undoubtedly refers to the Chevalier, James Stuart.
"Sir,
"About a month ago,
Mr.---and I being in search of some of the antiquities of your place, we
became acquainted with an English gentleman, very knowing in this kind
of learning, and who proved of great use to us; his name is Dr. Cooper,
a priest of the Church of England, whom we did not suspect to be of the
Pretender's retinue, but took him to be a curious traveller, which
opinion created in me a great liking for his conversation. On Easter
eve, he made us the compliment, that as he supposed us bred in the
profession of the said Church, he thought it incumbent on him to invite
us to divine service, next day-being Easter Sunday. Such language, at
Rome, appeared to me a jest. I stared at the Doctor, who added that the
Pretender (whom he called king), had prevailed with the late pope, to
grant licence for having divine service according to the rules of the
Church of England, performed in his palace, for the benefit of the
Protestant gentlemen of his suite, his domestics, and travellers; and
that Dr. Perkley and himself were appointed for the discharge of this
duty; and that prayers were read as ordinarily here as in London. I
should have remained of St. Thomas's belief, had I not been a witness
that this is a matter of fact, and as such, have noted it down, as one
of the greatest wonders of Rome. This was the occasion of my first
entrance into the Pretender's house: I became acquainted with both the
Doctors, who are sensible, well-bred men I put several questions to them
about the Pretender, and, if credit can be given them, they assure me he
is a moral, upright man, being far from any sort of bigotry, and most
averse to disputes and distinctions of religion, whereof not a word is
admitted in his family. They described him in person very much to the
resemblance of King Charles II., which they say he approaches more and
more every day, with a great application to business, and a head well
turned that way, having only some clerks, to whom he dictates such
letters as he does not write with his own hand. In some days after, my
friend and I went to take the evening air, in the stately park called
Villa Ludovici, there we met, face to face, on a sudden, with the
Pretender, his Princess, and court; we were so very close before we
understood who they were, that we could not retreat with decency, common
civility obliged us to stand side-ways in the alley, as others did, to
let them pass by. The Pretender was easily distinguished by his star and
garter, as well as by his air of greatness, which discovered a majesty
superior to the rest. I felt at that instant of his approach, a strange
convulsion in body and mind, such as I never was sensible of before,
whether aversion, awe, or respect occasioned it, I can't tell: I
remarked his eyes fixed on me, wMch, I confess, I could not bear—I was
perfectly stunned, and not aware of myself, when, pursuant to what the
standers-by did, I made him a salute; he returned it with a smile, which
changed the sedateness of his first aspect into a very graceful
countenance; as he passed by I observed him to be a well-sized,
clean-limbed man. I had but one glimpse of the Princess, which left me a
great desire of seeing her again; however, my friend and I tumed off
into another alley, to reason at leisure on our several observations:
there we met Dr. Cooper, and, after making some turns with him, the same
company came again in our way I was grown somewhat bolder, and resolved
to let them pass as before, in order to take a full view of the
Princess: she is of a middling stature, well-shaped, and has lovely
features: wit, vivacity, and mildness of temper, are painted in her
look. When they came to us, the Pretender stood, and spoke a word to the
Doctor, then looking at us, he asked him whether we were English
gentlemen; he asked us how long we had been in town, and whether we had
any acquaintance. He then told us he had a house, where English
gentlemen would be very welcome. The Princess, who stood by, addressing
herself to the Doctor in the prettiest English I think I ever heard,
said, 'Pray, Doctor, if these gentlemen be lovers of music, invite them
to my concert, tonight; I charge you with it; which she accompanied with
a salute in the most gracious manner. It was a very-hard task, sir, to
recede from the honour of such an invitation, given by a princess, who,
although married to the Pretender, deserves so much in regard to her
person, her house, and family. However, we argued the case with the
Doctor, and represented the strict orders we had to the contrary; he
replied, there would be no prohibition to a traveller against music,
even at the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church; that if we missed
this occasion of seeing this assembly of the Roman Royalty, we might not
recover it while we stayed n Rome; and, that it became persons of our
age and degree to act always the part of gentlemen, without regard to
party humours. These arguments were more forcible than ours, so we went,
and saw a bright assembly of the prime human ability, the concert
composed of the best musicians of Rome, a plentiful and orderly
collation served; but the courteous and affable manner of our reception
was more taking than all the rest. We had a general invitation given us
whilst we stayed in town, and were desired to use the palace as our
house, we were indispensably obliged to make a visit next day, is order
to return thanks for so many civilities received;—those are things due
to a Turk. We were admitted without ceremony; the Pretender entertained
us on the subject of our families as knowingly as if he had been all his
life in England: He told me some passages of myself and father, and of
his being against the followers of King Charles I. and II., and added,
"that if you, sir, had been of age before my grandfathers death, to
learn his principles, there had been little danger of your taking party
against the rights of a Stuart.''
He then observed how far
the prejudices of education and wrong notions of infancy are apt to
carry people from the paths of their ancestors: he discoursed as
pertinently on several of our neighbouring families as I could do, upon
which I told him I was surprised at his so perfect knowledge of our
families in England; his answer was, that from his infancy he had made
it his business to acquire the knowledge of the laws, customs, and
families of his country, so that he might not be reported a stranger
when the Almighty pleased to call him thither. These and the like
discourses held until word was brought that dinner was served; we
endeavoured all we could to withdraw, but there was no possibility for
after he had made us this compliment, "I assure you, Gentlemen, I shall
never be for straining man's inclinations; however, our grandfathers,
who were worthy people, dined, and I hope there can be no fault found
that we do the same." There is every day a regular table of ten or
twelve covers well served, unto which some of the qualified persons of
his court, or travellers, are invited: it is supplied with English and
French cooking, French and Italian wines; but I took notice that the
Pretender eat only of the English dishes, and made hi» dinner of
roast-beef, and what we call Devonshire-pie: He also prefers our March
beer, which he has from Leghorn, to the best wines: at the dessert, he
drinks his glass of champagne very heartily, and to do him justice, he
is as free and cheerful at his table as any man I know; he spoke much In
favour of our English ladies, and said he was persuaded he had not many
enemies among them; then he carried a health to them. The Princess with
a smiling countenance took up the matter, and said, "I think then. Sir,
it would be but just that I drink to the cavaliers.' Sometime after, the
Pretender begun a health to the prosperity of all friends in England,
which he addressed to me. I took the freedom to reply, that, as I
presumed he meant his own friends, he would not take it ill that I meant
mine. "I assure you, Sir," said he, "that the friends you mean can have
no great share of prosperity till they become mine, therefore, here's
prosperity to yours and mine." After we had eat and drank very heartily,
the Princess told us we must go see her son, which could not be refused;
he is really a fine promising child, and is attended by English women,
mostly Protestants, which the Princess observed to us, saying, that as
she believed he was to live and die among Protestants, she thought fit
to have him brought up by their hands; and that in the country where she
was born, there was no other distinction but that of honour and
dishonour. These women, and particularly two Londoners, kept such a
racket about us to make us kiss the young Pretender's hand that to get
clear of them as soon as we could, we were forced to comply: the
Princess laughed very heartily, and told us that she did not question
but the day would come that we should not be sorry to have made so early
an acquaintance with her son. I thought myself under a necessity of
making her the compliment, that being hers, he could not miss being good
and happy. On the next post day, we went, as commonly the English
gentlemen here do, to the Pretender's house for news. He had received a
great many letters, and after perusing them he told us that there was no
great prospect of amendment in the affairs of England; that the Secret
Committee and several other honest men were taking abundance of pains to
find out the cause of the nation's destruction, which knowledge, when
attained to, would avail only to give the more concern to the public
without procuring relief; for that the authors would find means to be
above the reach of the common course of justice: he bemoaned the
misfortune of England groaning under a load of debts, and the severe
hardships contracted and imposed to support foreign interests: he
lamented the ill-treatment and disregard of the ancient nobility; and
said it gave him great trouble to see the interest of the nation
abandoned to the direction of a new set of people, who must at any rate
enrich themselves by the spoil of their country; "some may imagine,"
continued he, "that these calamities are not displeasing to me, because
they may, in some measure, turn to my advantage; I renounce all such
unworthy thoughts." |
