Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745 | Page 3

and bubbling pool, rather than
the calm tenour of a gently-flowing stream. Throughout the distractions
of his reign, it was the wise policy of William the Third to balance
parties; to bestow great posts upon moderate men; to employ
alternately persons of different opinions, and by frequent changes in his
Ministry, to conciliate the good-will of both factions;--and this was all
that that able Monarch could effect, until time should extinguish
political animosity.
Queen Mary, educated in Tory principles, and taught by her maternal
uncle, the Earl of Rochester, to consider every opposition to the
Sovereign's will as rebellion, was scarcely regarded in the light of an
enemy to the doctrine of passive obedience and non-resistance,
notwithstanding her unfilial conduct;[2] and it is remarkable that,
during her life, great favour was shown at Court to the Highland
partisans of James the Second; distinctions were as much avoided as it
was possible; and the personal prepossessions of the Queen were
supposed to be on the side of the High Church Tories.
During the reign of Anne, notwithstanding the coalition of Godolphin,
Marlborough, and other leaders of the moderate Tories with the Whigs,

and the reputation and glory which their combined abilities and
characters obtained, a conviction was still prevalent that the heart of the
Queen was disposed to the restoration of the ancient race, and that her
days would not close before a design to secure the succession to her
nephew would be matured, and the Act of Succession, which was
chiefly the offspring of Whig policy, should be set aside. There was,
doubtless, not only in the mind of Anne, but in that of her sagacious
predecessor, an apprehension that after the death of the last of their
dynasty, the succession would again be fiercely disputed. Impressed
with this conviction, it was a favourite scheme of William to invite the
child, who afterwards, under the name of the Chevalier St. George, was
the hero, in dumb show, it must be acknowledged, of the Insurrection
of 1715, to receive his education in England under his kingly care; to
be bred up a Protestant; and to make that education the earnest of his
future succession. The proposal was rejected by James the Second, to
the great prejudice of his son's interests, and to the misfortune, it may
be presumed, of the British nation. For one can scarcely suppose a
more perfect combination of all the qualities calculated to form a
popular Monarch, in this country, than the natural abilities of the Stuart
race, perfected under the able guidance of so reflective a ruler--so
accomplished a general--so consummate a statesman, as William. The
education which that Monarch had planned for the young Duke of
Gloucester shows how enlarged and practical were his views of the
acquirements necessary for a Sovereign: it presents a scheme of tuition
which, if it may be deemed not wholly adapted to the present day, was
on the most comprehensive and liberal scale. But James, acting, at all
events, with the consistency of a sincere believer, returned, as
Dalrymple expresses it, "slowly and sadly to bury the remembrance of
his greatness in the convent of La Trappe;" and all future attempts on
the part of his posterity to recover the throne of their ancestors were
frustrated by the hollowness of French professions of friendship.
The tranquil demeanour of the Jacobite party during the reign of Anne
may seem surprising, when we consider the avowed favour and
protection which were held out by Louis the Fourteenth to the royal
exiles of St. Germain. During the lifetime of James, who considered
that he had exchanged the hope of an earthly for that of a heavenly

Crown, there was little to wonder at in this inactivity and apparent
resignation. Had it not been for the influence of an enthusiastic,
high-minded, and fascinating woman, the very mention of the cause
would probably have died away in the priest-thronged saloons of St.
Germains. To Mary of Modena the credit is due--if credit on such
account is to be assigned--for maintaining in the friends of her consort,
for instilling in the breast of her son, a desire of restoration;--that word,
in fact, might be found, to speak metaphorically, written in her heart.
To her personal qualities, to her still youthful attractions, to her pure
mind, and blameless career of conjugal duty--to the noble, maternal
ambition which no worthy judge of human motives could refuse a
tribute of pity and admiration--to her disregard of low and unworthy
instruments to advance her means, as in the case of Lovat, even the
warmest partisans of the Revolution were forced to do justice. The
disinterested and sagacious Godolphin is said to have done more: he is
supposed to have cherished such a respectful enthusiasm for the young
mother who thus supported