of Charlotte, the peacemaker, accompanied them to the
gloomy old mansion in the Piazza of the Santi
Apostoli.
It must have been a somewhat depressing home-
coming for Charles Stuart, this return to the house of his
childhood, that was filled with so many happy and
unhappy memories, that was so reminiscent of vain
intrigues and bitter family quarrels; but Charlotte's
evident pride and delight in thus entering her father's
Roman palace as its mistress gave the invalid some
compensation for his melancholy thoughts. Before long
the dismal old mansion was made to exhibit some share
of its former splendour and gaiety under the rule of its
new occupant. Dinners and receptions were given to
the leading members of Roman society, and on these
occasions the Duchess invariably presided, richly dressed
and wearing the historic Stuart and Sobieski family
jewels, that her father had recently given her with the
Cardinal Duke's approval. We hear of a grand banquet
in honour of the Venetian Ambassador, at which covers
were laid for twenty-two guests ; of a large musical party,
which perhaps may have reminded the poor Chevalier of
a certain reception held in the same saloons nearly half a
century before, whereat his own and his brother's perform-
ance of Corelli's Notte di Natale had so delighted the
CHARLOTTE STUART, DUCHESS OF ALBANY 183
President de Brosses ; and of various entertainments from
time to time, all duly chronicled in the pages of the Diario
di Roma. As a beloved daughter at last constantly at
her " Auguste Papa's " side, and as undisputed ruler of his
household, Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany, was in
these days at the height of her glory, and few persons
will be found inclined to grudge her the enjoyment of
these belated and fleeting honours. As it had been her
original aim and her first care to restore her father's
health and spirits, so it cannot be doubted that her
constant attention, her youthful cheerfulness and her
strange but apparently sincere affection for her royal
parent, prolonged the Prince's life, and gave him at the
last a few unexpected years of self-respect and of com-
parative happiness ; whilst her sterling good qualities,
despite a somewhat aggressive manner, had gradually
won over to her side an uncle who had been strongly
prejudiced against her from the beginning.
But so utterly broken in mind and body had the
Chevalier already become, that after two years of this life
in Rome, in spite of every loving precaution, it was easy
for all to recognise the certain summons of death in an
acute attack of paralysis with which he was seized early
in the New Year, 1788. Frequently during that terrible
month of January did the Cardinal Duke visit the grief-
stricken household in the palace of the Santi Apostoli,
where his brother lay in a semi-comatose state, and where
Charlotte was nursing the helpless invalid with unwearied
devotion, although she herself was already beginning to
suffer severely from the terrible disease that was destined
to carry her off prematurely. At last, on January 30th,
the anniversary of his great-grandfather's execution at
1 84 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
Whitehall, the wreck of the brilliant hero of " the 'Forty-
Five " passed away at the age of sixty-seven years and
one month, worn out by the fitful fever of a life such as
few persons in the world's history have experienced. He
died in his daughter's arms, and during his brother's
absence, for though the end was certainly near, its
suddenness was so unexpected that the Cardinal Duke
chanced to be absent at the last moment from the sick-
room, where two Irish Franciscans, Fathers James and
Francis McCormick, were keeping watch. 1
For reasons of public policy Pius VI was reluctantly
compelled to refuse the Cardinal Duke's request that his
deceased brother might be given the recognition of a
sovereign /;y> hdc vice, for this one solemn occasion only,
and it was therefore decided to remove the body with all
possible speed to Frascati. But the body of Charles III,
duly embalmed and regally vested, was first placed in a
coffin of sweet-scented cypress wood, with crown on head,
ring on finger, and sceptre in hand, after which it lay in
state for a short time in the private chapel of the palace,
before being secretly conveyed by the Irish Franciscans
to the Cathedral at Frascati. Here a funeral service,
distinguished by all the dismal pomp that so great an
event demanded, was performed, the Cardinal Duke
himself officiating despite his overwhelming grief; while
the immense crowd, assembled both within and without
the building, was swelled by many British visitors and
residents in Rome, all of whom wore deep mourning for
their late de jure sovereign. At the end of the impressive
ceremony the body of the Prince (with the exception of
the heart, that had been already placed in a silver urn)
1 Kelly, Life of Cardinal York.
CHARLOTTE STUART, DUCHESS OF ALBANY 185
was enclosed in a temporary vault, there to remain until
the Cardinal Duke's own death, when it was arranged
that it should be removed to the crypt of St. Peter's, to
lie finally with the ashes of his kindred. Upon the
Chevalier's tomb the following graceful epitaph ā an
epitaph, however, that would have better suited the
peace-loving Henry than the restless, scheming spirit at
last laid to sleep ā was placed by Professor Felice of the
Seminary at Frascati : ā
' ' Di Carlo il freddo cenere
Questa brav' urna serra,
Figlio del Terzo Giacomo,
Signore d'lnghilterra ;
Fuori del regno patrio
A lui chi tomba diede ?
Infedelta del popolo,
Integrita di fede."
(The ashes of Prince Charles Edward
Rest in this peaceful place ;
Son of King James of England,
Heir of a royal race.
An exile from throne and country,
You ask what guerdon he hath ?
Disloyalty of his subjects,
But loyalty to his Faith. )
By his will Charles bequeathed the whole of his
property to his daughter, with the exception of the
family archives and certain crown jewels which he
assigned to the Cardinal Duke. He had not much
money to leave, but there was the palace in Florence
(which was at once sold to its present owners, the San
Clemente family), and besides this there was a vast
quantity of pictures, trinkets, rich stuffs and fine furni-
1 86 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
ture, all of which Charlotte Stuart obtained. But the
Duchess, who had now long been treated, if not formally-
recognised by her uncle as his true niece, ā she is con-
stantly named "La Reale Nipote" (the Royal Niece)
in his Diary, kept by Monsignore Cesarini, ā did not
long survive to enjoy her inheritance. After Charles'
death she spent several months in or near Rome, living
under the protection of the Cardinal Duke, and with
the Princess of Palestrina in attendance upon her, during
which time we learn from a document in Henry Stuart's
own handwriting that she stood god-mother at the
confirmation of the Countess Marie Norton held "in
the private chappell of our Episcopal Pallas in Frascati,
this 6th day of June, 1788." l During the summer of
the following year (1789) she went to the Baths of
Nocera and thence to Bologna " for change of air and
in order to reduce the feverish illness which was slowly
consuming her." 2 At Bologna she stayed with her
friend, the Marchesa Giulia Lambertini-Bovio, a member
of the great family which had given Benedict XIV to
the Papacy, and in this lady's house she was seized
about the middle of November with a fatal attack that
was apparently caused by some kind of malignant
tumour. Certain writers allude to Charlotte's premature
death as being the result of a fall out riding, but all
accounts point rather to a deep-seated and long-concealed
internal malady, perhaps a cancer. There are included
among the Stuart Papers some interesting and pathetic
letters from Madame Lambertini-Bovio to the Cardinal
Duke, giving a graphic account of the closing hours of the
Chevalier's daughter and James Ill's only grandchild : ā
1 Stuart Papers. - Atti.
CHARLOTTE STUART, DUCHESS OF ALBANY 187
"Altezza Reale Eminentissima" (so begins the
first letter), ā " It is with the deepest grief I have to
inform Your Highness and Eminence of the very bad
condition of the poor Signora Duchess. To-day she has
had a serious relapse with terrible chills and high fever.
The doctors in treating the wound have drawn off a
great quantity of matter of very bad colour and odour,
whilst her pulse is far above normal. I cannot sufficiently
express my anxiety. It is the height of my affliction
(and I much lament it) to have to write such melan-
choly news to Your Highness, though I hope to-morrow
to be able to send a better account. Have no fear
for the excellent Christian sentiments of your respected
Niece. Yesterday with the greatest edification she made
her devotions at her own desire, whereby Your High-
ness can realise how fully resigned she is to the Divine
Will. Pardon my hasty writing, . . . and believe me,
Your very humble and most obliged servant,
" Giulia Lambertini-Bovio.
"Bol a , 13 Nov. 1789.
" P.S. ā The courier from Turin has delayed in pass-
ing through Bologna, so I can give Your Highness the
latest news of the Signora Duchess. To-day, then, at
fourteen o'clock, I must tell you that the fever increases
every moment, so that we fear to lose her very shortly.
My iord the Cardinal-Archbishop remains constantly
with her, nor does he mean to leave her bed-side so
long as she is alive."
Again the Marchesa writes on the following day :
" The fever continues, with difficulty in breathing, com-
1 88 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
bined with great restlessness, whilst the wound has
ejected so little matter that the Doctors are confirmed
in their opinion that this is a fever of re-absorption,
and therefore of a fatal type. Her resignation continues
unaltered in face of the imminent danger, and she has
already put her Will into the hands of the Cardinal-
Archbishop . . ." i
Three days later, on November 17th, Madame
Lambertini-Bovio announces the Duchess' death, telling
the Cardinal Duke that his niece "passed to the Other
Life this evening at nine o'clock. So blessed was her
death, that the tears I pour out from grief are tears of
tenderness." This is speedily followed by a letter from
Cardinal Andrea Giovanetti, Archbishop of Bologna,
who had been constant in his attentions at the Duchess'
sick-bed, and had himself assisted to draw up her will : ā
"Very deep has been my affliction ever since the
Signora Duchess of Albany was overcome by sickness,
which made me first fear and then despair for her
recovery. Incomparably greater has been my grief for
her decease . . ."
The will of Charlotte Stuart, of which a copy is
included amongst the Stuart Papers, is of no small
value, as tending to prove her natural goodness of
heart and her practical interest in all those who had
befriended her during her lifetime. Not one member
of her household ā not even her blackamoor page, "il
Moro da Livrea" ā is forgotten by the young Duchess
in her will, made whilst suffering on her deathbed
from a most painful disease. The Abbe Waters (a
1 Stuart Papers.
CHARLOTTE STUART, DUCHESS OF ALBANY 189
near relative of George Jean, Comte de Waters, banker
to the Stuarts in Paris), who had done what was possible
to cheer and console her in the long years of neglect
and dulness spent in French convents, she appoints her
executor, and leaves him legacies of certain books and
of money. To her uncle's secretary, Monsignore Cesarini,
she bequeaths an annuity of one hundred scudi, " as a
mark of her own attachment, and more especially on
account of the respectful and particular affection he holds
for her Royal Uncle," while she makes a specific gift
of her own library to the Seminary at Frascati. She
names the Cardinal Duke her universal heir, and at the
same time implores him, as a last favour to herself, to
undertake the payment of her various bequests to friends
and servants, and especially of the annuity left to " une
personne a Paris " (her own mother), even should the
total value of her estate prove insufficient for the
purpose. Her good taste and love of simplicity are
clearly shown in her particular request to be buried
without pomp in the parish church of San Biagio at
Bologna, to the priest of which she leaves a sum of
money for the poor.
The Cardinal Duke was deeply affected at the
painfully sudden, but scarcely unexpected news of his
niece's death, that now left him without a near relation
in the world except his sister-in-law, with whom he had
practically ceased to communicate. A grand funeral
service for the daughter was now held in the Cathedral
of Frascati, which had less than two years before been
the scene of her father's obsequies ; whilst the Cardinal
Duke contemplated the erection of " a choice monument
worthy of its subject " to his niece's memory in Bologna ;
ipo HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
an intention that was never carried out, owing to subse-
quent political troubles and scarcity of money. Numbers
of persons of consequence wrote to sympathise with
Henry Stuart on the loss of a dearly loved niece, but
amongst the large mass of ceremonious letters of con-
dolence from princes, prelates and others throughout
Italy, France, Spain and Austria, that are still preserved,
none is more interesting and more genuine in its
sympathy than the following characteristic letter, in a
bold handwriting and in quaint English, from Brigadier
O'Dea, an Irish officer serving in the Neapolitan army,
one of the few Britons left who were proud openly to
acknowledge a Cardinal King : ā
" Majesty, ā I am certain Yr Majesty will receive
many and many compliments on the death of the
respectfull Dutchess of Albany ; but can boldly say
without the least vanity, that mine are of the most
sincere both by duty and a true inclination. I there-
fore condole with Yr Majesty with a true Irish
heart on this very disagreeable subject, on which I don't
find proper to enlarge, for not to renew yr just
chagrean and mine. My Brother, who kisses Your
Majesty's hand, charges me to assure you in his name
of his equal respectfull and sincere sentiments, and I
have the honor and glory to conclude with the highest
considerations, gratitude and respect, ā Your Majesty's
Most devoted Humble Servt and most faithfull
Subject,
"Denis O'Dea. 1
"Naples, &tk Deer. 1789."
1 Stuart Papers.
CHARLOTTE STUART, DUCHESS OF ALBANY 191
It would be idle to speculate on what might have
happened, had Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany,
lived on many years in the enjoyment of good health,
for she had hitherto shown herself both capable and
ambitious. We may surmise that most probably she
would have set herself earnestly to the task of persuading
the Cardinal Duke to name her, either openly or in his
will, as the rightful heir of his House and its claims,
though it is extremely doubtful whether she would ever
have succeeded in such an attempt. Her father's so-called
"Act of Legitimation," with its clause to safeguard his
brother's birthright, was of course wholly contrary to all
law and common-sense; so that, in order to pronounce
his niece legitimate, the Cardinal Duke would have been
forced to acknowledge a secret marriage in the distant
past between his elder brother and Clementina Walkinshaw,
an idea that was equally incredible and repugnant to
him. It is therefore difficult to imagine how Charlotte,
clever diplomatist though she undoubtedly was, could
ever have wrung such an admission from a reluctant and
somewhat obstinate uncle, in spite of the evident affection
with which he had in course of time come to regard her.
Health and strength granted, however, it will be safe to
state that Charlotte would have sought, with every chance
of success, her uncle's help and influence in making as
brilliant a marriage as circumstances would permit of, ā
perhaps an union with some wandering Scottish peer, or
with some French or Italian nobleman, ā after which, under
favourable auspices, she might possibly have posed to
the world as the last representative of the Royal Stuarts,
for she had already been addressed as " La Pretendente "
by some of her Italian friends, who were partially ignorant
192 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
of the true story of her birth and up-bringing. Neverthe-
less, it is hard to suppose that the moribund cause of
Jacobitism could ever have been reanimated, even in the
smallest degree, by any person with so poor a title to
legitimate royal birth as Charlotte owned ; whilst it is
tolerably certain that the Cardinal Duke, as long as he
were alive, would have done his utmost to stifle any
useless and mischievous intriguing of this nature. Still,
her ambition was naturally great, and it had been
extravagantly fostered by her father, who, before leaving
Florence, had even gone to the extreme length of ordering
a medal to be struck in honour of his daughter's title and
legitimation. The proposed designs and inscriptions for
this medal (which was never executed) are still preserved,
and they certainly point to the existence of a vague
scheme concocted by father and daughter with the object
of impressing all remaining British Jacobites with the
genuine nature of Charlotte's claims to their fealty. The
Latin legend round her portrait was to have run :
Carlotta Alba?ti<z Ducissa Filia Caroli in Magncs
Britannia Francice et Hibernice Regis Fidei Defensoris ;
whilst of the four allegorical subjects suggested for the
reverse of the coin, one was intended to represent the
newly - created Duchess pointing towards the British
throne, with the words, Spem etsi infinitam persequar;
and another, the picture of a storm-tossed barque nearing
the coast of Albion, with its streaming pennant bear-
ing the royal arms and the inscription, Pendet Salus
spe exigud et extremal In face of these remarkable
designs for an official medal, there can be no reasonable
doubt as to the wild, vain-glorious dreams ā hopelessly
1 Historical MSS. Commission Report.
CHARLOTTE STUART, DUCHESS OF ALBANY 193
impracticable, if not utterly impossible ā that the Duchess
had once harboured. Her subsequent acquaintance with
her uncle, however, appears to have done something to
quiet Charlotte's early ambition, when she perceived how
tenacious he was of his hereditary rights and honours, and
consequently how useless it would be for herself, single-
handed, to endeavour to stand forth as her father's
true heiress, at least during Henry's lifetime. As the
months wore on, and her own state of health grew pre-
carious, Charlotte seems to have lost not a little of her
former mental activity, and to have grown content to
hold the distinguished position of a near and cherished
relative, rather than that of a political heir which she had
once coveted so keenly. Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of
Albany, remains therefore a most interesting but some-
what puzzling example of a rare type of woman, ā the
unsophisticated girl, issuing from a convent at a mature
age, and overcoming all difficulties and winning the hearts
of those around her by natural abilities of an undeniably
high order. Though some writers have thought it
necessary to blame her for her hostile and spiteful attitude
towards her father's wife, such conduct, though not con-
ceived in the best of taste, can hardly be reckoned
unreasonable ; especially since, from the moment of her
arrival in Florence, she became not only Charles' constant
companion, but also the sole recipient of his confidences.
In fact, she soon naturally grew to be the actual mouth-
piece of the poor old neglected sufferer, and in time her
eloquence was able to convince where her father's hazy
invective had failed to make an impression : whilst from
her own point of view, Madame d'Albany's desertion of
her royal husband and her connection with Alfieri must
13
194 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
have appeared inexcusably shameful. Charlotte Stuart
died comparatively young, greatly admired by many
personages of note, and deeply beloved by a host of
friends, so that instead of regarding her as a possible
source of political intrigue, it is more pleasant to think
of her as " the Bonny Lass of Albanie," ā the affectionate,
unselfish daughter who came at a timely moment to the
rescue of Scotland's national hero. For over three years
she proved herself the solace of her unhappy, deserted
father in Florence and in Rome, during which period the
Abbe Dupaty, in speaking of her filial devotion, echoes
the general opinion of all who knew her.
"If benevolence of heart alone were necessary to
entitle her to the throne of her ancestors, she would
ascend it. . . . Her attention to her father is extremely
affecting. When this old man calls to mind that his
family have reigned, his tears flow not alone. The
Duchess weeps with him." ā It is as Sui Patris consolatrix
rather than Albania Ducissa that we would fain remember
Charlotte Stuart.
Clementina Walkinshaw, Comtesse d'Alberstroff, out-
lived her daughter many years. Flying from Paris during
the horrors of the year 1792, she obtained a refuge at
Fribourg in Switzerland, where Lord Bute, visiting her
at the close of the century, found her " a complete French-
woman " in manner and appearance : a circumstance that
is hardly strange, considering that she had been a
wanderer on the Continent for over fifty years. It
was at Fribourg that she died in the autumn of 1802,
apparently friendless, and also poverty-stricken, although
to the last she was in receipt of an annuity from the
Cardinal Duke. The whole of her property consisted at
CHARLOTTE STUART, DUCHESS OF ALBANY 195
the time of her death of a few books of piety, some silver
spoons, and Ā£12 in money, which, with her dying thoughts
pathetically reverting to her long-forgotten family in
Scotland, she begged might be divided as small re-
membrances amongst her relations, if any such remained
to claim them. To Mr. Coutts, the London banker, who,
presumably at the Cardinal Duke's request during his
financial difficulties, had guaranteed the payment of her
allowance, the Countess bequeathed what was evidently
her one object of value, a gold box, " as a small token of
his kindness towards herself." Well-born, handsome and
captivating, yet essentially commonplace and incapable,
Clementina Walkinshaw played a somewhat obscure part
in the later family history of the Royal Stuarts. One
circumstance about her career is, however, practically
certain ā she was never married to her royal lover ; in
the first place, because Charles had little real affection or
respect for the unhappy mistress whom he habitually ill-
treated in spite of her dog-like faithfulness ; and in the
second place, because he had always and consistently
aimed at making, sooner or later, a brilliant political
alliance. The story, therefore, of a legal tie between
Clementina and the Prince appears even more of a
baseless fabrication than the alleged marriage between
King Charles II and Lucy Walter, which historic legend,
started solely for purposes of Court intrigue, it strongly
resembles. Nevertheless, both Clementina and her
daughter were constantly wont to hint at, rather than to
dare assert, the secret performance of such a ceremony,
and it was such an attitude on their part, rather than his
own exaggerated loathing of all irregular unions of this
kind, that provoked the Cardinal Duke to act with
196 HENRY STUART CARDINAL YORK
apparent severity towards them on more than one
occasion. Yet though disliking and despising his
brother's mistress, Henry Stuart did not refrain from
acting as her almoner for thirty-six years, thereby saving
the poor woman and her child from actual want ; whilst
after Charlotte's death he seems to have corresponded in
a more friendly spirit with her mother, who invariably
addressed her letters to " Sa Majeste le Roy d'Angleterre
a Rome." Taken as a whole, the story of Clementina's
treatment by Charles and by his brother makes the
meanness, the ingratitude and the callous brutality of
which the former could sometimes be guilty, contrast
strongly with the Cardinal Duke's natural generosity and
strong sense of fair dealing, even in a case which not
unnaturally annoyed and disgusted him.
CHAPTER IX
"HENRY THE NINTH." 1788-1797
Marforio. Tutti i Francesi sono ladri ?
Pasquino. Non tutti ; Buona parte !
HENRY STUART, who was now in his sixty-third
year, had been over forty years a Cardinal and
nearly thirty a Bishop, when the death of his brother left