DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

od sons: in 1720, Charles Edward, the hero of this narrative, and in 1725 Henry, Duke of York. Christened by a cardinal, swaddled in consecrated robes, placed on a couch beneath a gorgeous canopy of State, the infant Prince Charles received the caresses of the great ladies, and the homage of the leaders of the brilliant society of Rome. His educa- tion was entrusted to Sir Thomas Sheridan, a gentle- man of undoubted honour and devotion, but singu- larly deficient in capacity, who neglected the ele- mentary instruction of the youth, and fostered in him an unfortunate notion of his position and his claims, so that he came to consider him- self as the rightful Prince of Wales, and to look upon the devotion of his adherents as a bounden duty. Prince Charles ever remained so deficient in orthography that he spelt ‘human’ as ‘umen,’ ‘sword’ as ‘sord, and his father’s name, ‘James’ as ‘Jems,’ but showed a lofty sense of honour, a boundless energy of character, and warmth of heart, which developed as he grew up into courage and firmness of resolution. His quick intelligence, his promptness of deci- sion, and his contempt of danger, are recorded on unquestionable testimony. His talents as a leader never rose to a very exalted pitch, yet when occa- sion demanded he proved himself superior to more practised officers.