Note 31 — Chapter X
Reading edition
One cause of desertion seems to have been the ubiquitous American girl. In a later letter Brock wrote:
"Not a desertion has been attempted by any of the 49th for the last ten months, with the exception, indeed, of Hogan. He served Glegg, who took him with him to the Falls of Niagara, where a fair damsel persuaded him to this act of madness, for the fellow cannot possibly gain his bread by labour, as he has half killed himself with excessive drinking; and we know he cannot live upon love alone."