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Pickle the Spy; Or, the Incognito of Prince Charles By: Andrew Lang (1844-1912) |
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'I knew the Master: on many secret steps of his career
I have an authentic memoir in my hand.'
THE MASTER OF BALLANTRAE PREFACE This woful History began in my study of the Pelham Papers in the
Additional Manuscripts of the British Museum. These include the
letters of Pickle the Spy and of JAMES MOHR MACGREGOR. Transcripts
of them were sent by me to Mr. ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, for use in a
novel, which he did not live to finish. The character of Pickle,
indeed, like that of the Master of Ballantrae, is alluring to writers
of historical romance. Resisting the temptation to use Pickle as the
villain of fiction, I have tried to tell his story with fidelity.
The secret, so long kept, of Prince Charles's incognito, is divulged
no less by his own correspondence in the Stuart MSS. than by the
letters of Pickle. For Her Majesty's gracious permission to read the Stuart Papers in
the library of Windsor Castle, and to engrave a miniature of Prince
Charles in the Royal collection, I have respectfully to express my
sincerest gratitude. To Mr. HOLMES, Her Majesty's librarian, I owe much kind and valuable
aid. The Pickle Papers, and many despatches in the State Papers, were
examined and copied for me by Miss E. A. IBBS. In studying the Stuart Papers, I owe much to the aid of Miss VIOLET
SIMPSON, who has also assisted me by verifying references from many
sources. It would not be easy to mention the numerous correspondents who have
helped me, but it were ungrateful to omit acknowledgment of the
kindness of Mr. HORATIO F. BROWN and of Mr. GEORGE T. OMOND. I have to thank Mr. ALEXANDER PELHAM TROTTER for permission to cite
the MS. Letter Book of the exiled Chevalier's secretary, ANDREW
LUMISDEN, in Mr. TROTTER'S possession. Miss MACPHERSON of Cluny kindly gave me a copy of a privately printed
Memorial of her celebrated ancestor, and, by CLUNY'S kind permission,
I have been allowed to see some letters from his charter chest.
Apparently, the more important secret papers have perished in the
years of turmoil and exile. This opportunity may be taken for disclaiming any belief in the
imputations against CLUNY conjecturally hazarded by 'NEWTON,' or
KENNEDY, in the following pages. The Chief's destitution in France,
after a long period of suffering in Scotland, refutes these
suspicions, bred in an atmosphere of jealousy and distrust. Among
the relics of the family are none of the objects which CHARLES, in
1766 1767, found it difficult to obtain from CLUNY'S representatives
for lack of a proper messenger. To Sir ARTHUR HALKETT, Bart., of Pitfirrane, I am obliged for a view
of BALHALDIE'S correspondence with his agent in Scotland. The Directors of the French Foreign Office Archives courteously
permitted Monsieur LEON PAJOT to examine, and copy for me, some of
the documents in their charge. These, it will be seen, add but
little to our information during the years 1749 1766. I have remarked, in the proper place, that Mr. MURRAY ROSE has
already printed some of Pickle's letters in a newspaper. As Mr.
MURRAY ROSE assigned them to JAMES MOHR MACGREGOR, I await with
interest his arguments in favour of this opinion in his promised
volume of Essays. The ornament on the cover of this work is a copy of that with which
the volumes of Prince CHARLES'S own library were impressed. I owe
the stamp to the kindness of Miss WARRENDER of Bruntsfield. Among printed books, the most serviceable have been Mr. EWALD'S work
on Prince Charles, Lord STANHOPE'S History, and Dr. BROWNE'S 'History
of the Highlands and Clans.' Had Mr. EWALD explored the Stuart
Papers and the Memoirs of d'Argenson, Grimm, de Luynes, Barbier, and
the Letters of Madame du Deffand (edited by M. DE LESCURE), with the
'Political Correspondence of Frederick the Great,' little would have
been left for gleaners in his track. I must not forget to thank Mr. and Mrs. BARTELS for researches in old
magazines and journals. Mr. BARTELS also examined for me the printed
correspondence of Frederick the Great... Continue reading book >>
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