SPECIAL NEWS FROM IRELAND.  
Newly received in a Letter from a Gentleman of good worth in Dublin to a Friend in LONDON.  
Showing the present condition of that poor Kingdom, and the manner of the late great Victory, which God (most miraculously) hath given to the poor PROTESTANTS there.  
LONDON, Printed for Henry Overton, 1643. The first of March.   

SIR,  
IN my last letter I wrote to you of a Commission that came hither, and brought by one Thomas Bourke a Papist, who was of the House of Commons here, and one of those Committees sent over by the House of Commons here into England, mine time of the Earl of strafford's trial; the substance of which Commission for aught I can hear is no other than that I wrote you word of before, to receive the Demands of the Rebels: the marquis of Ormond, the Earl of Clanrickard, the Earl of Rascommen, my Lord Moor, Sir Thomas Lucas, Sir Maurice Eustace, the Kings Sarjeant, and this Bourke being Commissioners, though this be all in the Commission that I can learn, yet the Papists do much rejoice here, and brag that they shall have their wills and what they please (so foolishly I hope are they abused by their Priests and others who tells them of wonders, when I doubt not, but it will be but ridiculus mus) for sure His Majesty is sensible of the blood of his English Subjects so barbarously spent and spilt by those Rebels here, which by a remonstration given in here unto the State is no less than an hundred forty four thousand in the Province of Ulster, only which by the Rebels have been hanged, killed, drowned, stoned, and now missing there. And if so many in one of the four Provinces, what are there in the other three Provinces? The place appointed by the Commissioners to receive what the Rebels offer, is Troudaish; the time I hear which is appointed is the 23. of this instant: they are to come thither not above thirty, and of them none to be of their Clergy; They have a safe conduct sent them unto Kilkenny, and are to have a Convoy for to secure them in their passage if they doubt any thing. What will be the issue of it time will show, but you must not look for such constant Intelligences as heretofore; for 'tis reported here, that Captain Bartlet who commanded the Pinnace, and served the State upon these Coasts, and to run between Chester and Dublin, have delivered his Ordnance out of his ship, being sixteen in number, to fortify Westchester, and have moored up his ship there as 'tis given out, and for his excuse doth say, he hath done it by the command of those who have power to do it.  
For our estate here it is much after the old manner, we cannot stir out of Dublin but the poor English are swept up, if they go not out strongly. On Monday was a seven night at noon day, an hundred and forty of the Calves which the poor English that dwelled in Dublin had, were swept all away by the Rebels from the Green of Dublin, and Oxmanton Greene, and carried clean away without resistance, which will add to our scarcity, it being too much already, and which if we be not soon relieved. I fear we must abandon this Kingdom for want of victuals; and whither we poor few that are left should go to beg, if England be not quiet, we do not know only our eyes wait upon that great providence which yet hath been wonderful towards us in goodness.  
On Friday was seventh night Sir Francis Willoughby went with 1500. Foot, and three Troops of Horse to Mennooth, where the Rebels were in great multitudes; but upon his approach they fired the town, and some of them betook themselves to the Castle, where they endured about ninety great shot from our Ordnance, and then in the night stole all away. Such ill luck hath Sir Francis still, that the Rebels slip away from him when he should come to execution: and for the present there is a garrison of two hundred men put into it, whether they shall continue there, or how long we know not, but the rest of the soldiers are come home.  
I wrote to you also in my last of a Convoy of a thousand foot and about two hundred horse, sent to Athlowe in Connaught, from hence with Ammonition and provisions for relief of the Soldiers there, amongst which were some clothes for the Soldiers, what the state here could spare, and that very hardly, they went safely thither, but in their coming back about two miles of this side of Mullingare, in Westmeath, at a place called Rawnnell, their way was through a pass or causeway over a bog, the bog being on both sides the causeway, which the Rebels had purposely so cut and spoiled, that neither horse nor foot could possibly pass over it: and at the hither end towards Dublin the Rebels had made works and trenches to lie in, to cut off our men in their return; In those trenches and that side, they had (as the certainest reports are of them that were there) 2500. men, and on a hill a little from the bog, a thousand men more, and in another place 700. more, and the countries' thereabouts rising and making towards them, their Generalissimo Preston had sent his eldest son, who was a Colonel amongst them, with many of his best men unto that place to their help. Our men seeing the strait that they were in, and having no other way to pass but that way through the bog, sent Sergeant Major Morris a young man, who sometimes was the late Earl of strafford's Page, with the forlorn Hope to try the bog, he commanded his man to lead his horse after him: and finding that the bottom of the bog was gravelly, though they went up to the ankles, and sometimes to the knees, yet resolvedly he went on and got over, and then called to our horse to follow, which they did with what speed they could: and so soon as some few of them were got over they were charged by one Captain Bryan (whom I formerly wrote to you ran away from us, he being then Cornet to Sir Thomas Lucas, and whose plot was to have carried with him two or three troops of our horse, (they were received bravely by our men, though but newly got out of the mire) and though Bryan gave them three charges with great courage and fierceness, yet his men could not endure the face of our horse, but presently fled and ran away. When Bryan was slain, and his head carried to Droggedah, our foot likewise waded through the bog with great courage, and were no sooner got through, but they charged the Rebels in their very trenches, and with such fury and resolution, that they came up to the very loopholes where they put out the nuzzels of their Muskets, and so courageously beat them out of their trenches, and made them to betake them to their heels, and they followed the chase about 6. miles. How many of the Rebels were killed is uncertain, for none can tell that were there but by guess: some think 400. at least, and many of good note, and their best men, amongst whom was Adam Cusacke, one of our great speakers in our Parliament. There were taken Colonel Preston, the General Prestons' eldest son, who is now in the Castle of Dublin; and as some of them that were there say, and I hear it confirmed by Sir John Sherlock, that Betangh of Menaltagh his eldest son, and Garret Otylemer the Lawyer, his eldest son, which two, they say, they left at Trim, with some others of their best men. There were eleven of their Colours taken, some say sixteen, but I saw but ten brought into Dublin, if I mistook not in the telling them as they were brought.  
This we account as great a Victory, as that of Killrush, considering all the difficulties that were therein, and the advantages that the enemy had of us, and we must not, nor ought we to ascribe it to any policy or strength of ours, but to the immediate hand of our good God, who as in our former fights, so in this, shown his own power and mercy to us, and even miraculously preserved us, and gave us this victory. There were but four or five of our men killed in all this fight, and some twenty hurt, but not mortally, that I can hear of Sir Richard Grenvile commanded the Horse in chief, and Sir John Sherlock the Foot, Sir Michael Ernely was there also with them, who is accounted amongst our Soldiers as brave a Commander, as we have any, and Sir Charles Coote, Sir Edmund Povey, and the Lord Precedent of Connaught, who are all come to Dublin, but Sir Michael Earnely, who fell sick at Trim by the way, where he is. This battle was fought yesterday seven-night, and the News came to us on thursday, and our Soldiers came home on Saturday last.  
The beginning of the last Summer, there were sent into Connaught, with Sir Michael Earnly, and other Commanders, two thousand men, which came to us from Chester; of these there came up with our Convoy now from Athlew, only six hundred men, and in that distressed miserable case, that it would pity any man's heart, that had but one dram of mercy in him to see them; they are almost starved, and some now die coming to get a little fullness of meat, and I fear many of them will follow that way. So ragged and naked are they for want of , as I never saw Soldiers in all my days: and some of them died by the way, not being able to travail up, and almost all of the rest of the two thousand that went down, besides these six hundred, are dead in Connaught, of mere hunger and sickness, as the Soldiers say; For they do report that few or none were killed by the enemy.  
As I said before, our wants here increase very much, and if we have not supplies speedily sent us out of England, what we shall do, or which way to turn us, or whither to go, we know not, and if we have no help from you, we cannot continue long; for if we wanted nothing but victuals, that were enough to destroy us all.  
They are preparing here to send out about two thousand men, horse and foot, this next week, but whither they shall go, is kept secret; it was a motion made by my Lord Lisle, which we think came originally from Colonel Monk; both which, as we hear, are to go in the service: they carry Battering Pieces with them, and Quernes for grinding of Corn, and if God bless them, we think they will not hastily return; for in truth, we have no victuals for them. And thus with my kindest respects to you, I rest  
Your loving Friend, J. D. Dublin 15. Feb. 1642.  
FINIS.