A DELUSION.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2519, 18 April 1881, Page 2

A DELUSION.

The paragraphs and leading articles which have been written on the death of “ an alleged descendant of the Young Pretender ” may perhaps serve to keep alive a little longer the recollction of a fond delusion which took captive some lovers of romance rather more than 30 years, but never attained sufficient importance to be included in a history of ‘ Popular Delusions.” A well-known old admiral, John Carter Allan, died in the year 1800, in the full conviction that he was the heir to the Earldom of Errol. His son,a lieutenant in the navy, being of a more ambitious turn of character, managed to delude himself into the belief that he was the eon of Prince Charles Edward Stuart by the Princess Louise, of Stolberg. His two children—the younger of them has just died—inherited their father’s opinions, and it was the object of their life to convert the world to the same way of thinking. This they endeavoured to do by means of two or three volumes with mysterious and romantic titles, which were published about the year 1847. They did not however, succeed in winning many converts to their faith, and their hopes were dashed by an article in the Quarter!}' Review of that date, which was attributed sometimes to Croker and sometimes to Lockhart, though it was in reality written by Mr Denistoun, of Denniston.