troops repulsing those of the enemy, English subjects!"

"O spare my

The Irish lost about fifteen hundred men, and the protestants about one third of that number. The victory was splendid and almost decisive; but the death of the duke of Schomberg, who was shot as he was crossing the water, seemed to outweigh the whole loss sustained by the enemy. This old soldier of fortune had fought under almost every power in Europe. His skill in war was unparalleled, and his fidelity equal to his courage. The number of battles in which he had been personally engaged, was said to equal the number of his years, and he died at the age of eighty-two. He was killed by a discharge from his own troops, who, not knowing that he had been accidentally hurried into the midst of the enemy, fired upon the body of men by whom he was surrounded, and mortally wounded him.

James, while his troops were yet fighting, quitted his station; and leaving orders to defend the pass at Duleek, he made the best of his way to Dublin, despairing of future success. O'Regan, an old Irish captain, was heard to say upon this occasion, that, if the English would exchange generals, the conquered army would fight the battle with them over again.

This blow totally depressed the hopes of James. He fled to Dublin, advised the magistrates to obtain the best terms they could from the victor, and then set out for Waterford, where he embarked for France, in a vessel fitted for his reception. Had he possessed either conduct or courage, he might still have headed his troops, and fought with advantage; but prudence forsook him with good fortune, and he returned to retrieve his affairs abroad, while he deserted them in the only place where they were defensible.

His friends, however, were determined to second

A. D. those interests which he himself had abandoned. 1691. Limerick, a strong city in the province of Munster, still held out for the late king, and braved all the attempts of William's army to reduce it. Sarsfield, a popular and experienced general, put himself at the head of the army that had been routed at the Boyne, and went farther into the country to defend the banks of the river Shannon, where he resolved to await the enemy. James, who would not defend the country himself, determined that none but such as were agreeable to him should defend it. He therefore appointed St. Ruth, a French general, who had signalised himself against the protestants in France, to command over Sarsfield, which gave the Irish universal discontent, as it showed that the king could neither rely on their skill nor their fidelity. On the other hand, general Ginckel, who had been appointed to command the English army in the absence of William, who was gone over to England, advanced with his forces towards the Shannon, in order to pass that broad and dangerous river. The only place where it was fordable, was at Athlone, a strong walled town, built on both sides of the river, and defending that important pass. The part of the town on the hither side of the river was taken sword in hand by the English; but the part on the opposite bank, being defended with great vigour, for a while was thought impregnable. At length it was resolved, in a council of war, that a body of forlorn hope should ford the stream in the face of the enemy, which desperate attempt was performed with great resolution; the enemy were driven from their works, and the town surrendered at discretion. St. Ruth marched his army to give relief, but too late; for, when he approached the walls, his own guns were turned against him. He no sooner saw this than his fears increased in proportion to his former confidence; and,

dreading the impetuosity of a victorious enemy in his very camp, he marched off instantly, and took post at Aghrim, ten miles off. There he determined to await the English army, and decide the fate of Ireland at one blow.

Ginckel, having put Athlone in a posture of defence, passed the Shannon, and marched up to the enemy, determined to give them battle, though his force did not exceed eighteen thousand men, while that of the enemy was above twenty-five thousand. The Irish were posted in a very advantageous situation, being drawn out upon a rising ground, before which lay a bog that, to appearance, was passable only in two places. Their right was fortified by entrenchments, and their left secured by the castle of Aghrim. Ginckel, having observed their situation, gave the necessary orders for the attack; and, after a furious cannonading, the English army at twelve o'clock began to force the two passages of the bog, in order to possess the ground on the other side. The enemy fought with surprising fury, and the horse were several times repulsed; but at length the troops on the right, by the help of some field-pieces, carried their point. At six o'clock in the evening the left wing of the English army was advanced to the right of the Irish, and at length obliged it to give ground. In the mean time, a more general attack was made upon the centre; the English wading through the middle of the bog up to the waist in mud, and rallying with some difficulty upon the firm ground on the other side, renewed the combat with great fury. At length St. Ruth being killed by a cannon-ball, his fate so dispirited his troops, that they gave way on all sides, and retreated to Limerick, where they resolved to make a final stand, after having lost above five thousand of the flower of their army. Limerick, the last retreat of the Irish forces, made a brave

defence; but soon seeing the enemy advanced within ten paces of the bridge-foot, and perceiving themselves surrounded, they determined to capitulate; a negotiation was immediately begun, and hostilities ceased on both sides. The catholics, by this capitulation, were restored to the enjoyment of those liberties, in the exercise of their religion, which they had possessed in the reign of king Charles the Second. All persons were indulged with free leave to remove with their families and effects to any other country, except England and Scotland. In consequence of this, about fourteen thousand of those who had fought for king James went over into France, having transports provided by government for conveying them thither. When they arrived in France, they were thanked for their loyalty by James, who told them that they should still fight for their old master, and that he had obtained an order from the king of France for their being new-clothed, and put into quarters of refreshment.

In this manner all the expectations which might arise from the attachment of the Irish were entirely at an end: that kingdom submitted peaceably to the English government, and James was to look for other assistance to prop his declining pretensions. His chief hopes lay in a conspiracy among his English adherents, and in the succours which were promised to him by the French king. The success of the conspiracy was the first to disappoint his expectations. This was originally hatched in Scotland by sir James Montgomery, a person, who, from being an adherent to William, now turned against him; but, as the project was ill conceived, so it was lightly discovered by the instigator. To this another succeeded, which seemed to threaten more serious consequences, as it was chiefly managed by the Whig party, who were the most formidable in the state. A number

of these joined themselves to the Tory party, and both made advances to the adherents of the late king. They assembled together; and the result of their deliberations was, that the restoration of James was to be entirely effected by foreign forces; that he should sail for Scotland, and be there joined by five thousand Swedes, who, because they were of the protestant religion, it was thought would remove a part of the odium which attended an invasion by foreigners; that assistance should at the same time be sent from France, and that full liberty of conscience should be proclaimed throughout the kingdom. In order to lose no time, it was resolved to send over two trusty persons to France to consult with the banished monarch; and lord Preston and Mr. Ashton were the persons appointed for this dangerous embassy. Accordingly, Ashton hired a small vessel for this purpose; and the two conspirators went secretly on board, happy in the supposed secrecy of their schemes; but there had been previous information given of their intentions; and lord Carmarthen had them both seized, just at the time they thought themselves out of all danger. The conspirators refused to inform; their trials were therefore hurried on about a fortnight after they were taken, in order, by the terrors of death, to force a discovery. They were both condemned; Ashton was executed, without making any confession; lord Preston had not the same resolution. Upon an offer of pardon, he discovered a great number of associates, among whom the duke of Ormond, lord Dartmouth, and lord Clarendon, were foremost.

The reduction of Ireland, and the wretched success of the late conspiracy, made the French at last sensible of their impolitic parsimony in losing a kingdom, whose divisions would no longer be of use to them. They were willing, therefore, to concur with the fugitive king,