William had good reason to regret that he had brought with him so small a
contingent of British troops, owing to his doubts whether they could be
depended upon, and his poor opinion of their bravery; for, since the days
of Agincourt, English troops had been seldom seen on the Continent, and
were consequently held but in small esteem there. He had with him now a
regiment of English grenadiers, and a few line regiments, but the bulk of
the army was composed of his Dutch troops and foreign mercenaries. The
latter had shown, at the battle of the Boyne, that their courage was not
of a high order, while their excesses had not only produced a bitter
feeling of hatred against them throughout the country, but had done
immense harm to the cause, by rendering it next to impossible to obtain
provisions.
Walter's progress towards recovery, from the day when he recovered
consciousness, was very rapid. The fever, though severe, had been short,
and he gained strength almost as rapidly as he had lost it. The morning
after he had come to himself, Mrs. Conyers brought Claire in to see him.
"Here is a young lady who is very anxious to see how you are getting on,
Walter," she said cheerfully; "and, now you are going on so well, I shall
hand you over a good deal to her care, as some of the others want my
attention badly.
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