Time again to consult Captain Boyd, [“Strategy in a Nutshell� by Captain F. F. Boyd [1915] Gale & Polden Ltd.]

“Morale is that indefinable something which distinguishes the highly trained and disciplined army from an armed rabble. It fosters discipline, courage, endurance, and all the qualities which make the soldier. Many are the causes which increase or decrease it, some of those increasing it are:-

1) The personal qualities of the commander
2) Record of a glorious past
3) High state of discipline
4) Taking the offensive
5) A righteous cause, and many others�

Captain Boyd neglects to list causes decreasing morale and certainly fails to mention refurbishment of houses in Drumcondra.

The Taoiseach should not be too thrown down by his situation.

Consider that in Dashiell Hammett’s “The Glass Key�[1931] the following passage occurs:

“She took her lower lip from between her teeth to ask: “Is – is he actually in danger?�

Ned Beaumont nodded and spoke with calm certainty: “If he loses the election, loses his hold on the city and state government, they’ll electrocute him.��

Compared to the political boss in question in “The Glass Key� (it should have been entitled “The Missing Hat�), the Taoiseach’s problems are minor.