The History of Stirlingshire
Chapter XIII. Second Battle of Falkirk (1746)

In 1745, Charles Edward Stuart, elder son and heir of the Chevalier de St. George, son and heir of James II. and VII., landed, with seven attendants, from a French ship, in the Highlands of Scotland. These were the Marquis of Tullibardine, who had been attainted of high treason in 1716; Sir Thomas Sheridan, who had been Charles’s preceptor; Sir John MacDonald, an officer in the Spanish service; Francis Strickland, an English gentleman; Aeneas MacDonald, banker in Paris, Kinloch Moidart’s brother; Kelly, who had been a prisoner in the Tower of London; and Buchanan, who had gone to Rome with a message from Cardinal de Tencin. He was also joined by several chiefs and their vassals attached to the old rule of hereditary succession in families and kingdoms. They formed, however, but a small force, compared with the object they had in view – the re-establishment, upon the throne of Great Britain, of a family which, at the death of Queen Anne, had been royal 345 years, in opposition to a powerful party, by whom the family had been expelled.

Charles was not deterred from advancing, nor his friends from following. Leaving Perth, he passed through Glenalmond on the 10^th of September, and took this circuitous route for the purpose of examining his new levies. On the 11^th he arrived at Dunblane, where he lodged with Alexander MacGregor of Balhaldies, to whom, by Charles’s father, letters patent had been issued in 1740, creating him "a knight and baronet of the ancient kingdom of Scotland, to have and to hold to him and to the lawful heirs male of his body." The room in which the prince held his levees in Dunblane is still shown to the visitor, and the bed in which he slept is preserved by the family of Balhaldies. After staying a night here, he went, with his army, to Doune on the 12^th. He crossed the Forth on the 13^th, and slept at Leckie. Next day, he and his nobles passed by the south of Stirling castle to Bannockburn house, by invitation of Sir Hugh Paterson, whose mother, Lady Jean Erskine, was sister of the Earl of Mar, a circumstance which partly accounts for his attachment to the house of Stuart. On the night of the 15^th, Charles slept in Callendar house, Falkirk, the seat of the Earl of Kilmarnock; and, on the 16^th, left Stirlingshire by Linlithgow bridge.

After taking Edinburgh, and obtaining a victory at Preston, penetrating into the heart of England, and reluctantly retreating, we find him at Glasgow on Christmas, where the ladies especially, charmed with his princely attire and majestic bearing, became most loyal. On New-Year’s night, he slept at the recently forfeited mansion of Kilsyth; and, next day, made Bannockburn house his head-quarters. His troops were cantoned in the neighbouring villages. Lord George Murray, with the divisions under his command, in which were some of the clan regiments, occupied Falkirk. In a day or two, Stirling was invested; and the magistrates, judging it untenable, surrendered by capitulation. It was then that the Rev. Ebenezer Erskine, who had been deponed, eight years before, by the General Assembly, commanded two companies of the townsmen. Viscount Strathallan and Lord John Drummond had, meanwhile, joined the prince with the forces they had levied in the North. Some battering cannon from France, which had arrived at Montrose, had been sent on to Perth; and were now, with difficulty, brought across the Forth, partly at the ford of Frew, and partly at Alloa. On the 10^th, the prince broke ground before the castle, against which he was obliged to carry on a tedious siege.

Lieut.-General Hawley – a rough and almost brutal man, with a thorough hatred of undisciplined rabbles – having mustered an army of about 6000 in the vicinity of Edinburgh, marched to the relief of Stirling castle. Arriving at Falkirk, he encamped on the north-west, near the bloody field of yore, where Sir John de Graeme and Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, the friends of Wallace, had testified their patriotism in the arms of death. He halted there for a few days, intending, as soon as he had obtained sufficient intelligence, to attack the foe; of whom, from what he had seen of the Highlanders at Sheriffmuir, he had formed a very low estimate. Hawley, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Hanoverian army, in place of Sir John Cope, who was beaten at Prestonpans, had, in fact, a supreme contempt for the "Highland militia," as he was pleased to call the young Pretender’s troops; and, for a time, he cavalierly treated the attitude of the Jacobites.

Charles, on hearing of the approach of Hawley’s force, resolved to give him battle. Marching on the 17^th, from the rendezvous at Bannockburn, the "Highlanders," numbering near 9000, stronger than ever they had been before, were about crossing the Carron at Dunipace, within three miles of Falkirk, ere they were perceived. The better to conceal their design, their standard, distinctly seen from the royalists’ camp, continued flying; and further to divert the attention of the enemy, a small party appeared on the opposite side of the river, while the main body was making circuit to charge on the side least expected. Then, by one of their rapid and silent movements, concealed from sight by intervening plantations, they made swiftly for the upland of South Bantaskine. Their presence all the more strikingly threw the royalists into excited disorder, on account of Hawley’s absence from the field – dining at Callendar house with the Countess of Kilmarnock, whose husband had command in the insurgent army, and who was herself a friend to the cause. Lieut.-Colonel Howard at once hurried to the general, who, becoming conscious of the emergency, was seen riding rapidly to his post, his grey hair streaming in the wind. The troops, notwithstanding his absence, had formed in front of the camp, on ground now known as Campfield. On his arrival, his first object was to compete with the enemy for the top of the hill. The dragoons rode up a narrow lane, still known as Maggie Wood’s Loan. The foot followed with a similar show of promptitude and pluck; and the artillery, consisting of ten pieces, came last of all, driven by a few local carters, who, with their horses, had been hurriedly pressed into King George’s service. Whether from accident, or design, the cannon stuck in a swampy spot, at the end of the loan, beyond all power of extrication; and the drivers then cutting the traces, galloped back to the town. Both armies were now without artillery, for that of the insurgents was left at Stirling. The Highlanders, seeing the pedestrian action of their antagonists, ran to forestall them, displaying speed rather than arrangement; but seem to have entirely defeated even the dragoons in the competition. The MacGregors, under Glencairnaig, were the first on the hill, and took their position accordingly. The MacDonalds stood next them, as having arrived second. The disposition of the whole army was thus ruled by the incidents of the race. The insurgent force drew up in two lines, with a reserve in rear. The mountaineers occupied the front line, and their less nimble lowland auxiliaries took the second. Lord George Murray commanded the right, Lord John Drummond the left. The prince took his station in the rear of the second line, with the Irish piquets and some horse as a reserve. The government troops formed in two lines; facing those of the enemy, across a small ravine; while the convexity of the ground rendered the wings mutually invisible. The left, consisting of dragoons, and stretching along more than two-thirds of the enemy’s line, was commanded by Hawley; the right, of infantry, partly in rear of the cavalry, and outlining, by two regiments, the left of the enemy, by Major-General Huske. The reserve, in rear, was composed of the Glasgow militia, Howard’s regiment, and Argyllshire Highlanders.

At four p.m. (17^th January, 1746), the armies stood within 100 yards. What followed was rather a scuffle than a battle. Hawley ordered his dragoons to advance sword in hand, and they were met by the Highlanders with their usual irregular fire. The reception, however, was warm. Several companies after the first onset, and one volley at the distance of 10 or 12 paces by the insurgents, at the head of whom Lord George Murray marched with sword and target, galloped out of sight. The dragoons had got confused; and, riding along the front of the Highland line, were further assailed with a deadly fusillade. They had also disordered the infantry next them, and caused their left flank to be exposed. The Highlanders, taking this advantage, outflanked them with the broadsword, and forced their flight. A tempest of wind and rain from the south-west had proved a powerful auxiliary to the claymore, by disturbing the eye-sight and wetting the gun-powder of the king’s forces; while the insurgents were not in the least inconvenienced. The former had been entirely routed, but for the spirited exertions of two regiments under Brigadier Cholmondely, and of some scattered battalions rallied by Brigadier Mordaunt. These, firing briskly, greatly checked their adversaries; who fell back a little, but still kept their side of the ravine. The pursuit ceased, and the pursuers made the best of their way back. Many of the second line of the Highlanders had followed the first line as pursuers; but some of those who had not, hearing the action renewed in the dusk, and dreading a defeat, went off westward. Thus had part of either army fled. Not one regiment of the second line of the insurgents remained in its place; for the Athole brigade being left almost alone near the right extremity, joined the MacGregors and the MacDonalds of Keppoch, at the extremity of the first line. A gap in the center was now traversed by the straggling parties returned from the chase, unable to find their former comrades, and armed only with swords. The MacGregors, the MacDonalds of Kippoch, and the Athole brigade repaired thither under Lord George Murray, and were joined by Charles and his reserve. The prince encouraged the stragglers, caused them to snatch up the muskets with which the ground was thickly strewed; and, ordering them to follow, led to the brow of the hill. This had the effect of driving back a regiment of dragoons, who were coming up, and now joined in the general retreat of the king’s forces. Their cannon, which, before the scuffle, had got mire-stuck, were taken, together with much ammunition and baggage. Hawley had set fire to the tents, which may account for short pieces of tent poles, ironshod at ends, having been got at Grahamston Foundry, during excavations a few years ago. The wood of one of the relics, which has suffered less from the teeth of time than the others, measures 15 inches in length, and the iron into which the wood is inserted is nearly 5 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter, tapering to a point. These seem to be the remains of tent poles, broken off at the surface of the ground in the hurried demolition of the camp. Shot balls have also been found at former times, somewhat further south; likewise a hammer of a peculiar form, supposed to have been used in wedging up the field pieces. Hawley’s total loss in killed, wounded, and missing, was 280. He appears to have got utterly confused by the unexpected reversal of his too confident hopes; for unpursued, and with a large unbroken rear, he might have taken up his position at Falkirk. His retreat, moreover, seems to have been so unexpected, that a part of the Highland army had dispersed in the notion that they were beaten.

Among the slain were Sir Robert Munro, Bart. of Foulis, Col. Whitney, and Lieut.-Cols. Powal and Biggar, nine captains, and three lieutenants. The manner in which Sir Robert Munro was killed was peculiarly affecting. His regiment, stationed in the second line, on the left wing, had been greatly disordered, and was retiring, when he, and a few brother officers, were left behind, exposed to the enemy. He had, with his half-pike, defended himself against six assailants, and killed two; but a seventh, coming up, poured a shot into his body, and brought him down. He was interred in the churchyard of Falkirk, by the brave MacDonalds, who, of the hostile party, could not but honour so noble a man. His relations erected a handsome monument over his grave. On the side facing the north, there are such emblems carved as muskets, cannon, flags, drums, &c. On the south, are the family arms, with the strange motto, "Dread God." On the west, there is a Latin inscription, of which the following English translation is given on the side facing the east: - "Here lies interred the body of Sir Robert Munro of Foulis, Knt. And Bar., Colonel of a Regiment of Foot. The life he had spent in the Parliament and camp with honour, he lost in the cause of Liberty and Religion, near Falkirk, on the 17^th of January, 1746, aged 62 years. As long as history narrates the battle of Fontenoy, his courage and conduct on that day, in the command of the Highland Regiment, will be remembered. Sincere and active in the service of his friends – humane and forgiving to his enemies – generous and benevolent to all, his death was universally regretted, even by those who slew him.

"With Sir Robert Munro was killed his brother, Doctor Duncan Munro, of Obsdale, aged 59, who, unarmed, would not forsake his wounded brother."

About four yards to the south-east of Monro’s tomb, there is a flat-stone with the following inscription: - "In memory of William Edmonstoune, of Cambuswallace, Captain-lieutenant in the XXVII. Regiment of Foot, who, bravely fighting in defence of the King, and of the liberties, sacred and civil, of his country, fell in battle, near Falkirk, on XVII. day of January, 1746, aged 32 years."

At the close of the engagement, a large trench was dug, into which not only the dead but the dying were unceremoniously consigned. One of others – a poor native of Skye – was relentlessly dragged to the edge of the pit. He earnestly entreated his burialists to spare him to his friends. "Jist gang in wi’ quiet," was the cool reply, "for ta prince may be angry."

During the short stay of the Highlanders in Falkirk, they treated the inhabitants with unusual lenity, on account of their connection with the Earl of Kilmarnock, and the readiness they displayed in serving the cause of the prince. But this general forbearance was not without exceptions. A small party, on the day after the battle, laid violent hands on a flaming Jacobite, named David Watt, then the principal innkeeper in the town, brought him out to the street in front of his own door, and, setting him down squat upon the causeway, deliberately eased his feet of a pair of new shoes with silver buckles. He pled his Jacobitism to save them; but the ragged rascals, accustomed perhaps to such excuses, disregarded the declaration, ironically observing, "Sae muckle ta better. She’ll no grumble to change a progue for ta prince’s guid." It is said that David’s Jacobite principles were a good deal shaken by this unhappy incident. On the farm of Stoneyrigg, too, the hungry heroes entered the "biggin," and demanded a substantial meal. The gudewife, at the time, was occupied with the cradle; but in illustration, as it were, of the maxim that no man can afford to be shy if needful, one of the starting loons generously offered to rock the child while the feast was being prepared, requesting Mrs. Stark, incidentally, to "heeshtie wi’ a pickle preed and cheese, until the petter meat was ready." But the kitchen regalement, which followed the lunch, did not by any means satisfy the grasping greed of that lawless lot. The stable came to be inspected eventually; and here, amongst other stock, was a fine grey mare with which they marched off to Stirling. The laird, feeling that his uninvited guests were making rather free with his property, at once hoisted the white flag to the house-top; but the winter afternoon being far spent, the distress signal was not seen. Leaving the steading, in a direct line with Stirling, a marsh was encountered at the outset; but through this the Highlanders boldy travelled, the mare, however, at one part, sinking almost breast-deep into the swamp. Still they were not to be outdone. Placing themselves "shouther tae shouther," some at the head and others at the tail, they speedily had the animal extricated, when Mr. Stark, seeing this performance, expressed his astonishment at their success; but the reply was as usual, curt and cutting, "Did she no ken that hersels can dae what nae ither men can dae?" In the hope, however, of wiling his favourite animal out of the clutches of the Highlanders, the laird took staff in hand, and kept close on their track to head-quarters. There he had an audience of the prince, to whom he related the circumstances of his errand. Charles at once asked a sight of the mare, and then coolly replied, "Well, gudeman, you might be proud that you had such an animal so fit for the prince’s service."

Charles, with his men, remained the night after the battle of Falkirk. His army lost four captains, four subalterns, with forty men killed, and eighty wounded. In the evening, he was conducted by torchlight to a lodging which had been provided for him in the house of a Mrs. Graham, the widow of a physician, a Jacobite, and a woman of superior intelligence and manners. This house, which stands opposite the steeple, was then the best in town; but, according to the fashion of the times, the best room, and that in which Charles was obliged to dine and hold his court, contained a bed concealed within folding doors.

Next day, the prince returned triumphantly to Bannockburn. Lord George Murray, and the Highlanders, remained; while the Duke of Perth, with the Lowlanders, Lord John Drummond’s regiment, and the Irish piquets, returned to Stirling, and resumed the siege of the castle. Most of the prisoners taken by them were sent from Stirling to Doune. Home, the renowned author of "Douglas," was of the number; but, after six days, he escaped, with some others, by a rope, made of blankets, and fastened to the battlement of the west side of the edifice, with which there was a passage from their lodgings to the top of the keep, through the queen’s room, along the top of the battlement, and around the open court on the south side.

Hawley, though not formally condemned, was disgraced and unpopular. He had, on his return to Edinburgh, ordered several officers and soldiers to be tried for bad behavior in the late battle; and two or three privates were condemned to be shot, and more than one officer cashiered. On the news of the affair at Falkirk, the government committed the suppression of the insurrection to the supreme management of William Augustus Duke of Cumberland, a prince of the blood; and who, although only in the twenty-sixth year, was no common man. This youth, however, belonged to an age when high command was, in a great measure, a royal science, which men of inferior rank had scanty opportunities of studying. He was a great favourite with the army; and it was hoped that his appearance in Scotland would tend to keep alive, and increase, an interest in the existing dynasty. He came to Holyrood house on the 30^th of January; and entered Stirlingshire, by Linlithgow bridge, on the 1^st of February. His army, on marching out of Linlithgow, had heard two very loud sounds, resembling explosions, in the direction, and seemingly at the distance, of Stirling. It was the blowing up of the powder-magazines which the insurgents had formed. To the concussion occasioned by one of them, in St. Ninian’s church, three or four of the soldiers, and ten of the natives, had fallen victims. Charles’s army, spiking their heavy cannon, raised the siege of Stirling castle, and evacuated the vicinity. As an arch of Stirling bridge had been broken down by the governor, Blackney, in December, to prevent Charles’s northern levies from crossing, and was further secured by troops, and the cannon of the castle; the retiring army, as formerly, when advancing, took the ford of Frew. General Mordaunt took possession of Stirling; and, next day, the Duke of Cumberland, entering it, ordered the bridge to be repaired. On the 4^th of February, he marched, with his army, on his way to the north.

And what more of Charles? Enough for him is known by the disastrous and fatal issues of Culloden. Latterly titled Count Albany, he had married a continental lady. In 1761, we find him again in Britain, but for the last time, when he visited the Tower of London, and most parts of the city. Having gratified his curiosity, and affection for his friends there, he returned quietly to the continent. Eventually, he fell a prey to chagrin, both in his public and domestic capacity. His disappointments had, as is alleged, driven him to the too free use of the bottle, and the remedy, aggravating the disease, had brought on such ebullitions of passion, as caused unhappiness in his countess, and, at length, a formal separation.

Last of all, the words: - On the 31^st of January, 1788, at Rome, died Prince Charles Edward Lewis Philip Cassimir Mary-Silvester Stuart, aged sixty-seven years.

David Hume, the historian, in a letter to Sir John Pringle, of 10^th February, 1773, attempted to cast a cloud over the splendour of the prince’s character, by saying that Lord Mareschall had a bad opinion of him, and that he himself was confirmed in that nobleman’s impression by a conversation with the celebrated Helvetius. The controversy, apart from the subject, derives interest from the personages engaged. "That gentleman," said Mr. Hume, "told me that he had no acquaintance with the Pretender, but some time after the prince was chased out of France, ‘a letter,’ said he, ‘was brought me from him, in which he told me, that the necessity of his affairs obliged him to be at Paris, and, as he knew me by character to be a man of the greatest probity and honour in France, he would trust himself to me if I would conceal and protect him. I own,’ added Helvetius to me, ‘although I knew the danger to be greater of harbouring him at Paris than at London, and although I thought the family of Hanover not only the lawful sovereigns of England, but the only lawful sovereigns of Europe, as having the full and free consent of the people, yet was I such a dupe to his flattery, that I invited him to my house, concealed him there near two years, met with his partisans upon Pon Neuf, and found at last that I had incurred all this danger and trouble for – the most unworthy of all mortals; in so much, that I have been assured when he went down to Nantz, to embark in his expedition to Scotland, he took fright, and refused to go on board, and his attendants, thinking the matter gone too far, and that they would be affronted by his cowardice, carried him in the night-time into the ship - pies et mains lies.’ I asked him if he meant literally. ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘literally. They tied and carried him by main force.’ What think you now," says Mr. Hume to Sir John Pringle, "of this hero and conqueror? Such an unaccountable mixture of temerity and timidity in the same character is not a little singular." As this historian generally favours the House of Stuart, he must be regarded as communicating, upon so grave a subject, even in a familiar epistle, the genuine impressions of his mind; and, in relation to Mr. Hume’s metaphysics, it may be said, that this mixture of skepticism and credulity in the same person is not a little unaccountable. The prince’s alleged cowardice (which alone Helvetius brings in proof of his general unworthiness, and which, indeed, especially in a prince and soldier, affords a presumption of depravity in other respects) is rendered highly improbable by his general conduct. Soon after the publication of Mr. Hume’s letter, the following strictures, under the fictitious name of "Acasto," came out in a London newspaper. The account given by this writer, anonymous though he be, is more likely than that of Helvetius. "The publishing of Mr. Hume’s letter," says Acasto, "at this time is considered an indecent attempt not only to disturb the ashes of the dead, but to throw dust in the eyes of the living, already too much blinded. That the prince was under some obligations to Helvetius is admitted. When under his roof, he happened to receive a remittance, which his sordid landlord no sooner saw, than he made a dead set at the whole of it, stating the great and eminent services he had rendered for him. The prince, however, pocketing the money, retired to his chamber, but not without overhearing some indecent expressions muttered as he went out, touching meanness, dishonesty, ingratitude, and so forth. In the morning, notwithstanding what had occurred the previous night, the prince gave this son of avidity one hundred louisd’ors, observing that it was almost unnecessary to tell him, that money had been so long a stranger to his purse, that himself and the major part of this suite, were in want of many necessaries, so that he could not without the greatest difficulty spare him any more then; but should his affairs take a favourable turn, all his friends might rely upon their being generously remunerated for their kindness to him. This was the real cause of his host’s animosity. As to the prince’s tardiness in embarking, it has no plausibility in it, unless the following circumstance could furnish some cynic with the materials of fabrication. When about to go on board the ship that wafted him to Scotland, he was unexpectedly presented by a private hand with one thousand guineas. This event caused a delay of about twenty minutes, after the signal gun had been fired. It was requisite that the receiver of so handsome a present should show some marks of civility to the giver, not to mention the time necessary to get at the strong box, and lodge the money."

John Home, in 1802, the date of his History of the Rebellion in 1745, says of Charles, when entering Holyrood house, that, in the opinion of some, he looked more like a gentleman and man of fashion than a hero or conqueror. "Hence," says he, "they formed their conclusions that the enterprise was above the pitch of his mind, and that his heart was not great enough for the sphere in which he moved." Some might thus judge from conceived appearances. Others, however, judged differently; and such as judged favourably formed the truest estimate. Witness the interview with Charles, Boisdale, and Kinloch Moidart’s brother; and Charles’s landing on the mainland of Scotland with only eight men on whose services he could depend. An affecting scene almost instantly follows with Lochiel. As there was not the least prospect of success, Lochiel advised his royal highness to return to France, and to reserve himself and his faithful friends for a more favourable opportunity. Charles refused to follow his advice, affirming, amongst other things, that he only wished the Highlanders to begin the war. Lochiel still resisted, entreating Charles to be more temperate, and consent to remain concealed where he was, till he and his other friends should meet, and concert what was best to be done. Charles, whose mind was wound up to the utmost pitch of impatience, paid no regard to this proposal, but answered that he was determined to put all to the hazard. "In a few days," said he, "with the few men I have, I will erect the royal standard, and proclaim to the people of Britain, that Charles Stuart is come over to claim the crown of his ancestors, to win it, or to perish in the attempt. Lochiel, who, my father has often told me, was our warmest friend, may stay at home, and learn from the newspapers the fate of his prince." "No," said Lochiel, "I’ll share the fate of my prince, and so shall every man over whom nature and fortune has given me power."

Before the battle of Preston, Charles declared that he would lead on the Highlanders himself, and charge at their head. The chiefs exclaimed they were ruined and undone; for, if any accident befel him, a defeat or victory was the same to them; and that, if he persisted in his resolution, they would go home, and make the best terms they could for themselves. This remonstrance had the desired effect, and Charles did not persist.

The different accounts of the retreat from Derby agree in this – that Charles was extremely averse, and so much offended that he behaved for some time as if he no longer thought himself commander of the army. In the march forward he had always been the first up in the morning, had the men in motion before the break of day, and usually marched on foot with them. It was different in the retreat; he made them wait for him.

Need we anticipate those proofs of heroism which occur in the subsequent part of Charles’s history, when his patience and fortitude were so severely tried? It may, perhaps, be said that he had committed himself, and acted from necessity; but had not originally evinced a vigorous mind. That Charles, however, had shown his contempt of danger at an early stage, and before "his courage was screwed to the sticking point," appears from a letter of the Duke of Berwick to His Grace of Fitz-James, when he was only in his fifteenth year. "Greta, 7^th August, 1734. N.S. The siege of Greta is now over, blessed be God, and, though a very short one, I suffered more while it lasted than in any siege I have been hitherto present at. You may easily imagine the uneasiness I talk of is my anxiety and concern for the person of Charles Prince of Wales. The king, his father, had sent him hither, under my care, to witness the siege, and laid his commands on me, not only to direct him, but even to show him everything meriting his attention. And I must confess that he made me pass some as uneasy moments as ever I met with from the crossest accidents of my past life. Just on his arrival, I conducted him to the trenches, where he showed not the least surprise at the enemy’s fire, even when the balls were hissing about his ears. I was relieved the following day from the trenches; and, as the house I lodged in was very much exposed, the enemy discharged at once five pieces of cannon against it, which made me move my quarters. The prince, arriving a moment after, would at any rate go into the house, though I did all I could to dissuade him from it, by representing the danger he was exposing himself to. Yet he stayed in it a considerable time with an undisturbed countenance, though the walls had been pierced through with the cannon shot. The prince’s manner and conversation are really bewitching. . . . .The King of Naples is much taken with his polite behaviour, and there is not the least necessity of suggesting to him what is proper for him either to say or do."