Copy of a Letter from Dr. John Burton of York (March 24. 1748) wherein Copy of a Letter from the Prince to his father, Perth September 10 1745 et cetera et cetera et cetera

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Copy of a Letter from Dr
✝John Burton of York, to me R:Robert F:Forbes

Dr.Dear Sr.Sir

I am affraidafraid you’ll think
me ungrateful in not writing to You
sooner to return Thanks for the
many Favours I have received
from the good Ladies at your House
and from your selfyourself: But I hope
you will excuse me when I tell
you that I have not been a Month
returned having been detain’ddetained long-
er than I expected, a full Account
of which I have given Dr Drum-
mond who can tell You my Travels
at large; for I am affraidafraid of fill-
ing this too full, leastlest there should
not be Room for the Letter of the
Prince to his Father, which I pro-
mised to send. As I have forgot which

✝
Vol 3. pag: 490, 519, 524, 547.
826 (826)
which Letter it is that you have, I
may chance to send you that; but if
that should happen, upon informing
me right, I shall afterwards send
the other; I would send ‘emthem both
now, but that they will be too much
for my Frank cover which goes to
Miss Flora MacDonald. If I don’t
mistake the Copy you have is of the
Letter after the ✝Battle of Preston
Pans; so this I send is from Perth
in the Prince’s Way to Edinburgh,
as follows.

Sir,
Perth SeprSeptember 10. 1745.

Since my Landing every
Thingeverything has succeeded to my Wish-
es. It has pleased God to prosper
me hitherto even beyond my Ex-
pectations. I have got together
1300 Men, &and am promised more
brave determin’ddetermined Men, who are
resolved to die or conquer with
me. The Enemy marched a Body
of regular Troops to attack me;
but, when they came near, they
chang’dchanged their Mind, and, by tak-
ing a different RoutRoute &and making forced

✝
Vol 2: pag: 365.
827 (827)
forced Marches, have escaped to
the North to the great Disappoint-
ment of my Highlanders: But I
am not at all sorry for it; I shall
have the greater Glory in beating
them, when they are more nume-
rous &and supported by their Dragoons.

I have Occasion every Day
to reflect on your Majesty’s
last Words to me; That I should
find Power, if tempered with
Justice &and Clemency, an easy
Thing to my selfmyself &and not grievous
to those under me. ‘Tis owing
to the Observance of this Rule,
&and to my Conformity to the Cus-
toms of these People, that I
have got their Hearts to a De-
gree, not to be easily conceived
by those, who do not see it. One,
who observes the Discipline I
have established, would take
my little Army to be a Body of
pick’dpicked Veterans; and, to see the
Love &and Harmony that reigns a-
mongst us, he would be apt to look 828 (828)
look upon it as a large well-or-
dered Family, in which everyone
loves another better than himself.

I keep my Health better in
these wild Mountains, than I us-
ed to do in the Campagnie Fe-
lice, &and sleep sounder lying on the
Ground, than I used to do in the
Palaces at Rome.

There is one Thing, &and but one, in
which I had any Difference with
my faithful Highlanders. It was
about the Price upon my Kins-
man’s Head, which, knowing your
Majesty’s generous Humanity, I am
sure, will shock You, as it did me
when I was shown the Proclamati-
on setting a Price upon my Head.
I smil’dsmiled, &and treated it with the Dis-
dain I thought it deserved; upon
which they flew into a violent
Rage, &and insisted upon my doing
the same by Him. As this flowed
solely from the poor MensMen’s Love
&and Concern for me, I did not know
how to be angry with them for it,
&and tried to bring them to Temper
by representing, that it was a mean 829 (829)
mean barbarous Principle among
Princes, &and must dishonour them
in the Eyes of all Men of Ho-
nour; that I did not see how my
Cousin’s having set me the Exam-
ple, would justify me in imi-
tating that, which I blame so
much in Him. But Nothing I could say
would pacify them. Some went
even so far as to say, “Shall we
"venture our Lives for a Man, qowho
“Seems so indifferent of his own?”
Thus have I been drawn in to do
a Thing, for which I condemn
my selfmyself.

Your Majesty knows, that in my
Nature I am neither cruel nor
revengeful; and God, who knows
my Heart, knows, that, if the
Prince, who has forced me to
this (for it is he that has forced
me) was in my Power, the great-
est Pleasure I could feel, would
be treating him as the Black Prince1
Treated his Prisoner, the King of
France2, to make him ashamed
of having shewnshown himself so inhu-
man an Enemy to a Man, for attempting 830 (830)
tempting a Thing, whom he him-
self (if he had any Spirit) would
despise for not attempting.

I beg, your Majesty would be un-
der no Uneasiness about me. He is
safe, who is in God’s Protection.
If I die, it shall be, as I lived,
with Honour; &and the Pleasure I
take in thinking, I have a Bro-
ther, in all Aspects more worthy
than my selfmyself, to support your just
Cause, &and rescue my injur’dinjured Country
from the Oppression, under qchwhich
it groans, (if it will suffer it
selfitself to be rescued) makes Life
more indifferent to me). As I know,
&and admire the Fortitude, with qchwhich
your Majesty has supported your
Misfortunes, &and the generous Dis-
dain, with which you have re-
jected all Offers of forcing As-
sistance on Terms, which You
thought dishonourable to your selfyourself &and
injurious to your Country; —
If bold, but interested, Friends should
at this Time take Advantage of the
tender Affection, with which they know 831 (831)
know you love me, I hope, you
will reject their Proposals with
the same Magnanimity you have
hitherto shown, &and leave me to shift
for my selfmyself, as Edward the 3d3
left his brave Son4, when he was
in Danger of being oppress’doppressed by
Numbers in the Field. No, Sir;
let it never be said, that, to
save your Son, you injur’dinjured your
Country. When your Enemies
bring in foreign Troops, &and you
reject all foreign Assistance
on dishonourable Terms, your de-
luded Subjects of England must
see who is the true Father of
his People. For my own Part, I
declare once for all, that, while
I breathe, I will never consent
to alienate one Foot of Land,
that belongs to the Crown of
England, or set my Hand to
any Treaty, inconsistent with it’s its
Sovereignty &and Independency. If
the English will have my Life,
let them take it, if they can; but no 832 (832)
no Unkindness on their Part shall
ever force me to a Thing, that may
justify them in taking it. I may be
overcome by my Enemies; but I will
not dishonour my selfmyself; if I die, it
shall be with my Sword in Hand,
Fighting for the Liberty of those,
who fight against me.

I know, there will be fulsome Ad-
resses from the different Corpora-
tions of England; but, I hope, they
will impose upon none but the
lower &and more ignorant People. They
will, no doubt, endeavour to revive
all the Errors &and Excesses of my
Grandfather’s unhappy Reign, &and
impute them to your Majesty &and
me, who had no Hand in them,
&and suffered most by them. Can any
Thinganything be more unreasonable, than
to suppose, that your Majesty, qowho
is so sensible of, &and has so often con-
sidered, the fatal Errors of your
Father, would, with your Eyes o-
pen, go &and repeat them again?

Notwithstanding the repeated
Assurance your Majesty has given
in your Declaration, that you will not 833 (833)
not invade any Man’s Property,
they endeavour to persuade the
unthinking People, that one of yethe
first Things they are to expect,
will be to see the public Credit de-
stroyed; as if it would be your
Interest to render your selfyourself con-
temptible in the Eyes of all ^the Na-
tions of Europe &and all the King-
doms you hope to reign over, poor
at home &and insignificant abroad.

They, no, doubt, try to frighten the
present Possessors of Church &and Abbey
Lands with vain Terrors, as if your
Majesty’s Intention was to resume them
all; not considering, that you have
lived too long in a CatholickCatholic Coun-
try, &and read the History of England
too carefully, not to have observed
the many melancholy Monuments
to be seen there of the Folly of
those pious Princes, who, thinking
to honour Religion, have lessened
it by keeping superstitious Rites
in the Church, whereby they have
insensibly rais’draised up a Power, qchwhich
has too often proved an Over-match for 834 (834)
for their Successors.

I find it a great Loss, that the
brave Lord MareshallMarischal is not with
me. His Character is very high
in this Country, &and it must be so
wherever he is known. I had ra-
ther see him than 1000 French, who,
if they should come only as Friends
to assist your Majesty in the Reco-
very of your just Rights, the weak
People would believe, came as
Invaders.

There is one Man in this Country,
whom I could wish to have my
Friend, &and that is the Duke of
Argyle, who, I find, is in great Cre-
dit amongst them on Account of
his great Abilities &and Quality, and
has many Dependents by his large
Fortune; but I am told, I can hard-
ly flatter my selfmyself with yethe Hopes
of it. The hard Usage, which his
Family has received from ours, has
sunk deep into his Mind. What
have those Princes to answer for,
who, by their Cruelties, have rais-
ed Enemies, not only to them-selves835(835)
selves, but to their innocent
Children?

I must not close this Letter with-
out doing Justice to your Majes-
ty’s Protestant Subjects, who, I find,
are as zealous in your Cause as
the Roman CatholicksCatholics, which is
what Dr Wagstaff has often told
me I should find, when I came to
try them. I design to march
to-morrowtomorrow, &and hope, my next shall
be from Edinburgh.

I am
Your Majesty’s, &cetc, &cetc, &cetc.

We have no News here; I shall be glad
to hear what News you have. I doubt
not but you have had the Account of
Rivers Kirtle, Lyddle, Esk &and some o-
thers, which run cross the Island in-
to both Seas, &and divide Scotland
England, stopping their Course for
several Hours, leaving Fishes upon
the dry Ground, &cetc. Upon the Bord-
ers near the River Esk, there was
also the Appearance of an Army
drawn up in proper Order, consist-
ing of both Horse and Foot to the A-
mount of 20,000 one of the Corps was very 836 (836)
very gayly dressed; these were seen by
Numbers of People; some in Front,
some in Flank and in ^the Rear, for a-
above Half an hour, being a clear
Sun-shining Day, about 3 o'Clock
in the Afternoon. Another Appear-
ance of the like Kind was seen
on Whinmore betwixt Leeds and
this Place. Both before, at, &and af-
ter these Armies disappeared great
Noises were heard in the Air.

Pray give my Compliments to
Mr Carmichael and tell him, if
he has got any of Betty Burk's
Gowns ready, he may send me 6
and I shall remit the Money by
some safe Hand to him.

Pray pay kindest Respects to Lady
Bruce and the other Ladies with
her &and to all Friends &and believe
me to be sincerely

Dr.Dear Sr.Sir
Your Well wisher and o-
bliged humble Ser.tServant
Sic subrsubscribitur J:Joseph Burton
York marchMarch 24th
1747=8.

P=S: If that Clergyman5 be returned
with the Account of the Cruelties, &cetc, &c.etc. 837 (837)
&c.etc. I should be glad of a Copy, which
I should pay for taking with Plea-
sure. I am preparing for the Press.
If you have got the Laird McLeod's
Letter to KingsboroughKingsburgh pray favour
me with a Copy of it. I had forgot
to tell You that the Rivers above-
mention'dmentioned did not all run dry on
the same day; but at different
Times; some three Weeks after
the others. I am surprised I have
heard Nothing from Malcolm
since I wrote to him from Edin-
burgh. I beg you will burn this, as
soon as you have copied the Prince's
Letter. I here send you a few
Lines wrote by a Country Farmer
near this Place, upon the last
Fast day; which are better for the
Turn of Thought than for the Ver-
sification.

I.

Look down on us poor Whigs, O Lord,

For we are full of Trouble.

Thou knows we never pray to Thee

But when afflicted double.

2.

The Gauls wtwith mighty Armies great

All Flanders have o'erspreadoverspread
Some 838 (838)
Some of our Men are run away

The rest are knock'dknocked o'on th'the Head.

3.

Behold how we do fast &and pray

Expecting some Relief

With Fasting we are full of Woe

Not Bellies full of Beef

4.

But if Thou wilt not hear us Lord

And by the French we fall

We'll either get another God,

or have no God at all.

You see what Opinion the Poet has of
their Religion, which like other
Things they make subservient to
their Interest. I expect something
from Dr Drummond soon; so if you
have any Thinganything to send it may
come at the same Time.

N: B: The Original of the Above, in
Dr Burton's own Hand-writing, is to
be found among my Papers.
Robert Forbes, A: M:

Copy

Person	James Stuart
Date
Place

Copy of a Letter from Dr. John Burton of York (March 24. 1748) wherein Copy of a Letter from the Prince to his father, Perth September 10 1745 et cetera et cetera et cetera

Copy of a Letter from Dr ✝John Burton of York, to me R:Robert F:Forbes

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2.

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Copy of a Letter from Dr
✝John Burton of York, to me R:Robert F:Forbes