He had excellent information; he had excellent judgment; he calculated the chances; and he saw that a descent was likely to fail, and to fail disastrously and disgracefully.
James might well be impatient to try the experiment, though the odds should be ten to one against him.

He might gain; and he could not lose.
His folly and obstinacy had left him nothing to risk.

His food, his drink, his lodging, his clothes, he owed to charity.

Nothing could be more natural than that, for the very smallest chance of recovering the three kingdoms which he had thrown away, he should be willing to stake what was not his own, the honour of the French arms, the grandeur and the safety of the French monarchy.

To a French statesman such a wager might well appear in a different light.