ABSTRACT

Charles always sounded overly optimistic in letters to his father, and even after a safe cipher system had been arranged between them, he tried to hide several of the drawbacks of his life in Paris. He had not gone through all this danger and physical hardship just to return again, and he was unwilling to be recalled to Rome “with ye melancholy prospect of spending author's life there.” He intended to stay away forever. Even though James had another twenty-two years of life ahead, father and son never saw each other again. The Prince had at last broken free from family bonds; he was a “master of his own fortune,” with a life of his own to lead and mistakes of his own to make. Having come this far, he did not doubt that his derring-do would impress the French King, and his expectations were very high that Louis would treat him respectfully.