120 A JACOBITE EXILE

and England, attending lectures, and all kinds of subjects.
Why, man, he learnt anatomy, and can take off a leg as
quickly as I can. He is building a fleet and getting to-
gether an army. It is not much good yet, you will say, but
it will be some day. You can turn a peasant into a soldier
in six months, but it takes a long time to turn out generals
and officers who are fit for their work.

“Then, while he is trying everywhere to improve his
country, every man jack of them objects to being im-
proved, and wants to go along in his old ways. Didn't
they get up an insurrection only because he wanted them
to cut off their beards? Any other man would have lost
heart and given it up years ago. It looks as hopeless a
task as for a mouse to drag a mountain, but he is doing it.
I don’t say that he is perfect. He gets into passions, and
it is mighty hard for anyone he gets into a passion with.
3ut who would not get into passions when there is so much
work to be done, and every one tries to hinder instead of
to help? It would break the heart of St. Patrick! Why,
that affair at Narva would have broken down most men.
Here for years has he been working to make an army, and
the first time they meet an enemy worthy of the name,
what do they do? Why, they are beaten by a tenth of their
number of half-starved men, led by a mad-brained young
fellow who had never heard a shot fired before, and lose all
their cannon, guns, ammunition, and stores. Why, I
was heart-broken myself when I heard of it; but Peter,
instead of blowing out his brains or drowning himself, set
to work, an hour after the news reached him, to bring up
fresh troops, to re-arm the men, and to prepare to mect the
Swedes again as soon as the snow is off the ground. If
James of Ingland had been Peter of Russia he would be
ruling over Ireland now, and England and Scotland too.
But now I must be off. Don’t you worry about your head,
IT haye seen as bad a clip given by a blackthorn. I have