of his intention, and crying out that they were betrayed, rofe in a fury against the governor and council; hot one of the officers whom they fufpected, and boldly refolved to maintain the town, though deftitute of leaders. The town was weak in its fortifications, having only a wall eight or nine feet thick, and weaker ftill in its artillery, there being not above twenty ferviceable guns upon the works. The new made garrifon, however, made up every deficiency by courage; one Walker, a diffenting minifter, and major Baker, put themselves at the head of thefe refolute men; and thus abandoned to their fate, they prepared for a vigorous resistance. The batteries of the befiegers foon began to play upon the town with great fury; and feveral attacks were made, but always repulfed with refolution. All the fuccefs that valour could promife, was on their fide; but they, after fome time, found themselves exhausted by continual fatigue; they were afflicted alfo with a contagious diftemper which thinned their numbers; and as there were many useless mouths in the city, they began to be reduced to the greatest extremities for want of provifion. They had even the mortification to fee fome fhips, which had arrived with fupplies from England, prevented from failing up the river by the batteries of the enemy, and a boom by which they had blocked up the channel. General Kirke was not more fuccessful, who attempted to come to their affiftance, but was prevented from failing up the river. All he could do was to promise them fpeedy relief, and to exhort them to bear their miferies a little longer, with affurances of a glorious termination of them all. They had now confumed the laft remains of their provifion; and fupported life, by cating horfes, dogs, and all kinds of vermin, while even this loathfome food began to fail them. They They had ftill farther the mifery of feeing above four thousand of their fellow proteftants, from different parts of the country, driven by Rosene, James's general, under the walls of the town, where they were kept three whole days without provifion. Kirke in the mean time, who had been fent to their relief, continued unactive, debating with himself between the prudence and neceffity of his affiftance. At laft, receiving intelligence that the garrifon funk with fatigues and famine, had fent proposals of capitulation, he refolved upon an attempt to throw provifions into the place, by means of three victuallers, and a frigate to cover them. As foon as thefe veffels failed up the river, the eyes of all were fixed upon them: the befiegers eager to destroy, and the garrifon as refolute for their defence. The foremoft of the victuallers at the first fhock broke the boom, but was ftranded by the violence of her own fhock. Upon this, a fhout burft from the befiegers, which reached the camp and the city. They advanced with fury againft a prize, which they confidered as inevitable; while the fmoak of. the cannon on both fides wrapped the whole fcene in darkness. But to the aftonishment of all, in a little time the victualler was feen emerging from imminent danger, having got off by the rebound of her own guns, while the led up her little fquadron to the very walls of the town. The joy of the inhabitants at this unexpected relief, was only equalled by the rage and difappointment of the befiegers. The army of James was fo difpirited by the fuccefs of this enterprize, that they abandoned the fiege in the night; and retired with precipitation, after having loft above nine thoufand men before the place. Kirke no fooner took poffeffion of the town, than Walker was prevailed on to embark for England, with an addrefs of. thanks thanks to king William, for the seasonable relief they had received. The Ennifkilleners were no less remarkable than the former for the valour and perfeverance with which they efpoufed the interefts of William. And indeed the bigotry and cruelty of the papifts upon that occafion were fufficient to excite the tameft into oppofition. The proteftants, by an act of the popish parliament, under king James, were divefted of thofe lands which they had been poffeffed of fince the Irish rebellion. Three thousand of that perfuafion, who had fought fafety by fight, were found guilty of treafon and attainted. Soldiers were permitted to live upon free quarter; the people were plundered, the fhops of tradefmen, and the kitchens of the citizens, were pillaged, to fupply a quantity of brafs, which was converted into co n, and paffed, by royal mandate, for above forty times its real value. Not content with this, he impofed, by his own authority, a tax of twenty thousand pounds a month on perfonal property, and levied it by a commiffion under the great feal; all vacancies in public fchools were fupplied by popifh teachers. The penfion allowed from the exchequer to the univerfity of Dublin was cut off, and that inftitution converted into a popifh feminary. Brigadier Sarsfield commanded all protestants of a certain district to retire to the distance of ten miles from their habitations on pain of death; many perifhed with hunger, ftill more from being forced from their homes, during the fevereft inclemencies of the seafon. But their fufferings were foon to have an end. William at length perceived that his neglect of Ireland had been an error that required more than nfual diligence to redrefs. He was afraid to fend the late king's army to fight against him, and therefore ordered twenty-three new regiments to be raised raifed for that purpose. These with two Dutch battalions, and four of French refugees, together with the Ennifkilleners, were appointed for the reduction of Ireland; and next to king Wil. liam himself, Schomberg was appointed to command. Schomberg was a Dutchman, who had long been a faithful fervant of William, and had now paffed a life of eighty years almoft continually in the field. The method of carrying on the war in Ireland, however, was a mode of operation with which he was entirely unacquainted. The forces he had to combat were incurfive, barbarous, and fhy; thofe he had to command were tumultuary, ungovernable, and brave. He confidered not the dangers which threatened the health of his troops by being confined to one place; and he kept them in a low moift camp, near Dundalk, without firing almoft of any kind; fo that the men fell into fevers and fluxes, and died in great numbers. The enemy were not lefs afflicted with fimilar dif. orders. Both camps remained for fome time in fight of each other and at last the rainy season approaching they both, as if by mutual agreement quitted their camps at the fame time, and retired into winter quarters, without attempting to take the advantage of each other's retreat. The bad fuccefs of the campaign, and the miferable fituation of the proteftants in Ireland, at length induced king William to attempt their relief in perfon, at the opening of the ensuing fping; and accordingly landed at Carrickfergus, where he found himself at the head of an army of fix and thirty thousand effective men, which was more than a match for the forces of James, although they amounted to above ten thoufand more. William A. D. 1690. William having received news that the French fleet was failed for the coaft of England, refolved, by measures of speed and vigour, to prevent the impreffion which that circumftance might make upon the minds of his foldiers; and therefore haftened to advance against James, who he heard had quitted Dublin, and had ftationed his army at Ardee and Dundalk. All the meafures taken by William were dictated by prudence and valour; thofe purfued by his opponents feemed dictated by obftinacy and infatuation. They neglected to harafs him in his difficult march from the North; they neglected to oppofe him at the ftrong pafs at Newry; as he advanced they fell back firft from Dundalk, and then from Ardee; and at laft, upon the twenty-ninth of June, they fixed their camp in a strong ftation, on the other fide of the Boyne. It was upon the oppofite banks of this river that both armies came in fight of each other, inflamed with all the animofities arifing from religion, hatred and revenge. The river Boyne at this place was not fo deep, but that men might wade over on foot; however the banks were rugged, and rendered dangerous by old houfes and ditches, which ferved to defend the latent enemy. William had no fooner arrived, but he rode along the fide of the river, in fight of both armies, to make proper obfervations upon the plan of battle; but in the mean time being perceived by the enemy, a cannon was privately brought out, and planted against him, where he was fitting. The fhot killed feveral of his followers; and he himself was wounded in the shoulder. The news of his being flain was inftantly propagated through the Irish camp, and was even fent off to Paris; but William, as foon as his wound was dreffed, rode through the camp and quickly undeceived his army. Upon |