314 THE GREAT DIAMONDS OF THE WORLD.
a
strong Whig, upon whose support he verily believed the stability of the
throne, in the line of Hanover, depended, proceeded to the North, and
vigorously prosecuted the work entrusted to him of driving Charles
Edward out of the realm, and striking a death blow to rebellion in
Scotland. No short campaign was ever more passionately popular than
this, which ended in the battle of Culloden. The "Duke's Head" was the
tavern sign on every English country tavern, and the common garden
flower known as the Sweet William was appropriated to him.
'' The pride of France is lily white, The rose in June is Jacobite; The prickly thistle of the Scot Is Northern knighthood's badge and lot; But since the Duke's victorious blows, The lily, thistle, and the rose, All droop and fade and die away— Sweet William only rules the day. No plant with brighter lustre grows. Except the laurel on his brows."
Alas,
the hero of Culloden soon fell from his popularity. His habits had
became gross, and his self-indulgence, acting on his weakened
constitution, made him ungainly ; whilst the enmity and jealously of
his elder brother, who envied his popularity aid feared for his
succession, succeeded in blackening his character. Within a few months
(1747), the Allied Army under the Duke of Cumberland was entirely
defeated at the battle of Lauffeld, and, whilst this raised the spirit
of France, it was fatal to the reputation of our warrior-prince. The
attempt to sow dissension between the two royal brothers, greatly
scandalized the middle classes, but in 1751 the end of the jealously,
which, the mother, Queen Caroline,
