men, and of about one hundred common men.
The accession of this troop gave great encouragement to the Prince; yet
there were still many who thought very badly of the enterprise, and the
advice afterwards given by Lord George Murray at Derby, to retreat, was
also whispered at Manchester, Lord George being resolved to retreat,
should there be no insurrection in England, nor landing from France. "At
Manchester, one of his friends told Lord George," relates Maxwell, "that
he thought they had entered far enough into England, since neither of
these events had happened." To this Lord George replied that they might
make a farther trial, and proceed to Derby; where, if there should be no
greater encouragement to go on, he should propose a retreat to the
Prince.[107]

The reception of Prince Charles at Manchester, was celebrated with
demonstrations of enthusiastic joy. As he marched on foot into the town,
at the head of the clans, halting to proclaim the Chevalier St. George,
King, the bells rang, and preparations were made for illuminations and
bonfires in the evening. The Prince was attended by twelve Scottish and
English noblemen: from these he was distinguished by wearing the white
cockade on the top of his cap, in the centre, instead of on the side, as
did his general officers. Peculiarly formed to grace such occasions as a
triumphal entry into an important and friendly town, Charles Edward
quickly won the good will of the female part of the community; and the
beauty and grace of the kingdom were soon, to use a phrase of a
contemporary writer, enlisted in his behalf.

To the personal attributes of the Prince, "joining the good nature of
the Stuarts with the spirit of the Sobieski," Charles Edward added one
accomplishment which the monarch then on the throne of England did not
possess: he spoke English well, although with a foreign accent: in this
last respect, he resembled some of those around him, more especially the
Duke of Perth, who, having been long abroad, in vain endeavoured to
conceal the French idiom and pronunciation by affecting a broad Scottish
dialect.[108]

Still, in spite of these advantages, and notwithstanding the known
predilection of the Lancastrians for the cause of the Stuarts, the
lowest populace alone joined the standard of Charles. One melancholy,
though admirable exception has been already referred to in the person of
Colonel Francis Townley. This gentleman was a member of an ancient
family, and t