"We are to take the field at once. The king himself is going to march in
command of us against Derry. I think his majesty is wrong; and I know
that Tyrconnell has argued strongly against his intention. There are
three reasons against it. First, as I told you, I think it were better to
leave Derry alone, until the main issue is settled. Secondly, King James
has no military experience whatever, and if ought goes wrong with the
expedition, he will lose prestige. Thirdly, although it were well for him
to be with the army when it fights a foreign foe, it were better that he
should not lead it against men who are, however much they may rebel
against him, his own subjects.
"I know Tyrconnell has set forth these objections to him; but, unhappily,
obstinacy is a fault of all the Stuart race, and it generally happens
that they are most obstinate when most wrong. However, I trust that when
Derry sees so strong a force marching against it, it will open its gates
without resistance. A siege can only entail horrible suffering on the
town; and that suffering will, in the end, tell against James's cause,
for it will excite the sympathy of the Protestants in England and
Scotland, and make them all the hotter to conquer Ireland.
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