G. A. Henty.



Chapter 1: Fresh from Ireland.


A number of officers of O'Brien's regiment of foot, forming a part
of the Irish Brigade in the service of France, were gathered in a
handsome apartment in the Rue des Fosses, on the 20th of June,
1701, when the door opened, and their colonel entered with a young
officer in the uniform of the regiment.

"I have asked you here, gentlemen all," he said, "to present to
you a new comrade, Desmond Kennedy, who, through the good offices
of the Marshal de Noailles, has been appointed, by His Gracious
Majesty, to a cornetcy in our regiment.

"Now, gentlemen, I have known, and doubtless you can all of you
recall, instances where the harmony of a regiment has been
grievously disturbed, and bad blood caused, owing to the want of a
clear understanding upon matters connected with a family; which
might have been avoided, had proper explanations been given at the
commencement. I have spoken frankly to Mr. Kennedy, and he has
stated to me certain particulars, and has not only authorized me,
but requested me to repeat them to you, feeling that you had a
right to know who it was that had come among you, and so to avoid
questioning on matters that are, of all others, prone to lead to
trouble among gentlemen.