Mass at the English and Scots Colleges, and at the Irish
Dominicans and Franciscans. At all these places he
was prayed for by name, and a Te Deum sung. The
Pope and his ministers, irritated at this acknowledg-
ment of the King, although done only by his own subjects,
have exiled the heads of these Colleges and convents from
Rome. . . . Pray, what does your Lordship think of
all this?" 2
Yet a further sign of the Pope's fixed determination
"to suppress all signs in Rome of the royalty of the
1 Letters of Sir Horace Mann.
- Memoirs of Strange and Lumisden. Letter of Lumisden dated April
IS/A, 1766.
124 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
Stuarts " was shown in the order for the removal of the
two great stone escutcheons, bearing the royal arms of
Britain and those of the Roman Senate, from the
entrance of the palace of the Santi Apostoli ; and they
were accordingly taken down one night when Charles
himself was absent from the city. 1
Never was the essential difference in the characters
of the two brothers more clearly displayed than in the
way in which each accepted this series of misfortunes
and indignities. The Cardinal Duke, so we are told in
the pages of the Diary, " has felt boundless indignation
at all these proceedings, but he is determined to assume
an attitude of indifference, bowing to the Divine Will
in all things, and looking forward to a happier time when
these insults shall be wiped out." But unfortunately for
his own peace of mind, Charles refused to bear this
ungracious treatment with the same dignified resignation
as his younger brother ; he brooded over his grievances,
became sulky and embittered, and by his unreasonable
violence began to alienate from himself the loyalty of
his few remaining adherents. Most of the Prince's time
was now spent in hunting or in shooting expeditions
near Albano or in the marshy lands of the Campagna,
but though in the excitement of the chase he found means
to soothe his many cares and his sense of wounded pride,
a more powerful solace offered itself. For years past
a heavy drinker, Charles now gave way to his besetting
vice without restraint, and thereby incurred the deep con-
tempt of the Papal Court, the disgust of his loyal friends,
and the anger of his brother, who writes about this time in
deep dejection to some unknown Jacobite correspondent : —
1 Letters of Sir Horace Mann.
"CHARLES THE THIRD" 125
" I have very little to say, except to deplore the
continuance of the bottle ; that, I own to you, makes
me despair of everything, and I am of opinion that it
is impossible for my brother to live if he continues in
this strain ; you say he ought to be sensible of all I
have endeavoured to doe for his good ; whether he is or
not is more than I can tell, for he never has said anything
of that kind to me; what is certain is, that he has
singular tenderness and reguard for me and all reguards
myself, and as singular an inflexibility and disreguard
for everything that reguards his own good. I am
seriously afflicted on his account when I reflect on the
dismal situation he puts himself under, which is a
thousand times worse than the situation his enemys have
endeavoured to place him ; but there is no remedy
except a miracle, which may be kept at last for his
eternal salvation, but surely nothing else. ... I am
sorry to afflict you with such melancholy reflections, but
it is alwise a comfort to open one's mind with freedom
to such a friend as you are. You know my unalterable
sentiments towards you." 1
But despite his brother's drunken habits and truculent
behaviour, the Cardinal Duke never relaxed his efforts to
induce Charles to lead a decent life, and above all things
to make his peace with the Pope, whose recent decree
as to the royal titles had obviously been dictated by
political expediency and not by any personal change of
feeling towards the Stuart family. In another communi-
cation, without date or address, but probably intended
for the recipient of the letter just quoted, he declares : —
1 Historical MSS. Commission Report.
126 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
" I am persuaded we should gain ground as to every-
thing, were it not for the nasty bottle, that goes on but
too much, and certainly must at last kill him. Stafford
is in desolation about it, but has no sway, as in reality no
living body has with him." x
To add to the Cardinal Duke's many anxieties and
trials, other difficulties also arose at this unhappy period.
A persistent report, which Henry was at great pains to
contradict, was being bruited about Rome that Charles
had actually married his mistress, Clementina Walkinshaw,
in France ; whilst the sudden arrival of Lord Elcho, bent
on recovering payment of a sum of .£1500 lent by him to
the Prince at Edinburgh in 1745, made another disagree-
able episode, that the Cardinal Duke ended — very
properly, since the debt was no concern of his — by
positively refusing either to see the importunate Scotch-
man, or to answer his letters on the subject. But his
greatest cause of distress was Charles' obstinate refusal to
seek the proper and customary audience of the Pope,
whose bounty, it must be remembered, he was not too
proud to accept, for the use of the palace of the Santi
Apostoli, and the annuity of 12,000 crowns (lately
surrendered by Henry in his brother's favour) were both
free gifts from the Apostolic Chamber. But by persistent
and tactful argument he at last succeeded in coaxing his
elder brother into something approaching a reasonable
frame of mind. For a time at least over-indulgence in
the "nasty bottle" was suspended; the Prince began to
frequent the palace at Frascati (where his presence is
always noted in the Diary as that of " His Britannic
1 Historical MSS. Commission Report.
"CHARLES THE THIRD" 127
Majesty King Charles III ") ; and finally the Cardinal
Duke was able to accomplish his main object, that of
bringing his brother as a private person to an audience
with the Pope. Accordingly, one evening in May 1767,
more than fifteen months since his arrival in Rome, the
Prince, now self-styled " Count of Albany " — an ancient
Scottish title formerly borne by the ill-fated Henry
Stuart, Lord Darnley — was driven in his brother's coach to
the Ouirinal, where Clement received his visitor with
kindness and sympathy. " God be praised ! " writes the
Cardinal Duke in a letter without address, but dated May
1 2th, 1767, "last Saturday evening after a good deal of
battleying upon very trifling circumstances, I carried my
Brother to the Pope's privately, as a private nobleman, by
which means he certainly has derogated nothing of his just
pretensions, and has at the same time fulfilled with an
indispensable duty owing to the Head of the Church.
The visit went much better than I expected, the Pope was
extremely well satisfied, and my brother seemed well
enough content, tho' I asked him very few questions, and
so I hope to draw from it a great deal of good, provided
my brother does not obstruct all by his indocility, and
most singular way of thinking and arguing, which indeed
passes anybody's comprehension." x
Sir Horace Mann, who was ever kept well informed
by Cardinal Albani of every passing event at Rome,
mentions this incident in a despatch home, 2 and also gives
some further particulars of it in a private letter : —
" The eldest son of the late Pretender has at last been
induced by his Brother to make a visit to the Pope, with
1 Ibid. 2 Decline of the Last Stuarts.
128 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
an intention, it is supposed, to live in society for the future.
But for that visit he was forced to desist from all his pre-
tensions whatever from the Pope, who treated him without
any distinction. His Brother carried him there, but he
was made to wait, though the Cardinal, by right of his
Hat, was immediately introduced and seated. He was
then called for by the name of — the Brother of the Cardinal
of York ! He knelt to kiss the Pope's foot, and remained
on his knees till the Pope said Alzatevi (arise ! ), and he
then stood for a quarter of an hour, the whole time of his
audience." 1
Having once kissed the rod, the Prince, henceforward
known to the world as the Count of Albany, went
regularly into Roman Society, where he was everywhere
received with marks of deference, though without any
recognition of royalty. Shortly after his audience in his
brother's presence the Count again waited upon the
kindly old Pope, who this time presented his visitor with a
costly rosary, a circumstance that naturally delighted the
Cardinal Duke. In writing to some unknown Jacobite
adherent, Henry makes mention of this " pair of beades "
given by Clement, and adds significantly that " they are
of such a kind as are only given to Sovrains ; and could
wee but get the better of the nasty Bottle, which
every now and then comes on by spurts, I would hope
a great deal of ouer gaining a good deal as to other
things." 2
But before long the Prince's restless nature reasserted
itself, and the old craving for strong drink returned. He
now also began to quarrel with Henry, with whose advice
1 Letters of Sir Horace Mann. 2 Doran, London in Jacobite Times.
"CHARLES THE THIRD" 129
he had lately complied, and Lumisden comments with
grief on the frequent dissensions that were arising between
the two brothers, " on whose union alone, whether real or
apparent, depends the King's reputation and settlement in
this country." Moreover, a further political disappoint-
ment was in store for him. Clement XIII having died in
February 1769, Charles began to cherish vague hopes that
his successor might be found willing to recognise his title.
But the Conclave was far too much absorbed in the
important question of the suppression of the Jesuits that
had recently been demanded by the Bourbon Courts of
France and Spain, to take much interest in so trivial a
question as to whether the Count of Albany was to be
treated in Rome as a titular king or as a private noble-
man ; and in the new Pontiff, Clement XIV (Cardinal
Ganganelli), an able and pious Franciscan, but a man of
mean birth, Charles found a Pope quite indifferent both to
his presence and pretensions. Early in the following year
the Prince, whose health had become greatly impaired by
his intemperate habits and his frequent fits of passion,
was ordered by his doctors to take a course of baths at
Pisa, whence he proceeded later to Florence ; nor did he
return again to Rome until the early spring of 1772,
shortly before his marriage.
The long-drawn-out intrigues and secret arrangements
concerning the Count of Albany's alliance with Princess
Louise of Stolberg, naturally do not concern a biography
of the Cardinal Duke, who was never once consulted in
this matter of supreme importance to his royal House, but
was only informed by his brother at the last moment of
the intended match. It is, therefore, sufficient to state
here that this marriage had been brought about by the
9
130 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
good offices of the Count's cousin, the Duke of Fitz-
James, and that it had been undoubtedly connived at by
the French Court, which saw in the expected heir of such
an union a possible future cause of annoyance to the
British throne. The ceremony took place by proxy in
Paris on March 28th, 1772, and on April 17th, Good
Friday, " the Lamentation Day of Christendom," its con-
summation was celebrated at the little city of Macerata, in
the March of Ancona, where Charles was awaiting his
bride, and where his friend, Cardinal Marefoschi, the
Neapolitan Ambassador, had put his family palace at the
disposal of the royal pair. As to age, birth and appear-
ance, the Princess, who was intended " to produce a race
of Pretenders that would never finish," was everything
that could be desired. " Nineteen years of age, she was
of middle height, fair, with dark blue eyes, a slightly
turned-up nose, and a dazzling white English complexion.
Her expression was gay and espiegle, and not without
a spice of irony, on the whole more French than German.
She was enough to turn all heads." 1 And from the
point of birth and rank, Louise Maximilienne Caroline
Emmanuele, daughter of the late Prince Gustavus
Adolphus of Stolberg-Gedern, was almost the equal of her
Stuart husband, for through both her parents she was
related to many of the noblest Houses in Europe, whilst
royal Scottish blood flowed in her veins as the grand-
daughter of the Lady Charlotte Bruce (daughter of the
Jacobite Earl of Elgin and Ailesbury) who had married
Count Horn of Flanders.
On Holy Tuesday, April 15th, the Cardinal Duke,
1 Memoirs of Karl von Bonstetten. Vernon Lee, The Countess of
Albany.
I'"'
PRINCESS LOUISE OF STOLBERG, COUNTESS OF ALBANY
"CHARLES THE THIRD" 131
who had already overcome his temporary resentment at
his exclusion from the marriage negotiations, heard by
special courier of his brother's departure for Macerata in
order to meet his bride ; whereupon "His Royal Highness
condescended to communicate this piece of important
news to the favourite members of his household, telling
them to keep it for the present a close secret." * A week
later the Cardinal Duke, being warned of the approach of
the newly married pair, despatched his chamberlain, the
Marchese Angelelli, with his state coach-and-six to meet
them at the Ponte Molle, the ancient bridge that spans
the Tiber to the north of St. Peter's. With their four
couriers riding in advance, with their out-riders in scarlet
liveries, and with their ( own and the Cardinal Duke's
equipages, " their Majesties the King and Queen of Great
Britain, France and Ireland " were enabled to make a
tolerably imposing entrance into the city, where at the
Porta del Popolo and in the Corso a large crowd of idlers
had collected. On the following day (April 23rd) the
Cardinal Duke drove into Rome in person in order to pay
his compliments to his sister-in-law, and though he might
beforehand have felt somewhat prejudiced against a bride
chosen without any reference to his own feelings, he was
at once captivated by Louise's pretty face and sympathetic
personality.
" He was delighted to recognise in the young Princess
all the good qualities that rumour had endowed her with,
and especially her great charm of manner and her intel-
lectual attainments, for which the excellent education
given her by her parents was responsible. She treated
1 Diario del Cardinale Duca.
132 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
him on an equal footing, and with every sign of respect
and affection. He remained in His Majesty's palace till
the dinner-hour, when he dined at their sumptuously
spread table, whereat many distinguished guests were
present." 1
On this occasion the Cardinal Duke brought his
wedding gifts, which consisted of a superb gold box,
encrusted with diamonds and set with his own portrait,
also a splendid Court dress with fine lace and ornaments
for the bride; whilst to his brother he presented an
order on his bankers for 10,000 crowns. A few days
later, Louise, attended by Lady Caryll as her lady-
in-waiting, paid her first visit to the palace at Frascati,
where a grand banquet with specially invited guests
was held in her honour, the Cardinal Duke taking
the opportunity of expressing openly to his friends the
intense satisfaction he felt in his sister-in-law. Clearly,
Louise's undeniable charms of manner and appearance
had made a swift and easy conquest of her husband's
brother !
The Count and Countess of Albany might have been
— and indeed for a short time were — happy enough in
Rome, where society was fully prepared to receive them
with every mark of attention short of the honours paid to
reigning royalty. The title of Queen of England, that
was denied as treasonable, was therefore converted by the
Roman wits into that of " Queen of the Apostles " (from
her place of residence), and later even into the more flatter-
ing designation of " Queen of Hearts " — a name that had
once been applied to Elizabeth Stuart, ancestress of the
1 Diario del Cardinale Duca.
"CHARLES THE THIRD" 133
usurping Hanoverian dynasty. But Charles had such an
inordinate craving for royal recognition of himself and his
young wife, that nothing short of obtaining the empty
titles and the equally empty honours dependent on them
would satisfy him. Even before his marriage he had
resumed his unreasonable appeals to Clement XIV ; he
had signed his own name in the marriage register as
Charles III, and had made his bride write herself down
as Queen ; and on returning to Rome he had at once sent
a message to Cardinal Pallavicini, Secretary of State,
announcing the arrival of the British King and his Queen-
Consort, an act of childish folly that met with yet another
well-deserved rebuff, for answer was promptly brought
back to him that no such persons could possibly be in
Rome. 1
In vain did the Cardinal Duke exert his utmost
influence to prevent his brother from asking of the
Pope what was most inexpedient, and indeed well-nigh
impossible for him to bestow. Charles had grown im-
patient of such warnings, and now preferred to rely on
the services of his chamberlain, Lord Caryll — a Jacobite
baron, and head of the ancient Roman Catholic family of
Caryll of West Grinstead, which had faithfully served
the Stuarts for three generations — and of Cardinal Mare-
foschi, who undertook to intrigue on his behalf at Court.
Through these two well-meaning but not over-wise
counsellors the Count next made a series of demands to
the Government, which included a request for a body-
guard of Papal troops for the persons of himself and
his Consort, such as had been formerly assigned to his
parents ; whilst it was useless for Henry, and even for his
1 Decline of the Last Stuarts.
134 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
young wife, to try to draw the infatuated Prince from
these fruitless and undignified proceedings. It is, how-
ever, satisfactory to note that Sir Horace Mann, who as a
rule never fails to mock at or disparage every act of
Henry's, admits the wisdom of his advice on this occasion,
for he distinctly states that Louise's " taking the stile and
dignity of Queen was contrary to her own and the
Cardinal's earnest entreaties." Indeed, ever since the
definite failure of his vigorous attempt to obtain royal
recognition at Rome after King James' death, the Cardinal
Duke had steadfastly abstained from all interference in
political questions concerning his House, and the writer
of the Diary records his very deep displeasure at his
brother's conduct. But unfortunately he could do no
more than show his annoyance, for his counsel was
scornfully rejected by Charles, who in a letter to Cardinal
Marefoschi declared : —
" As to complaisance, I pay no regard to my brother
or to any one else when the maintenance of the dignity
due to me is concerned, and a low economy ought to be
still less regarded on this occasion. The Queen is entitled
to the same ceremonies as the King, and the Prince of
Wales also, when there shall be one. ... It will be proper
to say to the Pope that one of the first conditions of the
marriage was that the Queen should be treated like the
late Queen." l
Such a course of action was bound to result in further
disappointment and humiliation. To a final petition,
which Cardinal Marefoschi was bold enough to present to
1 Historical Jl/SS. Commission Report.
"CHARLES THE THIRD" 135
the Pope, Clement XIV returned a polite but most decided
refusal to all the Prince's demands ; a reply that brought
forth a torrent of rage and lamentation from the would-
be King.
"... I could not have believed that the Pope would
have wished to make an event tragical, for which every
good Catholic ought to have given his services to make
it splendid and agreeable. Did they wish to perpetuate
the family of Hanover, and to cut off the Legitimate
Catholic race? Finally, did they wish to compel me to
leave this country ? How could they imagine that the
Catholic courts would not be scandalized and chilled by
such proceedings ? It is for the Pope to go before them,
showing them a good and not a bad example. The sheep
usually follow their shepherd, and it is his duty not to
disgust them by showing a path of brambles and thorns." 1
Thus did the Count of Albany continue to defy the
Papal Court, and to vex his brother, whilst at the same
time he fell back rapidly into his old habits of violence and
excess. Rumours, perhaps started by interested persons,
now began to circulate in Rome concerning the Prince's
unorthodoxy, and even actual apostasy, in the course of
his past intrigues, and these reports, which were by no
means without foundation, greatly increased Henry's
annoyance and alarm. At this unlucky moment, too,
the sudden appearance on the scene of Clementina
Walkinshaw and her daughter Charlotte revived stories
of old and half-forgotten scandals, nor were these two
injured women easily coerced into returning to their
1 Ibid.
136 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
convent in France. But the ultimate cause of Charles'
departure from Rome (a step which in some vague way
he imagined would prove hurtful to the Papal Court)
was due to the official refusal of yet another request
for royal honours. Preparations were being made in
Rome for the ceremonies attached to the opening of the
Porta Santa at St. Peter's, the great door which had
according to custom remained walled-up for a quarter of
a century, and which the Pontiff was to re-open in state
in the coming year of Jubilee, and the coming event gave
yet another excuse for the Chevalier's endless impor-
tunities. He therefore had the assurance to apply for a
special tribune to be reserved for himself and his Queen-
Consort at this important ceremony, wherein, by virtue
of his many offices in the Church, Henry Stuart was
expected to take a prominent part. The inevitable
negative to this new demand put the Prince in such a
passion, that, greatly to the relief of the Pope and of the
sorely-tried Cardinal Duke, Charles himself, together with
his wife and his household, withdrew from Rome, and
after some wanderings finally settled in Florence. But
even with his retirement, Charles, who seems now to have
quite parted company with common-sense, perceived a
gleam of hope for his cause in the death of Clement xiv,
which occurred in the summer of 1774. He appears to
have become possessed with the fixed idea that the sitting
Conclave would choose his brother for Pope, an event
that in itself was wildly improbable, and that would have
certainly brought the veto of the Austrian Court on any
such selection. With infinite amusement, Sir Horace
Mann in his despatch to his Government records that
" what will make your Lordship smile is that the
"CHARLES THE THIRD" 137
Pretender has said that he will not return to Rome till
his brother is made Pope, and that he is in daily
expectation of receiving a courier with the notice of it."
Alas ! so ridiculous a boast could easily be traced to its
true source ; and Sir Horace adds, with only too much
truth, that " he probably was heated with wine (which is
very often the case) when he said this." l
1 Decline of the Last Stuarts. Despatch dated December 27th, 1 774.
CHAPTER VII
THE COUNTESS OF ALBANY. 1780-1784
" In all eras and all climes a woman of great genius or beauty has done
what she chose."
THE departure from Rome in 1774 of the Count and
Countess of Albany with their train of courtiers
and servants must have given intense relief to the
perplexed Cardinal Duke, torn with conflicting emotions
between a desire to serve the head of his House and his
deep sense of implicit obedience to the Head of the
Church. Soothed once more by the peaceful life at
Frascati, and free to busy himself without interruption in
the numerous charities and public works that have been
described in a former chapter, he hoped to remain some
time untroubled by the cares and quarrels which had ever
been his elder brother's portion and which Charles never
tired of forcing him to share. This welcome period of
rest from domestic feuds and scandals lasted perhaps
longer than the Cardinal Duke had dared to expect, but
before seven years were past he was once more doomed
to find himself faced by a difficult question which made
all his former trials sink into comparative insignificance.
The full story of the Countess of Albany's sudden
133
THE COUNTESS OF ALBANY 139
flight from her husband and of her romantic attachment
to Count Vittorio Alfieri, the great dramatic poet, has