It was likewise at the home of a staunch Jacobite , David Weymiss , that Andrew Michael began his career as a private tutor .
His early years thus unfolded in a Jacobite environment committed to the return of the Stuarts . We can therefore easily understand that he felt close to these Jacobites , even though his religious preoccupations seem to have taken precedence over his political concerns during this period . The protestant faith in which he had been brought up failed to satisfy him , and he pursued his search for a religion more in keeping with his ideas and sensibilities . To further this quest , he traveled first to Holland and then to Cambrai , where the Archbishop , François Fénelon , took him under his wing and converted him to Catholicism .
2 . The Itinerant Jacobite
a ) At Cambrai
Ramsay arrived at Cambrai in August 1710 . He was then 24 years old . It has been suggested that it was while he was staying with Fénelon that he met James III , who was campaigning in the area at the side of French troops in the War of Spanish Succession . This is , however , not the case . The Pretender had in fact paid a visit to the Archbishop in November 1709 , several months before Ramsay ’ s arrival . Ramsay did not meet him until 1724 , during the brief few months he spent in Rome as the tutor of James III ’ s son , a fact attested by the exchange of letters between them just before Ramsay ’ s departure for Italy .
Ramsay and Jacobitism
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Coming as he did from a Scottish Jacobite environment , could Ramsay ’ s political ideas have been strengthened as a result of his conversion to Roman Catholicism ? Was this even necessary ? Our doubts in this matter are legitimate , as the young man seems already to have held very determined opinions .
Ramsay stayed with Fénelon until 1714 . He then traveled down to Blois to join Madame Guyon , a friend of Fénelon ’ s and well known as the leader of the Quietist movement in France . The signing of the Treaty of Utrecht on April 11 , 1713 , which brought to an end the War of Spanish Succession , obliged Louis XIV to renounce his support for the Stuarts . James III henceforth found himself refused asylum in France and accordingly took up residence with his family in Italy from the spring of 1717 . As for Ramsay , he had occasion to demonstrate his devotion to him whom he considered as his King by participating in the 1715 Jacobite rebellion . He alluded to this , albeit with great caution , in a letter addressed to the Marquis of Fénelon , dated September 2 , 1715 , mentioning simply “ a journey soon to be undertaken ” ( Albert , 1926 ).
b ) During the 1715 Rebellion
In this venture , Ramsay engaged in as a standard-bearer with the rank of ensign . His involvement in this military expedition in Scotland , which ended in a crushing defeat for the partisans of the Pretender , is ample proof of his Jacobitism . Despite his inexperience , Ramsay did not hesitate to follow his “ King ,” demonstrating in this way his unfailing loyalty and support . James