paralysed our leaders, and who, the moment a reverse came, sought
safety in flight, instead of taking his place among the men who
were devoted to his cause. I can understand that, in England,
where the majority of those who professed to be devoted to him
were betraying him, and were in secret communication with William,
he should be by turns obstinate and vacillating; but in Ireland,
where every man who surrounded him was risking his life in his
cause, he should have shown absolute confidence in them, listened
to their advice, set an example of personal gallantry and courage,
and, at least, remained among them until all was definitely lost.
It was the desertion of James, rather than the loss of the battle
of the Boyne, that ruined his cause.

"Well, I am glad you are out of it, for it was a pity that you
should be going without your work at the salle d'armes, when you
were making such progress that, the master reported, in a few
months you would become one of the best swordsmen in the
regiment."

There were, in Paris, many Irish officers besides those belonging
to Colonel O'Brien's regiment. These were, for the most part, men
who had been severely wounded in the preceding campaign, and who
now remained in the capital with the depots of their regiments.
These were constantly recruited by fresh arrivals from Ireland, by
which means the Irish Brigade was not only kept up to their
original strength, in spite of the heavy losses they suffered, in
the engagements in which they had taken part, but largely
increased its force, new regiments being constantly formed.
Naturally, O'Brien's corps, being the only complete regiment in
Paris, at the time, was regarded as the headquarters and general