HOLBORN. tttttttttttttl-tttttttttttt TO Clas, GOOD CONDUCT AND REGULAR * ATTENDANCE. 1IKNRY Bl.UT, Rector. D E R R Y B ZTale of tbe "Revolution ot 1688. BY CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH LONDON : JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET. Stack Annex PR PKEFACE. AN impression seems to prevail in some quarters that the work which has now, by the blessing of God, reached the Sixth Edition, is a mere fiction ; or at least that th& facts relating to the defence of Derry have been greatly exaggerated, under the influence of imagination or of party spirit. This is an erroneous supposition : charac- ters have certainly been introduced, and domestic scenes described, for the purpose of bringing forward the object of all earthly things most dear to the author's heart that of affording instruction, in their own tongue, to the Irish-speaking aborigines of the land ; and also of real- ising more vividly the sufferings to which individuals were exposed during the period of their wonderful defence of the Protestant fortress ; but in every par- ticular where public events are noticed, she has been most scrupulously exact in following the historical records of those days, and now, after having for the first time actually visited the spot, inspected its numerous monuments of the siege, and collected every species of information that could be obtained, she finds but one misstatement to correct throughout the narrative. This consisted in an erroneous representation of the conduct of the Presbyterian leaders, into which she was led by IV PREFACE. the remarks of another writer : in this edition it is omitted. Familiarised as the author had long been with all the recorded particulars of that momentous struggle which forms the main subject of the following pages, she was overwhelmed with wonder when the first view of the maiden city broke upon her from that direction whence Lord Antrim's forces approached to meet the unexpected repulse of the gallant apprentices. Abruptly rising from within a bend of the beautiful Foyle, terminating, as it seemed, in a point, and that narrow summit crowned with a single church, Derry, the Derry of 1688, appeared, girt with the dark zone of her impreg- nable old walls, and occupying a space so limited, that when by an effort of imagination the numerous addi- tions of more modern date were swept away, and their places supplied by the lines and batteries of an invest- ing army, it did really seem like a vision of wild romance, rather than a simple fact of history, that the defenders of such a narrow fortress should have held their besiegers at bay during eight months of unsuc- coured distress, and finally have driven them from the scene of their unparalleled discomfiture. But when passing through the Ship Quay Gate, the visitor found herself actually within the boundary where no Papal foe was ever permitted to set up his banner when, with a swelling heart, she paced the still un- broken round of those glorious ramparts, and from the cathedral's tower took it at once the whole compass of the scene, wonder an:l admiration rose into awe; for never in the varied history of the Church's deliverances was the finger of Omnipotence more clearly revealed than in the preservation of this diminutive casket, PREFACE. V where the Lord had enshrined the jewel of true Pro- testantism, and by the word of His power had declared that no spoiler should rend it thence. He alone, who, for the promotion of His own glory, and to abase the pride of man, hath usually chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong, could have given the victory to the enfeebled handful who remained, after a protracted period of inconceivable suffering, to maintain that post, of which the limited space, and more limited supplies, were less remarkable than its helplessly ex- posed situation, commanded by surrounding hills, the broad outstretch of which afforded such favourable positions to the assailants, that every battery they chose to mount could tell with certain effect on the city. In tracing the occupation of the ground by the French and Irish army, and glancing down upon the straitened space within the walls, computing the density of an imprisoned population, and the inevitable effects of an incessant bombardment upon the dwelling-houses, the streets, the walls, the inhabitants, there was but one conclusion to which the mind could satisfactorily come, " This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." Memorable and honourable as the defence of 1688-9 has rendered the name of Derry, it is far from consti- tuting her sole claim to distinction. Many circum- stances of much earlier date distinguish her among the interesting spots of a most interesting country. The extreme beauty of the situation, added to its peculiar value as a seaport, seem to have recommended it from the earliest times as a desirable post. The name by which it was first known was Derry- Calgach, literally signifying the "oak-wood of the fierce warrior." In vi PREFACE. former days, the slopes that on all sides bend down to the Foyle were covered with noble oaks ; and upon its conical hill, no doubt, some powerful chieftain fixed his abode, bidding defiance alike to the rival clans around, and to the hostile invader who might, in rude shipping, approach him from the neighbouring coasts of Scotland or England to the fierce Norwegian or the restless Dane ; or whosoever might attempt to violate the sanc- tuary of his own green Isle. In the sixth century the celebrated Colurabkill, who was a native of Donegal, chose this tempting site for the erection of a monastery not a covert for the lazy monks of Rome, for at that period the Papal antichrist had not stretched his arro- gant pretensions even to the shores of England, and long, very long after England became a vassal of the Eomish despot, Ireland maintained the independence of her pure Christian Church. Columbkill's monastery was a house of prayer, and of devotional retirement for men whose zeal in the study and propagation of Divine truth was tainted neither by a pharisaical spirit of separation from their fellow-men, nor by unscriptural restraint from the privileges and enjoyments of domestic life. After a while the warlike distinction of Calgach gave place to a memorial of the mild Christian patriot, and Derry- Columbkill became the recognised title of the oak-girt city. It was not until so late as 1566 that the garrison of Deny passed into the hands of the English ; up to that period, the native race had held possession, defeating all who, at various times, attempted to dislodge them. In 1600, during the commotions excited by that extra- ordinary person Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Queen Elizabeth despatched Sir Henry Docwra, with a powerful body of PKEKAGK. Vii men, who landed from the Foyle, and having cleared away the ruins of Columbian's institutions, then long desecrated by the idolatrous inventions of Popery, and which had been nearly destroyed by an explosion in 1568, they commenced the work of regular fortification, by digging a fosse, throwing up a rampart, and by every means in their power placing the town on the defensive. Thus the very first foundation of the walls of Derry was the work of Protestant hands ; and the materials em- ployed were gathered from the wrecks of what had been originally dedicated to the pure worship of God, thence passed into the polluting grasp of Romish superstition, and now, having undergone a decomposing process by way of purifying them, they were recomposed into a substance destined to be the groundwork of the firmest earthly bulwark that Protestantism ever intrenched itself within. So many and so various are the points of interest that Derry offers to our contemplation. When the terrible rebellion of 1641 broke out, and Ireland was reddened with the blood of many thousand Protestants, principally the victims of a massacre such as the Romish Apostasy usually enjoins and practises for the purgation of her domains from heretical taint, the possession of Derry formed an object of great import- ance to the rebels, who purposed taking it by surprise ; but the vigilance of its inhabitants defeated this plan ; and, by the Divine blessing on their determined resist- ance, its garrison succeeded in holding uninterrupted possession of their post, destined to become the scene of a far more extraordinary defence and deliverance at the distance of less than half a century from that time. Protestantism being the polar star of the Derry men, their submission to earthly rulers seems to have been Till PREFACE. always yielded under the limitation which is now, hap- pily, the safeguard of the British sceptre. Their allegi- ance always bore the saving clause, " being a Protes- tant ; " so that, when nearly the whole of the north, disgusted by the regicidal acts of the Parliamentarians, declared against Cromwell, Derry, in 1649, stood another close investment, and a severe siege of four months, rather than recognise an authority that, however legiti- mate, was regarded as dangerous to the interests of Pro- testantism. On this occasion, Owen Roe O'Neil relieved the garrison when reduced nearly to the last extremity ; and for their unshaken fidelity to the cause, the citizens received a renewal of their charter, granted by Jamea I., and cancelled by his unhappy son Charles, but now restored with additional privileges by Cromwell. In 1687, James II., then in the full career of his persecuting tyranny in Dublin, brought a quo warranto against the corporation, and thus again wrested their charter away. But the following year proved fatal to the hopes of that monarch ; and its closing month introduced the eventful transactions of which the ensuing pages furnish a feeble, but, as far as it goes, a correct memorial. Of incidents pregnant with most thrilling interest, enough might easily be supplied to fill an additional volume ; but the Author's principal anxiety has been to show how the spirit of pure Protestantism may best work for the good of those much-injured claimants on our Christian sympathy and zeal, the native race of Ireland. Influenced as they now unhappily are to per- petrate anew the worst outrages of former times, when Popery enjoyed the ascendant among them, a display of physical force, and of moral determination, appears requisite to restrain them from accomplishing the will PREFACE. IX of their wily and remorseless instigators, the men who, themselves wrapped in mysterious retirement, work the vast machinery of Popish aggression and aggrandise- ment throughout the world. The miserable sworn assassin, who, without being able, or even desirous, to make out a case of personal wrong, or the slightest ground of individual hatred against his victim, stealthily tracks his path, and stoops behind the hedge for a deli- berate aim at the unconscious prey that wretched peasant is influenced as a puppet by its wire, and his every motion impelled by the unseen chain of which the last link encloses him, body, soul, and spirit, while the first is firmly grasped in the practised hand of the man of sin, enthroned on the seven hills of Rome. An incalculable accession of strength and ductility has accrued to this infernal engine of despotic cruelty by the various sins of ignorance and of presumption that England has committed, both against Ireland and against herself, in fostering the accursed thing that God commands His people to cast out from among them. These sins have already found us out, and Protestantism among ourselves is even now struggling in the net of chains that could never have been cast over us but for our own wanton connivance at the evil. In Ireland that net is more perfectly wrought, and far more closely drawn, but, blessed be God! the struggle there is so vigorous, so persevering, so believing, that a good hope is inspired of seeing the links broken, and the captives set free. Protestantism there exists in a wider exten- sion than is generally dreamed of; the struggle adverted to is carried on under the roof of many a cabin, in the half-enlightened mind of many a poor devotee, whose hand falters with secret misgivings, while telling out X PKEFACE. the idolatrous ave on the string of beads : it struggles in the confessional, as a ray of unsought light breaks in, revealing the spiritual darkness that shrouds the unholy tribunal : it struggles on the steps of the vain altar, where reason itself must fall prostrate before a palpable lie, and the mind suffer degradation, while the soul incurs pollution, and the lip utters blasphemy. It struggles, too, in the bosoms of some who are them- selves important links in the fetter that holds their unhappy dupes, and who, when led to open the Word of God, and finding the path of life set forth so plainly in its pages, that wayfaring men, though fools, need not err therein, remember their fearful oath, binding them to receive and to understand the Scriptures only as their Apostate Church professes to receive and to under- stand them ; and thus are reduced to the alternative of direct perjury, or of consciously turning the truth of God into a lie. To aid the struggling Protestantism of these awakened souls, to disperse more widely the light that alone can break on the slumbers of their still sleeping brethren, and thus to fling the iron net from off their beloved country, is the object for the attainment of which the Protestants of Ireland struggle too, under difficulties and in the midst of perils scarcely to be conceived by those who have not enjoyed the rich, yet melancholy privilege of beholding their patience and faith in the very scene of trial. Yet enough may be gathered from what passes under our observation at home, to convince us that it becomes our bounden duty to assist in the work ; and nothing will so effectually promote it as a right understanding of the means whereby a hold may be acquired on the affections, and an influence exerted PKKJ-ACE. ' XI over the minds, of the lower classes in Ireland. In this humble volume, the subject has never been lost sight of; and the Author sends forth a sixth impression with feelings of unspeakable gladness, while computing to how many thousands of individuals the plea must have found its way by the dispersion of the former five edi- tions. On one occasion, the volume was placed in the hands of an aged Christian Englishwoman, who, on perus- ing it, immediately added to her will a bequest of one hundred pounds to the Irish Society, Avhose peculiar work it is to instruct the native race through the medium of their own language. Such instances are very cheering to the Author ; she desires and anticipates a blessing on this edition also ; and she strongly protests against having her book classed with works of fiction, or con- sidered as amusement for an idle hour. The sufferings here recorded of the Protestant de- fenders of Deny, and the other victims of Popish cruelty, ought to speak to us all in the voice of solemn admoni- tion. Are we so well grounded in the faith for which they endured them, as to maintain it at as costly a price, if called on so to do ? Are we convinced by the Spirit of God that Popery is indeed what His Word represents it to be, the " mother of harlots and abominations of the earth " ? Do we comprehend the soul-destroying nature of her delusions, their inevitable consequences, ami the awful condemnation denounced on such as perish in the guilt of trusting to them? Are we fully aware that Popery rejects Christ as a Prophet, degrades Him as Priest, and dethrones Him as King? Have we considered the device in its true character, as a mystery of iniquity, whereby Satan has instructed men to estab- lish a political system for gain and authority, by means Xll PREFACE. of a religious deception; making merchandise of the souls of their brethren, that they may rule despotically over their bodies, and grasp their worldly possessions ? If not, we have been exceedingly remiss in not inquir- ing into the grounds of our own faith, which our fore- fathers held amid the flames of martyrdom rather than concede a particle of it to Romish demands. If we do know this, how dear to our hearts should be the memory of the Lord's mighty works in delivering these lands from the fearful scourge, our fathers from the yoke, and ourselves, hitherto, from the peril ! It was by no slight effort on the part of those who contended against it that the rescue was effected ; nor ought we to regard in the light of a mere exciting tale the history of their deeds and their endurance. As respects the struggle in Derry, whether we view the nature, the extent, or the continuance of what its defenders went through, the reality is so overpowering as scarcely to leave room for the wildest fancy to pre- sent an exaggerated picture of the scene. In the first place, the town is so small, taken in connection with the multitude who had found a refuge there, that it is almost inconceivable how they could be lodged ; yet the documents whence these particulars are taken are official reports, civil and military, now before the writer, and bearing the date of 1689, the year in which they were printed. From these it appears that the garrison amounted, at the commencement of the bombardment, to 7343, and the whole population to above 30,000. The space within which these were confined is nearly an oval, surrounded by the walls : less than 2000 feet is its extreme length, and its utmost width is less than 600. A street, perfectly straight and of remarkable PREFACE. xih steepness, runs through it from Ship Quay to Bishop's Gate. Another cuts it across, on the top of the ascent, from Butcher's to Ferry Gate. Their intersection forms the Diamond, in the centre of which stood the court- house, used as a guard-house during the siege. The space between the houses and rampart forms another street, running nearly round the city, and besides these there were not above five small intersections in the place. The Cathedral, with its graveyard, the small burial-ground, and the Bishop's palace and garden, as well as the Diamond, took up a great deal of room ; so that the inhabitants were crowded into the narrowest bounds we can suppose capable of containing them. Now, to show on indisputable authority one consequence of this dreadful confinement, the following extract, gathered from the parish registry, may suffice : " There were but two places of burial within the walls that round the Cathedral, and a small space not far from it, on which the present chapel-of-ease was afterwards built. Nine thousand corpses were interred within the walls between the 18th of April and the 1st of August, in these receptacles for the dead ; being filled to overflowing, there was a want of earth or other material to cover the putrefying bodies, and the shells aimed at the living frequently fell among the dead, and made hideous exhumations of lately buried bodies. In this sad state, the practice of burial in the back-yarda became unavoidable." After the relief, the naked bodies in the churchyards were covered over with rubbish gathered from the ruins of the Town Hall and other buildings destroyed by the shells : those buried in the back-yards of the various houses were allowed to remain there ; and it was found necessary to issue very severe Xiv PREFACE. prohibitions, enforced by strict vigilance, to discontinue the interment of such as died soon after the relief beside their slaughtered friends so strong was the desire to enjoy a share in the graves of those who had so long shared in their sufferings ! Surely there is little danger of exaggeration when treating of such a subject as this. Language cannot convey an adequate idea of what must have been en- dured by these martyrs to Protestantism, nor can the mind grasp a scene of such accumulated horrors as must have glared out on every side to sicken the hearts of the fainting multitudes for many weeks previous to their deliverance. It is painful to remark, too, that the re- compense of their constancy was, so far as it rested with man to bestow it, a tissue of ingratitude and wrong. Kirke, the unfeeling general, who in point of cruelty of disposition might almost have rivalled De Rosen, as- sumed the command of the town, and exhibited such a want of common justice in his proceedings towards the dauntless little garrison and their heroic commanders, as ought to have drawn down upon him severe punish- ment from the Protestant King. But William was only a political Protestant : of the life-giving influence that alone produces spiritual Protestantism he appears to have been destitute ; and those among the defenders of Derry who had wrought and suffered for Christ's sake and the gospel, had their reward in seeing the religion of Christ firmly re-established through their means, and the gospel secured to their children beyond the grasp of Popish violence that would fain have wrested it away. Weak, imperfect, wholly unworthy of the subject as is the ensuing attempt at recording the main incidents of the Siege of Derry, the Author uufeignedly rejoices. PREFACE. that it was her privilege to make it. Those who read it must needs know something of the deeds and suffer- ings of former generations, a more intimate acquaint- ance with which would have checked the growth of that false and mischievous liberalism which is eating out the very heart of Protestant principle. These pages but faintly delineate Popery as it was in Ireland : and what Popery was, in its days of rampant domination, THAT POPERY is, AND EVER WILL BE. Many who doubted this ten years ago, and who, acting upon that doubt, forbore to grapple with their country's destroyer when striving to obtain a footing in the Legislature, now mourn in the bitterness of their souls such a faithless dereliction of duty, and deplore too late the blindness of that hour. Somewhat yet remains to contend for ; all is not utterly lost though our high vantage-ground is abandoned, and the exulting enemy pours through a breach that they could never have effected, had we, with the spirit of our forefathers, manned the walls of our citadel. Oh that there may be among us a heart to rally round and throw ourselves upon that breach, to resist the encroaching tide, to set up a banner in the name of the Lord, and, remembering that with Him there is no restraint to save by many or by few, to experience yet once more His delivering mercy, and in His almighty strength to trample the great masterpiece of satanic ingenuity under our feet 1 The Cathedral of Derry is identically the same as that of 1688, having the more recent additions of a spire, and small pinnacles topping the round towers at the Xvi PREFACE. eastern extremity, with a cross and other ornaments in the centre. The roof was formerly quite flat, affording room for a battery, though two guns were all the besieged had to spare for it. The high mound rising against this front bears witness to the vast number of bodies there interred. To the left is seen a small por- tion of the external wall that encircles the town, with one of its ancient watch-towers ; the inner wall, sur- mounted by an iron railing, separates the rampart from the graveyard. From the steeple at the base of the spire, where the beacon blazed and the red flag waved as a signal of distress to the loitering ships, a view is commanded which in beauty and magnificence can scarcely be equalled. May 1839. CHAPTER I. " To exchange such a spot as this for the smoke, the and publicity of a town how shall I prevail on them ?* Such was the mental inquiry of Bryan M'Alister, a? he slowly wound along through one of the most romantic defiles of the ancient Tyrconnel. November blasts had stripped the foliage from many a towering tree and luxu- riant shrub, tarnishing the emerald hue of Erin's sod, and imparting to that majestic scenery a character as sternly wild as were the spirits of those times. Yet beautiful, surpassingly beautiful, in despite of cloud and storm, the giant hills arose, the valleys crouched beneath their sheltering bulwarks, and the broad lake expanded, or the narrow streamlet rippled on, diversifying, by its liquid splendour, the ever-changeful prospect. Home itself, that centre of all attractions to young Bryan's affectionate heart, could not by its nearness win him to quicken his pace. He suffered the rein to hang loosely on his horse's neck, and gazed around him with the sad forebodings of A 2 BERRY. one who anticipates a long farewell to a spot endeared by every tender recollection of infancy and youth. The abode towards which he was so leisurely advancing, lay buried in deep seclusion, considerably removed from the highway. The approach was a perfect labyrinth, scarcely deserving the name of a road, or even of a path ; but Bryan's steed required no guidance to the well- known spot. Emerging from the covert under which an ascent, and then a descent had been pursued, he now came full in view of the simple but substantial- cotta.ge that sheltered all his earthly treasures; and his near approach was presently discovered by its delighted in- mates. A sturdy house-dog was the first to greet him with the warning bark of defiance, instantaneously changed into the yelpings of joy, as he bounded forward to spring against the saddle. Two blooming girls next rushed from the door ; and after them hastened a white haired retainer of that noble, but no longer affluent house, whose fallen fortunes it was his pride to follow. A bare-headed gossoon seized the bridle with one hand, while the other plucked at his matted locks by way of obeisance ; old Shane laid hold on the stirrup ; and the impatient sisters seemed disposed to drag their prize from his seat before he could well dismount. Bryan had a kiss, and a smile, and a tear, too, for each, with many a kind word to old Shane, as he hobbled after the youthful aio, to the presence of two more expectants ; a smiling mother and a grandame, whose feelings were too deep to find vent in many words, as she embraced and blessed the sole representative of her slaughtered line. But why attempt to describe the most indescribable of all things an Irish welcome, bestowed on one around DERRY. 3 whom a cluster of Irish hearts entwined their fondest affections ? Amid the interesting group now assembled, a stranger's eye would have involuntarily rested on the form and features of the venerable parent. Both were strikingly noble, nor had the pressure of near threescore years and ten diminished the sparkling intelligence of the face, or bowed perceptibly the stately figure of the old lady. Highly intellectual, and marked with decision of charac- ter, her countenance yet bespoke a meek benevolence which endeared what had otherwise been too commanding to inspire affection ; and there were traits of long and patient endurance, sufficient to shew that a cross had indeed been borne by her, whose whole deportment told a tale of pious resignation. She was a daughter of the princely race of O'Neill, brought in childhood, by a chain of providential circum- stances, under the influence of truly Christian advisers. Thus her mind became early and deeply imbued with doubts and apprehensions as to the soundness of her hereditary religion. Pursuing in secret the inquiry, she had made a tacit renunciation of its errors, convinced by the mere force of reason and such arguments as came within her reach. At an early age she had become attached to Colonel M'Alister, a Protestant of rank and influence, whom she married, much to the chagrin of her own bigoted kindred, and resided with his family until the dreadful massacre of 1641 cut off many of them, and sent most of the survivors broken-hearted to an untimely grave. Through many calamities and bitter reverses of for- tune, she had been brought to such a thorough self- 4 DEURY. acquaintance as laid her low at the foot of the Redeemer's cross, and rendered her a meet guide for the children ot her only son, who, with their widowed mother, dwelt in this secluded nook of their native Donegal, subsisting on the wreck of a fortune once most abundant. Letitia and Helen, the latter of whom was scarcely past the age of childhood, furnished sufficient employment for those whom they fondly designated their two mothers; but Shane distinguished the younger widow as "the mis- tress," and the elder as "the lady of M'Alister," by which title she was generally known and spoken of throughout the narrow circle of their rustic acquaint^ ance. Shane O'Connogher was a genuine Irishman from the western province, bred to arms from his infancy, and most devotedly attached to the master, whose steps he had faithfully followed. The same partial affection that led him, as a young lad, to separate from the Romish communion, and to embrace nominally the faith of his benefactor, inspired him with unspeakable horror and detestation of all belonging to that party by whom the cruel murder was perpetrated. Shane was, in truth, a devotee to his political creed ; and in universal, indis- criminate hatred of all who differed from him, he could not be outdone by any partisan of any cause whatsoever. His ardent fidelity was so appreciated by all the wrecks wf M'Alister's house, that it secured to him immunities and privileges, approaching rather to the station of a friend than that of a domestic. Shane had never relinquished the use of his vernacular tongue ; loquacious at most times, his eloquence never flowed so freely or so rapidly, as when his thoughts found DERRY. 5 vent in his native Irish; and his frequent soliloquies in that language proved a source of so much vexation to the children, by exciting their curiosity, that they gladly be- came his pupils, and acquired some little knowledge of a tongue too generally as much despised among the higher classes, as it is beloved and cherished by their more humble compatriots. Of all created beings the Lady of M'Alister possessed the largest portion of Shane's reverential regard : but he failed not to protest against her views and proceedings on some occasions : particularly in what related to her sou and grandson, neither of whom she would allow to follow the profession of her husband. The former had suffered so much from the perils and privations to which his help- less infancy was exposed, that he never acquired strength of constitution ; he had lived in retirement, and died of lingering decline soon after the birth of Ellen. Shane admitted that he was not formed for military life ; but could by no means pardon the wrong done to the Protes- tant cause, by restraining Bryan from following what was certainly the early bent of his inclinations for Bryan was truly Irish, after Shane's own fancy; manly in person, robust in constitution, warm in his affections, and buoyant in spirits as the bubble that danced upon the water. Hi laughing eye was sunshine to the old man's heart ; and Shane had observation sufficient to discern the deep, firm energy of character which had as yet been but partially called forth : a steadiness of purpose and unflinching reso- lution, joined to great personal courage. The sweetness of a placid temper, rendered yet more even by the subduing influences of Divine grace, restrained the exhibition of these more vigorous traits ; but Shane delighted to trace 6 PrfRRY. them, and loudly bewailed the successful appeals which had won on the youth's affectionate heart to concur in the wishes of his " two mothers," and to become the appren- ticed assistant of a respectable merchant in Deny. " Ahone ! " sighed, or rather groaned the old man, when he heard that the indentures were made out, " Isn't it a big shame to plant the last of the M'Alister'a behind a counter, out of the way of all the honour and glory in life?" " Be easy, Shane dear ; those things are not confined to any profession. A faithful discharge of duty is the right road to them everywhere." " Murder ! Master Bryan avourneen : is it yourself that has the face to say so ? You 'd get 'em as a soldier, or may- be as a sailor ; but musha ! who ever heard of the honour and glory of a TEENTICE BOY ? " and he turned away in high disdain. As a 'Prentice Boy, however, the last of the M'Alisters was well satisfied to commence his modest career. The seed of Divine truth had not been vainly scattered by pious hands during his early days ; it had taken deep root, it had visibly sprung up, and gave promise of a plenteous harvest. Those very traits in Bryan's character which rendered him the delight of his companions, were to him- self a source of watchful solicitude ; and he bowed in secret thankfulness to the wisdom which marked out for him a path where such fiery qualities stood in less apparent peril of being fanned into a flame. He had acquired that great lesson the root of all humility self-knowledge; and his acquaintance with the doctrines of the gospel waa not merely theoretical : it was experimental, it was practical, and wrought in him a growing conformity to DERBY. 7 the Author and Finisher of his faith. He felt that much, very much, was yet wanting to purify the silver : and he patiently awaited the operation of whatsoever furnace it might please the Great Refiner to prepare for the trial of that precious metal. Bryan had now been settled for two years with his master ; and his steady application to business had won many kind approvals, with frequent permission to visit the cottagers in the glen. To them his approach was ever as the returning spring after the clouds of winter; so dearly, so exclusively, was he beloved in that retired nook. The object of his present excursion, however, was one of more serious import than any that had preceded it ; and he lost no time in making known to the wondering little circle that surrounded the evening fire, his wish to accom- plish their removal to the town, of Derry. His grandmother shook her head, and his mother de- clared it to be impossible. " Nay, but let us hear his reasons," said Letitia, " for Bryan is not apt to counsel foolishly." " They must be powerful reasons, my child, that would tempt me from this quiet retreat, to place you amid the turbulent scenes of a city, a seaport, and a garrison town." " Dear mother," said the youth, "the dangers that you would encounter are trifling, compared with those from which you must flee. A storm is even now gathering around; and its first thunders are already rolling in deep menaces of unequivocal import. Every nook in these valleys will be explored in quest of plunder and revenge. Think you that a family so marked as ours for sufferings in the cause of truth, will escape the deadliest visitations of their hatred ? " ft DERRT. "Our family lies buried in obscurity; its name over- looked, and its history forgotten." " Never trust to that, mother. Many a hand would yet be raised to point out the poor remains of M'Alister ; and many a blade would thirst to quench its brightness in their heretic blood." " Don't speak so, brother," said his younger sister, im- ploringly. " I speak as I feel, my poor Ellen : and even were it otherwise, the straggling foragers would doubtless discover your abode. What defence would be found for such a helpless household of females ? " " The defence of the Most High, young man, is as potent in the glens of Tyrconnel, as behind the fortresses of Derry," said the old lady. Bryan smiled as he bent towards her, and replied, " Must I read back to my dear grandmother the lessons, by means of which she coaxed the hereditary weapon from my hand, and nailed me to an ignoble occupation, because I should not tempt the Lord, nor hazard the last hope of an expiring line 1 " He then more fully declared the alarming indications that had of late been given, of some hostile design on the part of those who held the great mass of the people in spiritual bondage the Romish Priesthood, whose language had assumed a character of open defiance too general and too daring to be over- looked. " Shane was telling us strange things about it," re- marked Letitia, " but my grandmother checked him." " I did so, my child, because his misjudging zeal is apt to lead him into error ; while his prejudices operate to the disadvantage of every one connected with the hostile DERBY. 9 At Bryan's earnest request Shane was now summoned ; and he, delighted to find the restraint taken off, gave full vent to a large collection of anecdotes and inferences, bear- ing on the subject under debate ; of which, if some pro- voked a smile by their extravagant improbability, others were calculated to excite serious alarm. He concluded by advising Bryan to make a short tour through the neigh- bouring valleys, and to judge from the result of his own inquiries. His suggestion was adopted; and it was ascertained beyond dispute that preparations of a most threatening description were on foot, among the more fierce and lawless of the peasantry. Language was uttered from the altar and the pulpit, that could admit of but one interpreta- tion ; and instances were not wanting where the Priest had added to his harangues the encouragement of his personal assistance in collecting, marshalling, and exercising his flock, as for military service.* In corroboration of all this, a letter followed Bryan from Derry, with further intelligence of a similar purport, collected from other quarters ; and the friendly head of his establishment urged an immediate removal of the family to Derry ; proffering the use of a small house in a retired part of the town, where, if obscurity were their object, they might remain almost as much out of the busy world as in their present retreat. These concurrent circumstances satisfied the Lady of M'Alister, that to reject such an interposition would be indeed presumptuous : and, as her decisions gave law to the whole household, immediate preparations were * See " Graham's History of the Siege of Deny," a work to which the Author is greatly indebted for accurate and minute informal tteo. 10 DERHY. engaged in for a hasty removal, which was accomplished without much difficulty. The little mansion allotted to the strangers stood in a retired street, on a low site, well sheltered, and of course sufficiently sombre. The narrow casements in their deep recesses, shewed the thickness of walls that had braved many a stroke from the hand of time, and contrasted pain- fully with the airy character of their late abode, whose windows, gaily festooned with flowering shrubs, invited the broad beam of heaven to brighten the apartments. The young girls found their spirits weighed down by irresistible depression, save when their brother's cheerful smile broke in to dispel the gloom ; and the frequency of his visits did indeed almost reconcile them to the change. Their mother was more perplexed by the absence of the many conveniences which formed the pride of her depart- ment in the forsaken cottage ; while the Lady sat in patient contentment, pursuing her needlework, discoursing with her family, or deeply meditating on the pages of that venerable volume, which, in its black binding with silver clasps, lay evermore within reach of her hand. To one individual the transition was fraught with un mixed delight. Old Shane scarcely found the winter days long enough for the pursuit in which he was constantly engaged the insatiable quest after news. Neither his political animosities, nor his religious bigotry, lacked sym- pathising encouragement from kindred spirits within the walls of Deny ; while the prospect of hostilities, the critical position of public affairs, and the overpowering anxiety with which three kingdoms watched their progress, imparted an unspeakable interest to the most indifferent actions of James Stuart and William of Nassau. The DERBY. 11 latter had very recently effected a landing in England, and every rumoured accession to his standard of title, wealth, and military prowess, formed matter of rapturous exul- tation among the zealous partisans who surrounded Shane O'Connogher. Nor was young Bryan free from enthusiasm of the same cast. The sparkle of his eye, and the glow of his cheek, when bearing such tidings to his family, bespoke it plainly. But the feeling of personal hostility was a stranger to his compassionate bosom, and the life which he counted not dear to him in the cause of that holy faith wherein he stood, would have been as freely sacrificed to win one of its deluded persecutors from the error of his way. The sin, not the sinner, excited his abhorrence ; and while against the creed of Home he avowed the most uncompro- mising, the most unqualified hostility, his heart yearned over the individuals enthralled beneath her merciless sway. To implant in his young mind this important dis- crimination had been the indefatigable endeavour of his pious grandmother, and she had amply succeeded, by leading him to the same sacred fountain from whence she drew her own supplies of knowledge and of grace. Her- self delivered from the net, she had long been habituated to examine minutely its texture ; and regarding it as the mystery of iniquity, the masterpiece of Satanic wisdom, the most subtle and powerful delusion that ever triumphed over reason in the subversion of revealed truth, she mar- velled not at the stubborn adherence of its victims to their blinding errors, but sought by every affectionate and persevering effort to recover them out of the snare. In the fatal year 1641, her husband, his parents, two young sisters, and a whole household of faithful domestics 12 DERUY. Lad fallen fallen within her view, and under circum- stances of aggravated cruelty, while maternal love for the helpless babe that slumbered in her arms, prompting the hope of screening him from those gory knives and pikes, nerved her to remain a concealed and silent spectator of these horrors. Shane O'Connogher, returning from a mission to the neighbouring barony, had providentially escaped falling in with the assassins ; and by him she was borne away from the scene of blood, nearly in a state of insanity. Long, very long, it was ere her lacerated mind could endure the slightest allusion to that hour ; and even then the wildest spirit of vindictive passion that ever raved in the unsubdued bosom of an O'Neill, would impetuously break forth as she looked upon her sickly child, and vowed to train him for the work of vengeance. And well was she qualified by nature for such a preceptorship, the masculine strength and daring of her character having been conspicuous from the cradle. But better things were in store for the bereaved and desolate sufferer : her deep afflictions melted the heart of a pious minister, who had brought into a strange land all the devoted ardour of a Scottish Covenanter. He, too, had his tale of wrongs and domestic anguish to tell ; and having thus engaged her sympathy, he turned to the best and holiest of purposes the advantage gained. Before his white hairs descended to a peaceful grave, the widow of M'Alister was enabled to cheer his dying pillow with those sweet words of gospel promise which had sounded strangely to her ear when first brought under his teach- ing : and the boy, so early dedicated to the work of un- hallowed wrath, was trained, and lived, and died, a meek follower of his compassionate Saviour. DERHY. 13 But strong, indelibly strong, was the impression left by that fearful scene of massacre ; and her mind would ponder and revolve it under every change of character and circumstance. She had beheld those murderers kneel in prayer, before they plunged their weapons into bosoms that pleaded for them with their last throb for the M'Alisters were more than nominally Christians and she had also seen and heard their solemn act of thanksgiving over the mangled bodies. The retrospec- tion led to deep musings on the nature of that delusion under which they acted, and the Lady of M'Alister had achieved the noblest victory that human nature is capable of, in its renewed and sanctified condition ; for her keen- est wrongs now formed an argument wherewith to disarm her own and others' resentment; and she dwelt upou them but as an incentive to redoubled exertions in rescu- ing souls from that Mother of Abominations, so dninken with the blood of the saints, with the life-blood of all that had been most dear to her own agonised bosom. When a blessing had been given to her zealous and patient endeavours for the conversion of some poor ignorant follower of Rome and more than one or two had crowned those efforts she would smile, and say, "Be- hold my triumphant revenge for the slaughter of my house !" It will not be doubted that the progressive advance of James II. towards a re-establishment of Popery, had excited in her mind the most acute and painful interest ; while a just view of what the Scriptures inculcate of sub- mission to constituted authorities, taught her to shrink from the prospect of popular insurrection on the part of the aggrieved Protestants. The act of abdication, there' 14 DERRY. fore, by which the monarch subsequently vacated his throne, she hailed as a most providential interposition : the very name of William of Nassau sounding in her ears a tale of hope and joy. Beneath her calm deport- ment, there lay concealed an anxiety the most intense; and while her thoughts pursued, with eagle glance, the relative position of the contending parties throughout the British Isles, that little spot to which the family had been recently removed, acquired an importance abun- dantly verified by the sequel. She doubted not but that a perilous fermentation pervaded the Scottish clans, and that to secure a northern point of rapid communication between that country and Ireland, such as the port of Derry could supply, would be found essential to the success of James, who had sufficiently shewn that he hoped to recover by force what in a moment of panic he had so hastily relinquished. These views she often communicated to her little family circle, as an incentive to more earnest prayer, since nothing short of Divine power could interpose between the project and its ac- complishment. Bryan was fully convinced that she pre- dicted rightly as to the importance of that post ; and the subject was frequently canvassed among his young com- panions, who entered into its discussion with the vivid feelings of men whose earthly all was involved in the question. Tyrconnel, the unprincipled viceroy of James, had, in his eagerness to swell his master's disposable forces, with- drawn from Derry its accustomed garrison a welcome relief to the minds of the many who dreaded such de- fenders far more than any evils from which they might assist to shield them. Entire subserviency to the views DER115T. 15 of James had rendered these troops a terror to their Protestant fellow-subjects j and now, whilst almost every other place of note was strongly garrisoned by the par- tisans of James, Deny enjoyed the singular privilege of being under the guardianship of her own citizens. Whispers were abroad in the streets that such a privi- lege would not be lightly relinquished ; and looks more eloquent than words gave frequent pledge of mutual fidelity, as from their barrier-walls they gazed upon the winding Foyle, and calculated the strength of their po- sition. But these were ebullitions of youthful spirits, extorting the smile of pity, or provoking the rebuke of prudence, from their more ezperienced companions. 16 DEKB7. CHAPTER II. THE chills of December were now striking their para- lysing influence into every department of the natural world, and its snows began to whiten on the neighbour- ing hills. The Protestants of Deny remained unmo- lested, but conscious that perils were thickening around them : the numerous Roman Catholics within its walls generally wearing an aspect calculated to increase the perturbation, and with trembling solicrtude was the appearance of Bryan M 'A lister hailed whenever he ap- proached the retired dwelling of his kindred. Even old Shane now found a ready audience for his exaggerated reports ; and it was with no slight degree of terror that Letitia and Ellen beheld him break ab- ruptly into their sitting-room, after a short absence, with a countenance full of important information. " What is it, Shane ?" was the anxious inquiry. " Indeed, and it 's bad enough for the like of you to hear,. poor fatherless cratures that ye be ! It's out and out true, the next Sunday, the ninth of this very month, every Protestant soul will be murdered. I 'm just after seeing the letter come in from Enniskillen, where the bi'ave lads are defending the place : and there 's a big army coming up upon us, to be here in no time at all ; and the bloody Papists whetting their knives in open day, all J-K. i DERRY. 17 iver the town. Musha, but we '11 be all slaughtered like flock of sheep !" Before the old man could recover his breath, Bryan entered : his countenance was pale, but an air of fixed etermination pervaded every feature, and seemed to erve his whole frame. With a rapid but silent glance, e scanned the agitated circle, and then rested his in- telligent eyes on his grandmother. " It is true," he said, " what Shane has no doubt com- municated to you. A plan of general massacre is divulged, and the day after to-morrow fixed for its perpetration. Lord Antrim's regiment of Irish and Scotch, alike hostile our faith, is on the advance toward us ; and the fero- cious soldiery are even outnumbered by more furious women and wild young boys, armed with skenes, with pikes, and whatsoever instruments of destruction they can get hold of." Ellen flew to her mother, who with a sigh of silent despair clasped her arms around the shuddering girl. Letitia sunk back on her seat, gazing with bewildered looks from one to another of the party. Bryan remained, his eyes fastened on those of his grandmother, who raised them to heaven, while Shane exclaimed, " The gates, Master Bryan ; ye were talking of that !" " Of the gates 1 " said the old lady, casting an inquir- ing glance at her grandson. " There was a talk among us of closing them," said Bryan, " but the Corporation checked that suggestion ; and yet grandmother where the means are at hand." He was proceeding in a tone of deepening energy, when another young man of the city rushed into the house. " M'Alister," he exclaimed, " why do you loiter ? 18 DERBY. Our lives hang by a wisp of hay. Those white-livered Aldermen are temporising and higgling, ready enough to sacrifice us all as the price of their own proper im- munity." " For shame, Ross," interrupted Bryan ; " you wrong them." " Then let them right themselves, the calculating drones. M'Alister, do you flinch ? You were forward enough just now. Why, man, there are already two companies of infernals arrived at the "Water-side, at- tended by a host of furies, actually drunk with rage, and yelling for blood; while the little butchering ruffians, boys from eight or ten years old, are brandishing their knives, and prepared to take their initiatory lesson in the art of torturing from their more practised com- panions." " Away ! " exclaimed Bryan ; and regardless even of the cries that implored his return, in voices so dear to him, he ran off at full speed with Ross. To describe the state of the city is utterly impossible ; groups of terrified Protestants were seen congregated in the streets, their low whisper and sidelong glance of half-suppressed suspicion, following the steps of every neighbour who held the contrary persuasion. Undis- sembled triumph sat on the features of many friars and priests who, in evident expectation, paraded the town ; while, in strong contrast, an Episcopal or Presbyterian minister, with meek resignation portrayed on his coun- tenance, might be seen encouraging his trembling hearers to a firmer trust in the Most High. Others of the clergy, with official men, merchants, and here and there a military officer, were grouped in close and earnest "WHILE .... A MINISTER MIGHT BE SEEN ENCOURAGING HIS TREMBLING HEARERS." Page 18. DERRT. 19 debate. Rapidly passing by these, the two young men reached that quarter of the city which fronts the Foyle ; and there, on the opposite bank, called the Water-side, Bryan beheld an ample confirmation of his friend's report. At this period, the two officers in command of the assailants were crossing the river in a ferry-boat, for the purpose of demanding admission for their companies ; and these crowding to the water's edge, presented a most appalling spectacle to the devoted inhabitants. Ross had by no means exaggerated the horrors of their aspect. A more formidable body of assailants the imagination could not picture. Wild, fierce, and restless, their very look was a menace ; and the regular troops were mingled with such a motley crowd as gave them the aspect of a promiscuous banditti; while the impatient gestures and shouts of their female followers, accompanied by an immense number of young boys, exactly answering to Ross's description, imparted a character more dreadful than could have attached to a regular army of military besiegers. The object of their cries the intent with which those weapons flashed in the sunbeam was but too little questionable ; and maddening were the thoughts that crowded upon those whose domestic circles were threatened by a visitation so horrible. Our youths found themselves surrounded by a number of lads and young men, apprenticed to the different mer- chants and tradesmen; these eagerly greeted their arrival, and pointed to the opposite side. " It cannot be it shall not be," cried Bryan " By timely resistance we may avoid the effusion of blood. Admit those forces, and our houses will be deluged in the blood of their inmates." 20 DERRY. " To the gates, boys ! " shouted several voices ; and the mob re-echoed the words. The deputy-mayor hastily approached, and demanded that the cry should be silenced. " Never mind him, boys," said Ross, " he 's in the pay of the old Papist. Sheriff Kennedy tells us another story." The courteous reception given to the officers, and the manifest determination of some among the leading men to admit their followers, increased the irritation of the apprentices ; nor was this mitigated when they perceived the foremost of the two companies already in the act of crossing the river, to force admittance. " oS T ow or never ! " was shouted by the agitated lookers-on. Bryan's mind was in a tumult of opposing principles and harassing doubts ; how far they should be justified in resisting what would soon become an overwhelming force, and thus increasing the certainty of slaughter, was a matter of severe perplexity to him. But then the firm conviction that their city was formed to be the earthly bulwark of a righteous cause an assurance that there was no restraint with the Lord to save by many or by few, and the evident fact that butchery would be re- tarded, if not altogether averted, by a measure so purely defensive all wrought with him to obey the impulse of strong natural feeling. One fervent prayer he breathed to the Helper of the oppressed, and then raising his voico to its utmost pitch, cried out, "For our altars and our homes ! To the Guard-house, boys ! Seize the keys ! " and away they started. Some severe stripling took place before the keys DERBY. 21 were wrested from those who had them in charge ; but the rapid approach of the soldiei-s to within three hun- dred yards of the gate, nerved every arm among the youthful band of resolute defenders with supernatural strength. The scuffle was quickly over, the keys were won ; and, with the rapidity of hounds in full chase, the boys rushed to the ferry-gate, the drawbridge of which they instantaneously drew up ; and as the massive gates swang heavily forward, and the coarse key grated harshly upon its wards, it told that the deed was done a deed to which, under the all-directing power of the Most High, may doubtless, in some measure, be traced the blessings that for one hundred and forty years crowned our country. A deed achieved by unarmed boys, baffling the wily counsels of kings, impeding the progress of vic- torious armies, setting at nought the exterminating thunders of vindictive Rome, and proving by what seemingly inefficient means the Lord of hosts wills to accomplish the dictates of Almighty wisdom. At the moment when the ferry-gate was closed, Lord Antrim's myrmidons had approached within sixty yards of its portal. The other city gates were next secured and guarded by the enthusiastic spirit of those who volunteered for the duty. The hand of Bryan had been conspicuously active in assisting to perform all that his voice counselled, and he now led back his exulting com- rades to the market-place : whence, after a vain attempt on the part of the deputy-mayor to induce a reception of the enemy, they again sallied to repel a meditated move- ment, by which their exploit would have been rendered unavailing, and the gates thrown open. Popular feeling was now too strongly excited on their behalf to leave 22 BERRY. any doubt of the general resolution to defend tne city, and the threat of bringing a piece of ordnance to bear on the intruders, sent them in disorder back to their com- panions, leaving the town to the guardian protection of her devoted young apprentices. During the whole of this tumultuous scene old Shane had endeavoured to keep Bryan in his view ; but the tottering limbs of the veteran were unequal to the task. Indeed, the celerity of the young man's movements was such, that to Shane's vision he appeared as a flash of lightning, or rather a succession of flashes, darting along various points of the horizon. However, the powerful tones of his voice, continually rising above others as he shouted forth the words of direction and encouragement, were faithfully echoed by Shane, whose inmost soul re- velled in the luxury of what he connidered the first act of vengeance wrought on the part of an injured family. At length he bethought himself of the terrified and anxious women, to whose abode the uproar must have penetrated ; and he hobbled away from the scene of action, to place before them a glowing picture of Bryan's achievements. " The raal M'Alister ; the true blood of him that was now revenged." It was late at night before the youth could snatch an hour to satisfy his family that he was unhurt. The highest animation played upon his features, and enlivened every gesture, as he explained the events of that memor- able day : and the Lady of M'Alister never sate more erect in native dignity than while she listened to hia accents, and marked the strong traits of a character en- deared by cherished remembrances. Yet a tear fell as the ejaculations of thankfulness for the past, and earnest DEBUT. 20 supplication for the future, ascended from her lips : and the less subdued emotion of the mother and sisters, who hailed in their most endeared relative a deliverer from immediate destruction, sweetened Bryan's hasty meal into luxury. But in the open expression of delight old Shane far outdid all the rest, and frequently extorted a smile by the extravagance of his commendations on the heroes of the day. " What are you dreaming of, Shane ? " asked his young master, archly ; " the honour and glory of an apprentice boy?" " Hush, my child !" said the Lady of M'Alister : "and you, Shane, forbear to take from the Lord the praise which is due to Him alone. The weakness, the inade- quacy of the instruments this day employed, give promise that the work will prove to have been of God ; and if so, it will be a mighty and a perfect work. He who says to the foaming billows, 'Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further : here shall thy proud waves be stayed,' may have blessed our little fortress to be the feeble but suf- ficent barrier against the progress of His Church's foes. Here He may be about to kindle a fire through which they cannot pass ; a fire whose intenseness shall try us, even as silver is tried. We are now pent up, beset by open foes, and in manifest peril of being surrounded by accumulating hosts, not one man of whom can set upon us to hurt us, unless the Lord give the word. Oh, my children ! shall we trust to an arm of flesh, and cast away the shield of the Almighty, by boasting in our owu prowess ? Let us rather turn unto Him, in weeping and supplication, and pray that in these kindling flames -we, may be purified, and made white, and shine for in the 24 DERRY. straitness of this siege, the slain of the Lord shall be many." She then read the first two chapters of Joel, and offered up an impressive prayer. " Grandmother," said Bryan, as he took her hands on rising to depart, " when I ran down to the portal, vrhen I laid hold on the pulleys of the bridge, when I lent my strength to close those heavy gates the sound of whose creaking hinges I never, never shall forget the prayer of David was in my heart and on my lips, ' Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great : and let us not fall into the hand of man ! '" " Peace and blessing be with my dear boy ! " she re- plied ; and the tears of all mingled on his cheek as they bade him a reluctant farewell. " Heaven bless her ladyship ! " muttered Shane, as he secured the door, after wringing his young master's of- fered hand, "the like of her isn't above ground for throwing a wet blanket. And she 's right, too, I 'm en- tirely certain, in respect to the siege : for when the Boys slammed the creaking ould gates in the faces of yon spalpeens, thinks I, it's your heart's blood that'll spout upon 'em yet, jewels of the world ! And Shane O'Con- nogher's old ears will tingle when your merry voices are turned into dying groans, and the roar of big guns be your ullaloo ! " And, overcome with this picture that his fancy drew, he slunk away to his little dormitory. During the night, considerable tumult prevailed iu the city, and with dawning day it arose to a higher swell ; and agitating was the anxiety of the M'Alisters, as they sat in desponding silence, bending many an impatient look on the door. Suddenly the loud report of two cannon, successively DEKRT. 2i discharged from the walls, preceded and followed by most exulting shouts, sent a tremor through every frame. Old Shane, who had reluctantly consented to keep guard over the household, started and threw back his head, as the aged war-horse, who smells the battle afar off. The sisters drew nearer to each other, and gazed with fearful expectation en the opening door. Never had the pro- tecting arms of their brother been so welcome as now, when bursting into the room, every feature irradiate with joy, he embraced them, and exclaimed, "The post has brought us glorious news : not only has the Prince of Denmark declared for William of Nassau, but many a proud name of English rank and influence swells the roll of his adherents. Our own Ormonde has ranged his true men under the banner of Orange ; and the tide of popular feeling runs steadily along, promising victory and peace." Exclamations of delight and thanksgiving followed the welcome communication. " But the guns, brother," said Ellen. " Merely a shot in honour of our delivery ; but I did not stay to witness its effect on the gentry over the water, BO anxious was I to be the bearer of welcome news. And now, have I earned my breakfast ? " " What ! fasting yet, my poor boy ? " said his mother, as she eagerly advanced to her little stores. "That's right, Master Bryan," said Shane, with great emphasis, " eating is the last thing in life that a soldier should think about. But is it you that have been on' guard all night, avourneen?" " Sure, and I have, Shane ; who should keep the gates but the boys that shut them ?" 26 DERBY. " True for ye : and have you mustered the garrison ?** "Ay, and a bare three hundred of fighting men can we number for the defence of our good town." " Say three hundred and one, sir," exclaimed Shane, as he drew himself into an upright position. " Three hundred and one, then : and to arm these we have made free to open the magazine, and have taken out muskets for about half that cnmber ; how to equip the rest we know not. But that cowardly rabble before the walls cannot face the report of a child's pop-gun. Shoulder the poker, Shane, ready present and off they will scamper." " Beware, my child, of viewing these things too lightly," said his grandmother. "Victorious moments are momenta of temptation, when a vain-glorious spirit is too apt to taint the Christian's joy. For our sins is the chastise- ment sent : and no race of beings, no reptile, no insect, is too mean to execute the judgments of the Lord, where He wills to smite. Frogs, flies, and lice were made effectual to scourge the pride of warlike Egypt." Bryan assented : and united prayer was then engaged in, led by the venerable lady. Fervently did she suppli- cate that the Lord would look favourably on His little Zion, and be to them a stronghold in that their day of adversity. A touching recurrence to past scenes melted every heart ; and if one thing beyond all others charac- terised those prayers, it was the energetic pleading for every single soul among the thousands then thirsting for Protestant blood. Immediately on rising, the Lady withdrew to her apartment, and brought forth the antique arms of her slaughtered husband. She had on that morning opened DERRY. 27 chest, which for many a long year had remained unex- plored; and often had it excited the curiosity of the young people, as they remarked ijie jealous care "with which its possessor kept it under her immediate guardian- ship. The objects now presented to their eyes were new to them : but a heavy groan from poor old Shane bespoke his recognition of the broadsword, from whose hilt of costly workmanship depended a knot, deeply incrusted with blood. A belt of black leather, much embrowned with age, trailed along the ground : and a brace of pistols, superbly mounted with silver, completed a burden almost too fieavy for the arms that trembled as they bore it. Bryan hastened tRRT. 37 in mind, that I may 'understand all mysteries and all knowledge,' and yet be nothing if lacking charity that grace which seeks the welfare of every soul around. I would evermore desire to grow in grace, and in know- ledge too ; but the tree grows by watering, and what is the promise 1 ' He that watereth shall himself also bo watered.' After higher attainments we should constantly aspire ; but ' whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule,' and impart to others the gifts vouchsafed unto ourselves, so far as means will effect it.'' " Were this rule followed," said Bryan, " every Chris- tian would become a missionary within his own sphere } and who shall calculate the blessedness that would result, if even in our own poor country alone, such were the general feeling among Christians 1 May the Lord give me grace diligently to communicate the little that I know, relying on His inexhaustible treasuiy for a more abundant supply ! " " Amen ! " uttered Malcolm. " I never enter this abode but I find myself under an humbling dispensa- tion, and imbibe somewhat of quickening zeal to cheer me on my way. Thus my experience certainly furnishes a powerful argument in favour of your doctrine, albeit, I sometimes doubt whether it savours not of works." " Works ! " exclaimed the Lady of M'Alister, " and who, being called into the vineyard, shall dare refuse to work there 1 Shall the justifying righteousness of Christ, by which alone we stand, become the ' plea of indolence 1 Put forth your whole strength, bend every faculty of mind and body to the task of working while yet it is day ; and fear not but when the night cometh, you shall smite upon your breast, as an unprofitable servant, and lay hold, ia 88 DERRT. utter self-despair, on the satisfying obedience of tho Saviour." The contentious spirit of the day, excited by Tyrconnel's secret emissaries, found no abode in the bosom of Malcolm. His character, formed among the covenanters of the North, exhibited indeed much of the inflexibility produced by being rooted in that region of storms ; nor did he partici- pate in the scruples which shrank from resisting an ungodly ruler. Naturally bold and enterprising, he loved to breast the opposing wave, to encounter obstacles, and triumph over difficulties, alike in temporal and spiritual experience. This habitual bias frequently led him from the even path of Christian usefulness, into heights and depths of speculative inquiry, where few could follow him : and thus consciously pre-eminent, he occupied a station in that little circle of theologians, perilous to man, as tending to foster that carnal pride which never ceases to struggle against the humbling grace of God, in the heart even of the regenerate. The Lady of M/Alister perceived the snare, and Malcolm had accurately de- scribed the constant tenor of her discourse, when he called his visits to her house humbling dispensations. Fully aware that she was competent to engage with a high relish in those abstruse questions and subtle dis- quisitions which he so greatly valued, he could not but marvel at her unvarying self-denial, her earnest endea* vours to win him back to the simplicity of all-sufficient truth. Her counsel he had found to be salutary, her example stimulating; and often did he close some favourite volume of systematic divinity, to pocket his little Bible, and sally forth on a mission of mercy to euch lowly and obscure abodes as had escaped his DERRT. 39 observation, until the Lady told some tale of suffering poverty, or conscious guilt, shrouding its inmate from the public eye. The frequent accession, both of military forces and panic-struck individuals, seeking a shelter within its walls, had now supplied the city with an over, flowing population ; and so urgent was the call upon the few devoted ministers of Christ, that he, who truly and eminently merited that appellation, found his hands per- petually full Bryan, witnessing the indefatigable labours of one, who was too apt to stigmatise as legal the more practical exhortation of his brethren, used to remark, that the only charge to be brought against Malcolm was the reverse of that reproach too often deservedly incurred by his clerical brethren he needed but to preach what he practised to render him an invaluable divine. The visits of this young pastor were indeed a welcome refreshment to the afflicted family afflicted they were above many others ; for it could not be but that the scenes surrounding them should recall to the eldef branches many a heart-rending occurrence of former days. Old Shane was rendered irritable by the weakness of hie frame, unable to follow the dictates of a spirit still ardent. a mind devoted to the cause for which he passively suffered, while his younger comrades toiled and triumphed in it. The unsubdued, unsanctified character of this faithful adherent occasioned many pangs to the bosom of his mistress, who mourned over the hardness of a heart so long impenetrable to Divine grace, while overflowing with reverential love towards herself. To this were added the forebodings of a mind accustomed to look more deeply into passing events, and to augur more correctly of their probable consequences, than those around her. 40 DERRT. Intense anxiety fct her children depressed the spirits of the younger Mrs M'Alister, and rendered her incompe- tent to the task of encouraging others : wliile Letitia and Ellen, the latter of whom perceptibly declined, were losing all their youthful elasticity of spirit, and rendering more apparent that loss by ineffectual efforts to force a cheerful aspect, while their tender hearts were writhing under natural terror. To them the lofty tone of con- lident assurance which Malcolm sometimes indulged, came as a reviving cordial : and in this light their grand- mother not only sanctioned, but encouraged it ; regarding it as rich wine, mercifully provided to make glad the heart of man in his seasons of overwhelming oppression. Of Bryan's troubles, the greatest was his deep distrust of Lundy, and the apprehension of some treacherous under-current, baffling the honest efforts of his unsus- pecting companions; the act, however, by which Rosa had been similarly alarmed, manifestly increased the secret misgivings of some, and opened the eyes of many more ; so that a strong party was quickly formed, whose avowed object it was to keep a jealous watch upon the governoi-'s proceedings. The solemn recognition of William and Mary, as successors to the abdicated crown of James, took place in the month of February, and the proclamation of their sovereign dignity was celebrated in Derry with an enthusiasm proportioned to the magni- tude of that stake for which its inhabitants contended. Their joy was nevei-theless damped by incessant rumours of the landing of James in their country ; and the exult- ing triumph with which such reports were hailed by the adversaries of their cause. Still it was the general im- pression among them, that King William coald net fail THE PROTESTANTS .... ABANDONED THEIR HOMES." Page 41. DERRT. 41 to dispatch the succours which their fidelity assuredly merited ; and which would place them at once beyond the apprehension of further peril. But the infant power of William had yet much to struggle through, ere it could extend a sheltering wing to this remote corner of his dominions; and the Protestants of Deny had still to learn how vain is the confidence re- posed in princes how exclusively sufficient the arm of the Lord, who is also a righteous judge, and wills not that His own professing people should trust in man, and make flesh their refuge. Tyrconnel pursued unfearingly his traitorous designs ; and desolation once more rapidly spread over the soil of Ireland, until the seal was, as it appeared, put to her dreaded doom ; and the landing of James Stuart at Kinsale, on the 12th of March, identified her as the stage on which three kingdoms should be lost and won. An unsuccessful effort on the castle of Carrickfergus disheartened yet more the Protestants in that vicinity, who, on the defeat of their forces, abandoned their homes, and flocked for shelter to the fortresses of Enniskillen and Derry. Throughout every movement of the northern troops, the insidious proceedings of Lundy were found to operate disadvantageously ; and tinder the pressure of their rapidly-accumulating suffer- ings and privations, the popular feeling rose against him, until the garrison and inhabitants of Derry were scarcely restrained from laying violent hands on him. Still, as no act of unequivocal treachery could be authen- ticated, many continued to countenance his proceedings ; and this brief sketch must suffice to bring our narrative down to the middle of March, when an incident occurred 42 DERBY. to vary in some measure the painful solicitude of the M'Alisters. Bryan, and his friend Ross, were keeping their accus- tomed guard towards evening, the former still endeavour- ing to awaken in his comrade's mind that concern after eternal things for which their growing perils furnished a more forcible argument, when they were struck by the appearance of a group surrounding an object of squalid aspect, whose stubborn taciturnity incurred the evident wrath of his impatient querists. Demanding the nature of their inquiry, Bryan was informed that the captive had been discovered lurking under the walls in a very suspicious way ; and refused either to state the nature of his business, or to give an explicit answer on the score of his religion. " Why don't you take him to the governor 1 " asked Bryan. "Arrah, shure, and the governor's self is the very person to dale with a traitor ! " exclaimed one of the guard, with a grimace that sufficiently shewed the scope of his remark ; while an involuntary movement of the prisoner's muscles seemed to bespeak a recognition of its justice. This play of feature yet more provoked the bystanders, one of whom roughly seizing the stranger's collar, his tattered vest gave way, and displayed a small crucifix of *^arse materials suspended from his neck. The object seemed a satisfactory confirmation of the worst possible surmises ; and while some shouted, " Bayonet the popish traitor ! " others proposed to pitch him over the walls. Among the latter was Ross ; but Bryan interposed, say- ing, " Really, boys, it is a bad example that our enemies DERRH, 43 eet us, of putting men to death without a trial give him fair play." The public opinion, however, was against this ; but on Ross enforcing the demand, and some other object divert- ing the attention of the people, it was agreed, that if M'Alister would be surety for his safe-keeping, he should be allowed the disposal of the prisoner for the night ; and their guard being now relieved, the friends consulted as to the best way of securing their prize. " I shall take him home," said Bryan, after a moment's consideration ; " no prison so safe as our little abode, and I daresay the poor fellow is hungry by this time. Pro- bably, too, he is wholly Irish j and we can make out a little of the Celtic among us." " You needn't put yourself out of the way," grumbled the prisoner. " Sure enough it 's myself that has tha Irish drop, clane and entire ; but I 'm cute at the lan- guages." Ross and M'Alister looked on each other, not a little amused at the careless effrontery of a man in such critical circumstances. The former, assuming as rich a brogue as his new acquaintance, said "Come now, my gay fellow, I'll engage that you'll be after just taking charge of some nate little billet for Governor Lundy." " You may get out of that," answered the other ; " for my trial does not come on till to-morrow." " Hold your tongue, Ross," whispered Bryan, " we must not encourage his familiarity : consider the poor females at home." Arrived at their abode, Bryan briefly prepared his &mily for the entrance of such a guest ; and then ushered (4 DERBY. him into the apartment, from which the young ladies had withdrawn. Old Shane, of late indulged with a seat near the chimney corner, was dozing, and scarcely marked their entrance; but the Lady of M 'A lister bent her scrutinising eye upon fche stranger, as with mild dignity she pointed to a seat. He was evidently quite young ; and in the absence of filth, and if properly clothed, would have borne rather a prepossessing aspect. His figure was good, but droop- ing under evident weakness and fatigue ; a naturally fair complexion, though embrowned by exposure, and lively blue eyes, bore witness to his Milesian descent j while the thick chestnut hair, clustered, or rather matted about his face, imparted a characteristic mildness, and concealed much of its expression. His manner at once changed to respectful courtesy when he beheld the ladies; till the luxury of a warm seat appeared to banish every other feeling but that of present enjoyment. Bryan immediately supplied him with a substantial slice of bread and cheese, over which he devoutly crossed himsel Just at this moment Shane recovered the use of all his faculties, and sitting upright, with staring eyes, ex- claimed, " In the name of madness, Master Bryan, what have you brought here 1" A comic expression of countenance shewed that the new-comer enjoyed his consternation ; while Ross an- swered, "A prisoner;" and Bryan followed it up by a. brief statement of the circumstances attending his capture. Mrs M'Alister expressed her anxious hope that he would not prove so guilty as they supposed ; but Shane's indignation scarcely knew any bounds. " Sure and you haven't the heart to see the poor DKRRT. 45 ladies kilt with fright, while you garrison the house with znurthering Papist rebels !" " Compose yourself, Shane," said the Lady, calmly; "we are perfectly satisfied to shelter him for the night." " Long life to your Ladyship's hospitality !" said the man ; " you '11 be Irish, I 'm thinking, by that same." " Ay, won't she, then !" exclaimed Shane, in a yet more angry tone; "who'll be Irish if the right, real, rich blood of the O'Neills isn't that ? Nothing but a black-mouthed Papist could deny her Ladyship." " I 'm proud to hear it," replied the other; while Bryan reprimanded Shane's asperity, and Ross highly enjoyed the scene. The old man, however, seemed to have been awakened from some alarming dream to behold the vision verified, for he continued to bewail the event, adding, " Man and boy, these seventy years, has poor Shane O'Connogher been larning the mischief of them ; barrin' that, when I was a brainless gossoon, I went to mass with my kin. But never since I saw the outside of sweet Ballinhagan, to follow my noble master, have I darkened the door of one of their mass-houses. Och, and its old Shane that must sit and be bearded to his face by a rebelly Popish traitor, crossing himself to the blessed work of selling our lives to the bloody Tyrconnel." " And is it yourself, Shane, dear," said the other, in the most provoking tone of affectionate remonstrance : " is it yourself that '11 sit cracking your precious wind- pipe to the disparagement of your own nathral flesh and blood, avonrnoon?" " My flesh and blood, you imp 1" " Plase your honour," said the man, turning to Bryan 46 DERRT. and his laughing companion, " as sure as I sit here, I 'm his brother's daughter's son. Hadn't he a brother named Dennis, five years older nor himself, and that same married to Judy M'Lanaghan, who died, rest her soul ! at the birth of her first child 9 "Well, and wasn't young Judy married to Larry Magrath, the miller's son at Kil- cronan, and he my own father ? Fait, and it 's a good name that my uncle is after taking out of me, though I hadn't the merit of turning my religion, agra ! " Fixed in amazement, old Shane gazed on his soi-disant grand-nephew, and then let forth a volley of Irish, to which the other responded with no less fluency : when, quite overcome by the sudden recognition, the aged man tottered towards his relation, and almost fell over him in the attempt to grasp his hands. Young Magrath at once lost the air of levity and sarcasm, and after affec- tionately embracing his uncle, led him back to his chair, by which he stood, looking down on him with an expres- sion far more pleasing than his countenance had yet assumed ; until Shane abruptly asked, " And did ye come to search for me, dear?" " I can't say that I did," answered Magrath ; and his looks changed again for the worse. Had the recognition taken place under any other cir- cumstances, suspicion of some sinister design might have attached to the new-comer ; but the way in which Ma- grath had fallen into his hands, convinced Bryan that it was altogether unpremeditated. Shane had said enough to identify himself; and the particulars mentioned by the other could not have been added at a venture. These remarks he communicated apart to his grandmother, who, her accustomed strong faith, referred the whole DERRY. 47 matter to an overruling Providence; expressing an anxious desire to screen the captive from public resent- ment, if he might be prevailed on to confess and to forego any treacherous purpose. Bryan consulted Ross, whose compassionate, good-natured feelings had already well-nigh overcome his political hostility ; and they agreed to make an effort on their prisoner's behalf. Public suspicion, however, had fastened so keenly on the governor, that the vengeance which was restrained from reaching him, would be sure to fall heavily on any suspected emissary, if once within his grasp. Determined to elicit some confession from Magrath, the two friends agreed to sit up during the night, having prevailed on the ladies and Shane to retire and leave them with their charge. Vain was all their skill; for with invincible self-possession, Magrath met, and suc- cessfully repelled, every attempt to extort information, until Bryan was compelled to declare, that their wishes to protect him must be unavailing, seeing how obstinately he withstood every inducement to confide in them. He then dismissed him to his couch in an adjoining closet, and pursued the subject with Ross. "You see how impossible it is to make him confess anything." " Ay," replied Ross ; " but, mark you, he has denied nothing. You '11 get neither truth nor falsehood out of that fellow. He is too wary for the first, and either too honest or too proud for the latter but, hark ! " and he paused as the voice of Magrath issued from the little cell, in. the voluble repetition of his prayers, which he uttered in Irish. " There now," continued Ross, " if that wasn't done 48 DERBY. to brave us ! Why could he not gabble his mummeries in a lower tone ? " " Patience, my dear fellow : this lad is certainly of a daring spirit, and intends to let us know it. Better to deal with an undisguised ruffian than a smooth-tongued assassin. Let him sleep awhile ; and we will have re- course to my dear grandmother's book, that lamp to our feet, which never yet cast its guiding ray on the wander- ing mazes of his perilous path ; " and he read a portion of Scripture, commenting as he proceeded ; after which, wrapped each in his watch-cloak, they resigned them- selves to slumber. Before daybreak Magrath issued from his dormitory, and succeeded in kindling the fire, whose smoke aroused the young men from the sleep which his stealthy move- ments had not disturbed. With some surprise they looked at him and at each other, while Magrath, turning up his arch countenance from the operation of blowing the fire, exclaimed, " Arrah, now, plase your honours, and if I'd been the murthering traitor that my uncle, rest his tongue ! convicted me, you mightn't be after shaking yourselves out of your sleep this blessed morning." " Sure enough," answered Ross, " we have proved our- selves drowsy sentinels, and might have had the tables turned." "We felt ourselves safe, my lad," added Bryan. "We were in good keeping in the way of duty, and dreaded no evil." "Your honours have no cause to dread it from me," said Magrath, with the strong emphasis of real feeling. "Shane O'Connogher's old stomach has been nourished by your bread, and his gray hairs sheltered under your TO3HRY. 49 roof, too long to leave you in danger from one of his own blood." "Arid for poor old Shane's sake, if not for yonr own, why will you not allow us to befriend you?" Magrath's brow clouded again as he recommenced blowing the fire ; and before he could frame a reply, a gentle tap at the door announced the Lady of M'Alister, whose busy thoughts had roused her thus early ; while sounds of preparation proved that others were also on the alert to provide a breakfast for the prisoner and his guards. By the first gray tints of morning, Magrath be- held the whole family assembled, and received the cordial greeting of his uncle, whose limbs trembled with appre- hension, as he wistfully inquired what they were going to do with the " boy." The Lady made a sign for silence as she unclosed the precious volume of inspiration, and spread it before Bryan, who selected the ninety-first Psalm. Curiosity and surprise, mingled with much interest, animated Magrath's countenance, to whom the nature and con- tents of the book were apparently unknown ; but when the party kneeled to pray, considerable embaiTassmcnt appeared in his manner. He rose from his seat, moved away, lingered, then again moved on ; and softly with- drew to his late sleeping apartment, from which, how- ever, he could not exclude the voice of supplication, particularly pleading for direction and a happy issue iu that which concerned him. This indication of Popish exclusiveness, on the part of his nephew, seemed to revive somewhat of Shane's former displeasure, which found vent in a question abruptly put in Irish, and answered with a seriousness D 50 DERBY. which prevented further remark, beyond a little unin- telligible muttering. Magrath would have respectfully withdrawn from the breakfast table ; but being kindly invited to stay, he seated himself in a distant corner, and looked upon the assembled party with an aspect frorr which Bryan augured a relenting temper. Ellen appeared particularly to engage his regard. He inquired of Shane, in Irish, whether she was sick, and received an answer from the girl herself, who, sweetly smiling, replied in the same language that she was rather weak, but hoped to be better when the siege was over, and she could get home to her native hills again. No one could avoid noticing the effect produced on Magrath by this unexpected address in his own tongue, imperfectly spoken indeed, but quite intelligible to him. He gazed for a moment on the pale face that smiled so kindly upon him, then laid his hand to his forehead, and with elbow resting on his knee, continued in thought, the earnest- ness of which was marked by the swelling veins of a really expressive brow, partially seen. "Ah, bless the dear child!" exclaimed Shane; "she little thinks how long a day that may be yet j" while Ross darted at Magrath a glance so hostile, that Bryan rejoiced that it had failed to catch his eye, and whis- pered him anxiously to repress his feelings. No sooner had Biyan completed his breakfast, than Magrath re- spectfully summoned him aside, and commenced by asking before whom he was to be taken. " You heard the bargain," answered M'Alister. " I engaged to deliver you up to the person who captured you ; and he, I suppose, will have you before the go r" DEKRT. 51 " Colonel Lundy?" "Yes." Magrath's forehead now bore a portentous scowl, and he clenclied his teeth. Bryan, continued, " I have told you that it is our wish to avert the necessary con- sequences of your conviction. That your object in coming here was that of an enemy, we can hardly doubt, nor have you denied it. .As a citizen and de- fender of this town, I cannot, nor will I be a traitor to her cause, nor endanger her safety through faith to any man " " Now, your honour," interrupted Magrath, " will you believe what I 'm going to say ?" " Certainly ; if I 've no just cause to doubt it." " Why, then, it isn't that I value the toss of a half- penny what comes over myself, and. if the fellows pitch me into the Foyle, as they talked, so let 'em. Larry Magrath isn't the boy to flinch, right or wrong. But, sir, if you '11 keep me out of the governor's sight, better folks than myself" and he glanced around him "may be thankful; only don't ask me why, for tell it I won't." "But how am I to do this, and in the dark, too ?" " Och, it isn't for me to direct your worship ; but one of the gentlemen that collared me last night didn't appear in haste to bring me to Colonel Lundy : and he seemed to know his honour, too." Bryan could not forbear smiling at the point with which these words were spoken, recalling the evident suspicion of Lundy 's treachery. " Well, Magrath ; if I bring you out of danger, will you promise me solemnly promise me to lay aside 62 DERRY. any evil design with which you came here, and to be faithful to us while you remain ?" "Sir, I will." And the firm tone, the deliberate utterance, the straightforward look, carried conviction with them to Bryan's generous mind. Accompanied by Rosa, he now repaired to the princi- pal of the party who had committed Magrath to his care, and informing him of his strong grounds for suspecting that the prisoner had come on some mission of treachery, which the unexpected meeting with a long-lost relation had led him to regret, he suggested the propriety of preventing the interview so much deprecated by Mag- rath. Knowing how deeply his heai'er participated in the prevailing doubts concerning Liindy, he could speak without reserve ; and two or thi*ee influential men of similar views having been consulted, it was agreed that if M'Alister would himself become surety for the appear- ance of the stranger when called on, no notice should be taken of his capture. The frequency of such occurrences retidered it unlikely that any further inquiry should be made beyond what a few vague words would satisfy, and Bryan returned with a light heart to acquaint Magrath of the result : inquiring whether he would be content to remain a prisoner on parole with him. " Long life to your honour, and it 's myself that could desire no greater than to be your servant. I wouldn't ask it first; but indeed I'm better in it than outside the walls, barriii' always Governor Lundy's two eyes upon me. And it isn't for my own gain I say it." "I believe you, Magrath. i think that the natural kind feelings of an Irishman towards an unsuspecting 3D family who wish him well, have overcome something less creditable to the character." " True for you, sir ; at least I don't deny it : and now your honour will just let me work in the family, so as to earn the l*t that I eat ; and long life to you for the Bame." 54 JHEHHY. CHAPTER IV. A LITTLE attention to his person and apparel had wrought such a change in Magrath's appearance, that there seemed to be but slight hazard of recognition, even should he meet his original captors. He was, indeed, a fine manly fellow, with an air of independence about him that be- spoke a habit of thinking and acting for himself. He soon became an especial favourite with the younger Mrs M'Alister, who found his ready ways invaluable, as a household assistant ; while his perfect good humour, tem- pered with deep respect, won the partiality of the two girls. The Lady regarded him with a more anxious interest, concerned for his spiritual darkness, and long- ing to see some indication of a willingness to receive the truth. But Magrath baffled all her attempts to engage his notice, and wrapped himself up occasionally in a reserve so dulling, or else betrayed such manifest impa- tience to get out of hearing, that Shane often lost his temper, and indulged in hard speeches at his nephew's expense. Sometimes the old man was thoroughly bent on his conversion, making violent attacks on his religious creed, more conspicuous for the zeal that inspired, than the knowledge which supported them. To these Magrath generally opposed that dry and irritating sarcasm which never failed to put his uncle completely off his guard : so BERRY. 55 that the Irish language, rich as it is in variety of ex- pression, could scarcely furnish the old man with phrase- ology sufficiently copious for his purposes of invective and contradiction. Often did the Lady of M'Alister inter- pose her authority, and many a private admonition Shane received : but his irascibility surmounted everything except the stoical endurance of his nephew, who, with elbows on his knees, and chin propped on the palms of his hands, seated on a low stool, would gaze, and listen as if to an agreeable narrative, while Shane exhausted all his strength of lungs, all his treasury of tropes, figures, and denunciations, against the " monsthrous, barefaced tricks of shaven priests ; and the jabbering nonsense of prayers only fit to be squeezed out of a rebelly throat at the foot of the gallows." So invariably did Shane iden- tify Popery with treason ; still embodying all loyal and patriotic virtues in the expressive term of " a real Protes- tant." And if Shane had lived to number a hundred and forty years from the siege of Derry, would he have in- curred the charge of singularity by repeating this asser- tion ? It may be feared, that even among those of a far higher grade, both in rank and learning, a kindred spirit would be found extensively spread abroad, impressing men's minds with a similar conviction, while the true nature of real Protestantism remained as little understood as it was by old O'Connogher. It must be observed, that in the midst of his invectives against the Romish faith, he never questioned the safety of their souls who lived and died under its influence, providing always that they were untainted by rebellion against a Protestant ruler. Shane never viewed that faith in its more awful 56 DEURT. character of treason against the King of kings, a homage rendered to the antichristian usurper, who, assuming a royal priesthood, yea, even to reign an enthroned priest over both priests and kings, lays claim to that prero- gative which belongs to Jesus Christ alone; " so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God"* in his own estimation, while he re- ceives the worship which is a robbery of the true God, and therefore branded in Scripture as bringing into eternal perdition those who continue in its practice. A change of opinion was that on which Shane hoped to build a change of his nephew's character; while the enlightened Christians of the household well knew that Buch a fabric could not rest on any other foundation than a change of heart. To shew him the evil of his nature, and the peril in which he stood as a helpless sinner, was the necessary prelude to humbling him before the Lord in prayer for that renewing process which God the Spirit can alone create ; and whosoever has seriously tried this experiment with a member of the Church of Rome, must bear testimony, that, until her bulwarks be levelled, the task is hopeless. The transgressor may be convinced, deepily convinced of guilt ; but humbled he cannot be, BO long as he believes that his own doings and sufferings can atone for the sin which oppresses him. Seeking wherewith he shall appear before the Lord, the inquirer is met by a host of deceptive helpers, absolutions, prayers, penances, alms-deeds, imaginary mediators, and purchase- able merits; and, should all fail on this side the grave, he is assured of purifying fires beyond its boundary, and efficacious masses to expedite their work. Alike welcome 2 Thess. ii. 4. DERRY. 57 fco carnal pride and to spiritual sloth, he is presented with a scheme which offers him a self-righteous plea on one hand, and on the other dispenses with that sanctifi- catiou which God has pronounced INDISPENSABLE. And can it be that any person, taught of the Holy Spirit, should attempt to pour into these bottles of rotten leather the new wine of unadulterated truth should essay to patch his worn and perishing garment of rags with the firm fabric of gospel doctrine should flatter himself that Christ will deign to rule in a temple where every species of idolatrous abomination is to cluster round His footstool, to obscure His kingly glory, to intrude upon His priestly prerogative, to falsify His prophetical man- date, and, only as chief among many Saviours, to yield Him the worthless homage of divided praise ? " We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed : forsake her," saith the prophet. The Lord, indeed, has pronounced her incurable, and the only deli- verance is found in obeying the summons, *' Come out of her, my people : be ye not partakers of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues." God has a people, even in the iron furnace of her spiritual despotism, and He alone can bring them forth, and gather them into His fold : but ours is the task to proclaim deliverance, and woe be to us if we dilute the awful word, rendering void the testimony of God by our traditional delusions, miscalled charity. We may naturally suppose that such a character as Magrath, so singularly brought among them, must have excited uncommon interest in the bosoms of a Christian family ; and anxiously did they, particularly Bryan and the Lady, labour to make known to him the way of 68 DERBY. escape ; but Shane's injudicious proceedings, intrenched in the strongholds of his vernacular tongue, appeared to counteract all their efforts. The partial knowledge ac- quired by the young people was totally inadequate to follow Shane and Magrath in their rapid enunciation ; n&ither could they command terms wherewith to express themselves on spiritual or intellectual subjects. " I can manage pretty well," observed Ellen, "so long as I keep to what is passing around us every day ; but to reason in that tongue is out of the question. I cannot think in Irish." "You are right, my love," said her grandmother; "and you have unconsciously described the one insur- mountable bar to my country's peace ; her children, the native race, cannot think in English ; and therefore the instruction offered to them in any language other than their own, finds no entrance to their understanding or their heart. Oh, but to see one of the days of Bedell, whose hands so indefatigably laboured in their cause ; his patient mind surmounting every obstacle until he had mastered the language, and had transferred into it the word of life, leaving his name embalmed in many a heai't which bleeds in secret over my country's desolation !" It may appear a bold assertion, though more easily to be contradicted than confuted, that even the lowest orders of native Irish by which we always understand the race whose ancestors possessed the soil prior to the English invasion are decidedly a more intellectual people than any who occupy a similar station in other countries. Disgraced as Ireland has been by intestine wars, rebel- lions, massacres, and almost interminable insurrections, accompanied with deeds of aggravated atrocity, we are DERBY. 59 more disposed to combine the idea of brutal force, animal courage, and inherent cruelty, with that of an Irish peasant, than to concede to him an elevated station in the grades of mental capability. In this we err ; at least in concluding that with the latter distinction the former characteristics are irreconcilable. The simple fact is, that we have taken infinite pains to incapacitate our- selves from forming any right judgment concerning the race, by renouncing the only key to their thoughts and feelings. We have refused to explore the mind of na- tional intellect buried under what it pleases us to call a barbarous tongue ; and just looking upon the rugged surface, we avert an eye of scorn, perchance of disgust, incredulous that precious metal lies deeply imbedded in the soil. And yet, in the face of all this prejudice, I assert disprove it who can that the native Irish, generally speaking, are richly stored with mental powers, keenly sensitive, highly imaginative, delighting in the play of fancy, and marked by an inquiring spirit, not terminating in the present gratification of vague curiosity, but capable of seizing, investigating, developing, and feed- ing upon those subjects which call into fullest activity the reasoning faculties of man. Withheld by the fetters of a darkening delusion from expatiating where immortal beings find a congenial element, the craving appetite turns earthward, and feasts on poisonous garbage : yet were an Englishman of cultivated mind, well versed in the vernacular tongue, to become the unsuspecting witness when a party of Irish peasants rest from their toil, he might often hear such tales of Ireland's ancient glory, such legends of her warlike kings, and such foreshewingg of imaginary triumph, gleaned from prophetic lays and 60 DEURT. traditionary oracles, as would fix him in astonishment; and prompt the secret query whether that is a wiso policy which, by locking from this ardent people the stores of useful, sobering information, indissolubly weds them to these exciting retrospections these meteors of anticipated glory, too often leading them forward in the path of mental destruction. But again we must return to Derry, and view the pro- gressive troubles of her augmenting population, for she soon became the last refuge of all the terrified northern Protestants ; and while the garrison received a welcome accession of strength, the influx of many helpless fugi- tives, incapable of yielding any assistance in defending the town, created additional embarrassment. Still wag the compassionate sympathy of the inhabitants un- bounded ; and they cheei'fully concurred in submitting to every privation, rather than reject the pleadings of these persecuted wanderers. The Irish army, as it was called, under a commander devoted to Jarnes Stuart and Tyrconnel, gradually approached this northern extremity : and it was evident that the bloodless blockade would, ere long, be converted into a sanguinary siege. The presence of Lundy within the walls, however, constituted a more serious cause for inquietude than the prospect of assailants without. He was closely watched ; and the doublings of his crooked policy made manifest to many. Ross had become the most intemperate of these ; .and his irritation frequently shewed itself in bursts that all the calm reasoning of his friends could scarcely repress. It was on one of these occasions that, after a sweeping denunciation, which included both prin- cipals and inferiors, all of every class attached to Popery DEKRY. 61 and King James, he concluded by a comparison between the native Irish and all other inhabitants of the British Isles, thanking the fates that he derived his lineage from a very different race, and hoping that he might never have to do with the bloodthirsty traitors of the soil. The very peculiar expression that curled Magi-ath'a lips, as he turned to his uncle, caught the eye of Ross ; which the other perceiving, dropped the native language, and continued in English a remark just commenced, that it was a pity they eA r er risked their " nate persons among 'em." "What are you saying, sir 1 ?" demanded Ross, sternly. " I am saying, sir," answered the other, fixing on him the full gaze of calm defiance, "that it's out and out true for you, your forefathers had better have let us be aisy in our own land." " Your land ! the land is ours by conquest, and it is only by our weak sufferance that a tribe of you exist." "Conquest!" ejaculated Magrath, starting to his feet, while impassioned energy swelled every feature, and fired his action into vehemence. " Tis false : ye in- vaded the land, ye overran it, ye parcelled it out ; but conqiier it ye didn't, nor ye couldn't. Och ! but may- be we'll be after forgetting when Malachy. scoured the land of them heathenish Danes : and our own Bryan Boromy led his Dalcais to Dublin gates, and shewed how Irishmen wouldn't be conquered. And we '11 be forgetting " Hush, Magrath !" said the Lady of M'Alister, kindly smiling on the vehement orator ; then turning to Ross, she continued, " The way to conquer the Irish, my young friend, is to conquer their hearts." 02 DERRY. Till this moment it had never occurred to the angry youth that his intemperate philippic had touched the venerable lady as nearly as her more humble guest. He manifested no little embarrassment, while Magrath's countenance brightened into tenfold animation. "Good-luck to your Ladyship, and long life, and honour, and glory ! that belongs to the O'Neill, any- how. And poor Larry Magrath is bound to love the green sod that your honour walks over, barrin' that it isn't in Deny the grass will grow. And, your Lady- ship, wasn't the O'Neill the very mischief among 'em, marching up and down like a mad cat at their tails? And you'll remember your glory, when Finn M'Coul, in the pride of his heart " How far Magrath's reminiscences might have carried him, or how many more epithets of affectionate reverence he might have bestowed on the Lady, cannot be ascer- tained : for Bryan, pitying his friend's confusion, good- humouredly interposed, saying, " Come, let me negotiate ft peace between the contending powers. Confess the truth, Ross, you have very little blood in your veins that is not Irish ; and therefore you could not intend seriously to decry the race. You, Magrath, have cer- tainly lost sight of the respect due to a gentleman to your joint-protector to my friend." This appeal seemed to fail of its effect, until the last word was uttered, when Magrath, fixing on him a look of respectful firmness, answered, " Sir, any offence against the friend of O'Neill couldn't come from my heart, and I ask your pardon." Then, without noticing Boss, he turned to his uncle, and impatiently exclaimed in Irish, " By the battles of Conn ! only for the O'Neill BERRY. 63 I would not shelter my head under this roof another night." One good effect seemed to result from this altercation Magrath's attachment to the Lady of M'Alister was evidently increased ; and as Ellen inherited much of her grandmother's resemblance, and took great interest in the records of olden time, she came in for a large share of his affection too. The poor girl was still wasting slowly away, and furnished the little family with an object of peculiar care and solicitude, among the many which pressed upon their thoughts. On the reception into the garrison of a numerous reinforcement in troops, driven, with their attendant crowds of fugitives, from the neighbouring stations, it was found needful to provide accommodations for them at the expense of almost all the little remaining comfort of the inhabitants. The M'Alisters contrived to spare a- portion of their small abode ; the elder lady taking Ellen into her apartment, which, being on the ground-floor, was more accessible to the invalid ; while Letitia and her mother occupied a bed in the attic ; an adjoining closet serving the purpose of a store ; and Magrath, with his uncle, stowed their couches side by side in the little cell already mentioned. The female servant only at- tended in the house during the day ; and Bryan, when not on duty, slept at his former home. By this arrange- ment, two comfortable apartments on the intermediate floor were appropriated to some respectable soldiers, whose care to prevent any encroachment on the family repaid the hospitable shelter which they enjoyed. It was not long, however, before another interesting individual was added to the household, in the person of a 64 DERRY. venerable man, whose silver hairs, and care-woin but meek and placid countenance, attracted Bryan's attention. He was quartered in a noisy barrack-room ; and M'Alister overheard him reprove some blasphemous language from a half-drunken soldier, in terms that left no doubt on his mind as to the religious feeling of the old man. Politely introducing himself, he received ample confirmation of his hope ; and finding that Basil, as his new acquaintance was called, possessed the manner of one accustomed to far different society, he consulted his family, prevailed on the soldiers to resign the smaller of their tsvo apart- ments, and conducted the old man to a home which he entered with expressions of the deepest thankfulness. Hitherto, no demonstration of an actual attack had been made against the city ; but on the very evening following that of Basil's reception into his family, Bryan entered, accompanied as usual by Ross, and communi- cated the intelligence, that the combined Irish and French army, with James at their head, would imme- diately appear to demand that surrender which the traitor Lundy and his confederates had assured them of. A capitulation had indeed been agreed upon by most of the leading men some assenting through intimidation, while others acted on the treacherous principle, or rather want of principle, which swayed their leader. The bulk of the people, however, were strenuously op- posed to this measure ; and, in answer to the anxious inquiries of the trembling women, Bryan assured them that the citizens' resolution was unalterable. "Ay!" exclaimed Ross, "we'll hang the rascals over the gates before we open them to the Popish party." "Lundy," added Bryan, "has nearly cast away all DERKY. C5 semblance of decency. His villany in trying to keep Mr Walker outside the walls, after all his faithful and gal- Jant conduct, was insufferable. You know that his little party only got in by downright force." " I do not like to bear of a fighting clergyman," re- marked Letitia ; " and they say Mr Walker is one." "He has rendered us most important service, how- ever," rejoined her brother; "and, helpless as we are, we must not quarrel with his voluntary aid." At this moment another of the apprentice youths entered in breathless haste and agitation, exclaiming, " M'Alister Ross sure, boys, you've lost a most edifying scene ! You know how our trusty governor and his crew have been, deliberating with closed doors, even denying admittance to Crofton and his true fellow- soldiei's. Well, what think you was the result 1 just a resolution to send back the supplies from England, and to go forth en masse, with halters about their necks, in prostrate submission to King James." "Halters!" ejaculated Bryan, Ross, and Shane, in a breath. " Nay, I won't swear to the halters ; but a most abject submission was resolved on. The greater number of white-livered poltroons, overawed by the lying repre- sentations of others, signed it; but two or three honest fellows refused, and gave a hint to the people without, who surrounded the doors; and very audibly promised to treat both governor and council with a swing. Yet we verily think that an official communication has been de- spatched, and some agreement propounded to his Popish majesty. And if it comes to that, the villains may settle 66 DERRY. the ratification in person, for we '11 snoot them from our cannons' mouths in the enemy's teeth." "Ay, that -will we !" exclaimed Boss. "Let's be off, M'Alister, we are wanted." With a hasty farewell, Bryan tore himself from his trembling mother and sisters, accompanying his fiery comrades ; while Magrath, who had privately left the apartment to summon Basil, attended him into the room, and in considerable agitation placed himself behind the lady's chair. "Oh, these are heavy crosses !" said the old man as he looked on the party before him, " but to God's children they are merciful chastisements, not wrathful visitations. Let us bow the knee, dear ladies, to Him who is near when troubles press the hardest. Prayer, prayer is the balsam for all wounds." They kneeled; and Magrath, instead of retiring as usual, remained with his clasped hands resting on the chair's back, and his forehead bowed upon them : his intense anxiety had not been unnoticed; and, while it somewhat soothed their feelings, it tended also to increase their fears. " You could tell us much, Magrath," said Mrs M'Alister, looking earnestly at him. " No, madam : not more than you know, or can guess at, anyhow. But it's myself can tell you, that not a hair of your heads shall be touched while Larry Magrath has a drop in his veins to shed for you." " Oh, and will there be fighting ?" cried Ellen. " Be calm, my love," replied hor mother ; " there \vLL3 be nothing but what the Lord permits." " But Bryan our own Bryan !" 67 The mother could only reply by a fresh burst of tears, while the Lady, raising her eyes, said, " The buckler of the Highest is around him ; the eye of a reconciled Father is upon him : the prayer of faith still bears him before the throne, our treasure our precious boy : " her voice failed, and Basil added, " The only son of his mother, and she a widow." There was something in the allusion that fell sweetly upon every heart : a grateful smile beamed through the mother's tears, as she said, "I will think of Nain, and trust, and not be afraid." Neither Bryan nor the soldiers returned to the house that night; but the former sent a cheering message, desiring them to persevere in prayer, for that a great crisis was at hand, and help would not be withheld by Him who was mighty to save. On the following morning by sunrise Bryau took post on the flat roof of the cathedral, and beheld a scene well calculated to thrill his every nerve. As far as the eye could reach, dense columns of infantry, shrouded at times in the dust raised by vast bodies of horse, approached the devoted spot. Situated within an abrupt bend of Lough Foyle, Derry is two-thirds surrounded by its waters, at that spot not more than half a mile in width. Not only was the town in process of investment by a line of troops, whose extreme right and left rested on the edge of the Lough, but batteries were being erected on the opposite side, and the prophet's imagery " a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, a besieged city" presented itself to the mind of young M'Alister, with a force and a pathos that dimmed his bright eye as he scanned the accumulating host without, and pondered on the treacherous leaveu 68 DERR7. that wrought on the multitudes within. Eager interest in the scene, as it regarded his country and his faith, together with the ardent risings of inherent courage, soon overcame these saddening feelings, and, aided by a email telescope, he took a scrutinising survey of the ad- vancing foe. Proudly waving in the breeze, he descried the royal standard of England, which left upon his mind no doubt of James's pei'sonal approach at the head of his army, /surrounded by a galaxy of nobles and commanders, whose armour flashed in the far distance. It was, indeed, that unhappy and misguided tool of priest- craft, who, after exercising in Dublin the brief autho- rity again acquired in a manner sufficient to prove his infatuated devotion to the will of spiritual tyrants, now came to overawe by his kingly presence the cluster of determined Protestants encaged within those walls. And it had surely been an easy conquest but for the Omni- potent Guai-dian of a praying people a small number, who mingled in the mass, nerving by their incessant supplications the arms which were too prone to boast as though their own strength upheld them. Wonderful, indeed, were the incidents of that protracted siege, and most astonishing the deliverances vouchsafed ! Let the praise be rendered to Him who wills not that His glory be given to others ! The flat roof of Derr^ Cathedral furnished at once a post of observation and 'a battery ; and while beneath the word of life was dealt forth, the engines of destruction stood ready charged above, to sweep immortal souls from earth to the judgment-seat. The thought pressed heavily on Bryan's spirit as the front of war expanded before his DEftKY. 69 gaze ; but his reveries were quickly interrupted by the ascent of many eager footsteps, while the citizens crowded to pai'take the commanding view. One of these presently pointed out to Bryan a party of cavalry, exultingly an- nouncing them as belonging to Colonel Murray, a faithful and gallant ally, who at the head of his troop galloped up to the ship quay gates, demanding entrance. " See, see ! " exclaimed Bryan's informant, " if the villanous governor has not refused them admittance, after fighting their way thus far ! " A rope was now brought to that part of the walls, and an offer evidently made to admit Murray singly by such unmilitary conveyance ; while a messenger from the Council directed the transaction. Colonel Murray wheeled his horse in marked disdain, and addressed a few words to his followers ; but ere he could conclude, the gate was flung wide by the officer in command ; and, greeted with the loudest acclamations, Murray led his men into the town, where he was presently hemmed in by the agitated populace, imploring his assistance against their betrayers. The party on the cathedral rapidly de- scended to join their voices with the rest. A night of fears had ended, and the morning had brought to the household of M'Alister tidings confirma- tory of their worst surmises. On the first assurance that the enemy was actually taking post around the walls, Shane had sallied forth ; and Magrath appeared disposed to follow, but was withheld by the entreaties of the girls. A short but encouraging visit from Malcolm revived in some measure their fainting spirits ; and several of Bryan's young companions looked in from time to time, with a few hasty words, often of contradictory import. 70 DERRY. The Bible lay open before the Lady, and many a promise did she cull from its abundant stores to sustain her own firm mind now tried to its utmost stretch as well as those of her less energetic companions. Magrath, indeed, was energy embodied, as he paced the room, and busied himself in every imaginable way to curb his impatience. No countenance exhibited so intense an expression of quick and watchful solicitude : he seemed on the very tiptoe of eager expectation, mingled with most painful doubts. Basil shewed the calm endurance of one too well acquainted with such scenes ; and assisted the Lady in her task of consolation. The tumult occasioned by Murray's reception had now subsided ; and its origin had been explained by a, passing friend, who described it as a most auspicious event. Another half-hour elapsed, and with increasing anxiety the coming of Bryan was expected, when sud- denly a thundering peal of artillery burst forth, the roar of cannon drowning the fainter report of musketry, while every building seemed to rock, and every roof to respond the dreadful salutation. For a moment it paused ; and then the shrieks of terror might be heard, resounding from streets and neighbouring houses; but again the batteries renewed their fierce explosion, and clouds of smoke rolled by, impregnating every breath with their sulphurous effluvia. What words may suffice to portray the agony of those bewildered females ? The dreadful reality was at length arrived ; the substance of those troubled visions which had frequently haunted their pillow, and even in the brightest hours of day overclouded their minds with foreboding apprehension. It was come ; and terrible, in- DEERY. 71 deed, was that hour. A vague desire to flee from the surrounding peril was immediately succeeded by a deep Consciousness that no possible way of escape existed for them. Enclosed on every side, they must await the issue ; and await it they did in meek and holy resigna- tion. No scream escaped them, no violent contortion appeared : they gazed on each other, and on Basil, and simultaneously kneeled down, but to articulate was as impossible as it would have been vain, amid that deafening uproar : Magrath wrung his hands, and struck repeatedly upon his breast now he hurried towards the door, and then lingered and went back, when some imploring eye turned towards him. Poor Ellen was soon seized with a violent cough, as the tainted air assailed her tender lungs, and he hastened to procure a cup of water ; then looked to the entrance of the house as resolved to issue forth ; but she grasped his arm, and uttered a cry. " In the name of all the saints, Miss Ellen, dear, do, do let me go see for the master," he said, when an interval of the firing allowed of it. His arm was immediately liberated ; but before lie could reach the door his egress was impeded. 73 CHAPTER V. " YOUR handkerchiefs, girls, your handkerchiefs !" shouted Bryan, as he dashed into the room, followed by two or three more ; and he snatched them from the astonished females, rending them in two, and tossing the divided portions to his companions, who, as well as himself, pro- ceeded most busily to fasten each of them a fragment round his right arm. Again the cannon thundered, and again ceased, with a longer pause than before : and Bryan was able to reply to the broken sentences of mingled joy and terror. " Oh, such a deliverance ! Murray, gallant Murray, has it all his own way. No SURRENDER ! James is retreating the Council stole off " " And Lundy t " asked Magrath. " Gone to the bottomless pit, for aught we can make out," replied some of the young men. " And this," continued Bryan, striking his left hand forcibly on the linen that encircled his right arm, "this is the badge of No SURRENDER. We who wear it are sworn to perish to a man rather than hear of capitula- tion." " Good-luck to you, then ! " exclaimed Magrath, tri- umphant delight blazing in his countenance, while the guns drowning the remainder of his speech, he tore his neckerchief in two, and threw the half of it to Basil, twisting the other round his own arm. O " And now, Mr Bryan, sir," for Magrath never called him M'Alister; "when the cat's away, the mice will play, as uncle says. And I 'm after your Honour to the last drop " again the cannon could alone be heard. Old Shane now bustled in as the young men hastened out; and seeing Magrath with the badge, bestowed on him a cordial embrace then throwing himself into his chair, answered the queries that flowed in upon him, with a confirmation of the tidings that the besiegers were cast into great panic. "And will they not come here then?" asked Ellen, eagerly. " Here ! Och, bless your simple heart : why it isn't in them to look at the walls ! Out and out frightened they were, from the minute the boys let loose the gun- powder. There 's a gay chap killed, they say, as close to King James as the pratee to the stalk; and himself 's off at a hand-gallop, out of reach clane and entirely, to com- plain to Pope Joan, maybe." " Oh, brother," said Basil, " do not insult over a fallen king ! Unhappy as guilty, he is betrayed by others ; and even here he came to look for homage, and dreamed not of resistance." "True for you, sir; maybe he didn't know that we have but few Jacobites here," replied the old man, rather bitterly. "He is no Jacobite, Shane," said the Lady; "but he feels that a head once anointed is no meet object for mockery. Let us rather pray that his present sufferings may lead him to repentance." 74 DEARY. " Your Ladyship can, sure," answered Shane, suikjly ; adding in a lower tone, " it 's myself that '11 fight fov King William, let who will pray for old James." The assurance of no attack from without being con- templated, somewhat reconciled the household to the discharges which at intervals still shook their abode : and in the evening they were gladdened by a visit from Malcolm and Ross, who brought a promise of Bryan's appearance : a temporary couch was formed for poor Ellen, whose disorder was greatly aggravated by the impregnation of the air with gunpowder. Magrath, who had returned with Koss, occupied his usual place a little in the rear of Shane's seat by the chimney-corner. An occasional cannonade, interrupting the repose of their little apartment, furnished a striking commentary on the pious and appropriate remarks of the Lady and Malcolm. The latter seemed to be still in a state of much excitement, and frequently paced the room, or stood within the attentive circle who hung upon his words. "It was marvellous," he said, "to behold the spirit which animated our heterogeneous mass of population when the enemy drew on towards the wall. Mutual distrust had chilled their spirits, and unnerved many an arm. Unable to look to an invisible Leader, the multitude had no rallying-point, no common centre of respect and obedience, hope and confidence, until the good providence of God sent them that true-hearted Murray, round whom they rallied to a man. I trust that he is the Gideon raised up to deliver our afflicted Israel; the more so, as his presence struck an almost supernatural panic into those traitors of the council- DERRT. 75 board, sending them self-exiled from the spot, reluc- tantly to disprove their own unprincipled misrepresen- tations." "And judge you," asked the Lady, "that all who remain are faithful ? " " Of leading men, unquestionably so ; and among the troops heroic ardour prevails. Our own citizens have never wavered in fidelity, though some were for a space deluded by specious pretences of assured defeat. The first roar of our artillery broke many a spell, and scat- tered the fears of hundreds. I doubt not but the arm of the Lord is on our side, and that He will gird us with strength unto the battle. May He glorify Himself, be it by the mortal weal or woe of His chosen ones ! Blood will flow even within these walls; and the Foyle may carry a crimson streak into the northern main. We are compassed on every side ; they come about us like bees : and yonder Sennacherib will lie down among his motley host this night, counting perchance on a banquet of carnage foi the morrow ; but our Shepherd watches His fold, and the wolves approach in vain : for we, even we, in the name of the Lord, will destroy them." "Alas, alas!" said the old stranger, "that ever the carnal weapon should be drawn to fight the battles ot the Lord's people ! Better yield our throats to the knife, as befits the character of sheep for the slaughter." " You speak not well, brother," observed Malcolm ; "we defend the ark from a company of uncircumcised Philistines, who seek its capture. Know you not that herein is the very citadel of the Protestant faith, and that he who is on the Lord's side must draw the sword as of old?" 76 DtfRKY. ' You ai-e a minister, sir," answered Basil, meekly. " It is not for me to gainsay your words. But he, too, was a minister, whose teaching I followed ; ay, and follow it yet, hoping that the day is not far distant when, like him, I shall go down in peace to the grave, and my spirit rejoice before the throne, with my master, my glorified master, precious, holy Bedell." The old man bent his face on his hands, and tears flowed over them : the name of Bedell had operated variously upon the assembled party. The Lady raised herself up, and her eyes sparkled with momentary fire. Deep interest spoke in the features of the younger people. Malcolm, as he stood, looked down upon the aged suf- ferer with reverential sympathy ; and Magrath, resting his elbows on his knees, with chin propped on hia hands his favourite posture of attention gazed upon the stranger, as if awaiting in eager curiosity for what was to follow. "And did you really know the blessed Bedell?" asked Ellen, raising her pale cheek from its pillow. " Know him ! Ah, young lady, I was born and cradled under his roof, nourished and brought up in his doctrine. I was the companion of his imprisonment, I supported his dying head, I bent over his grave;" and again the recollection overcame him. O " My brother," said the young minister, gently and affectionately placing his hand on his silver hairs, "be collected. He who has been thus privileged is steward of a gift, not to be wrapped up in the hidings of selfish sorrow, but liberally imparted to the starving Church of Christ." " I know it, I know it : and many a faint heart has DEKilY. 77 waxed strong under the hearing of what I love to tell. It is only now, weakened by age and many trials, and surrounded by scenes at once so like and so unlike to those that were it is only now that nature rebels." He gazed round him, and seemed to dei-ive encourage- ment from the expression of so many inquiring looks. The entrance of Bryan and Shane completed the circle : the former took his station by the invalid, surprised at the animation of her countenance ; and, while she ex- plained the cause, Shane received some communication from his nephew, which appeared to brighten his faculties, fatigued as he was, into something like corresponding attention. " My father," said Basil, after humbly bowing to his hearers, " was the confidential domestic of that holy man. He accompanied the bishop from Suffolk to this country, enjoying a place in his affection that bespoke for me, his only child, the tender concern of our benevolent master, when I was left a helpless orphan in his house, my mother having died at the time of my birth, and my father within two years after. The bishop took on himself the care of my education ; and many an hour of proud enjoyment have I passed, seated at my little desk beside the good man's chair, transcribing from his manuscripts that beat monument of Bedell's fame, the IRISH BIBLE." "There, my Lady !" exclaimed Shane, exultingly : and the Lady had already taken the hand of the venerable narrator. " Blessed old man !" she said, " in the name of my lacerated country, let me thank you for the oil and the wine that can alone pour healing into her wounds. This hand has wrought with that good Samaritan, and my roof is honoured to shelter it. Oh, never, never shall 78 DERRT. my country know the sweets of permanent peace, until that work commenced by Bedell be perfected ; until the fountain dug by his pious labour be cleared from all ob- structions, and widened, and caused to flow in a thousand ready channels, spreading through the thirsty land those rivers of the water of life ! " " Never !" responded Basil. " He said it many a time to whom, for the prophetic work, a prophet's spirit seemed given. But, alas ! Lady, how few among her own tribes seek Ireland's welfare as he sought it, whom you rightly term a Samaritan ; an alien, held accursed by those for whom he toiled, until his deeds disarmed their deadly hatred, and awed it into love !" A general assent was given, and Basil resumed. " The tale of forty-one is written in letters of blood on some memories" he paused, for Malcolm gave a sign ; and again proceeded. "I was still a youth, but hardy and strong ; and courageous in the cause of my beloved master and his family. There lacked not among us those who would have repelled violence, and built a barrier round him with our slaughtered bodies. Nay, I wrong many in not including all his flock. But it was his care to represent the duty of resting solely upon the invisible arm of Jehovah ; and while his dwelling and his church were thronged with faithful adherents, no breath was ever heard but that of meek submission to the Divine will. Dreadful were the scenes beyond our little sanctuary ! within it all was peace and safety." " And yet," observed Ross, " your bishop understood the principle of * No surrender.' " "He did, sir; and with holy daring acted upon it I was with him when that startling summons came, to DEKRY. 79 deliver up the fugitives sheltered in his home. I saw the many cheeks that were blanched with terror for themselves, while grateful love checked every wish for a refusal which might expose his own sacred head to the fury of their foes. Ay, and I heard that refusal given in tones never to be forgotten so solemn, so powerful, so nerved with energy and sweetened with humility while, with uncovered heads, the messengers withdrew from the presence of one before whom their ferocity melted into awe. Oh, my master ! Is it a dream, or did I really see thee borne away from that home 1 Did I really rush through a crowd of levelled pikes, to claim, in prostrate supplication, the privilege of sharing thy dungeon ?" " No dream, I '11 engage you," said Magrath, abruptly : "you got it easy, that same." "Yes," answered the other, "I did. The rebel ap- pointed to guard the innocent captives had been par- ticularly obliged to me ; and through his intercession 1 was permitted to follow, though not to accompany, my beloved master and his sons. Before my departure, I saw the abomination of desolation standing in that place where Bedell had offered to God the sacrifice of prayer and praise. Yes, I beheld the Host elevated, where holy hands had been lifted up, and weapons incrusted with the blood of the guiltless were grounded; while the crimson fingers that bore them smote upon the breast, and murderers yielded homage to the blighting mockery.' Indignation burnt on his cheek as he recalled the scene Shane looked hard at his nephew ; but the latter merely compressed his lips, and listened with undivided at tention. Basil went on. " 1 was conveyed to my master's 63 DETtRT. prison, far from the unhallowed pageantry thai, desecrated his palace. I found him enclosed in the tower of Loch- water, that desolate dwelling which arises from the centre of a lake, without so much land about it as might suffice to support the foot. December's storms pwept over tho unsheltered spot, and found entrance ou <>very side, for \he building was most ruinous. The few prisoners whoso garments had been left upon them, were constrained to part with all but a slight portion, to cover the more nurneroTis victims of rapacious cruelty, stripped literally to the skin by their jailers : and bitter were the suf- ferings from cold and damp. Provision was liberally supplied, but in every instance raw : so that those who knew anything of cooking were incessantly employed for the rest. The good providence of God sent a pious car- penter to be our companion in captivity ; and by his skill some little repairs were effected, for which we were most thankful. But our best, our dearest pledge of Jehovah's gracious presence, we received in the unlooked-for per- mission from our keepers of worshiping together, according to the accustomed rites of our church. No interruption assailed us ; and deeply sunk the word of exhortation into our bosoms from those revered lips, that never ceased to proclaim the unchangeable love of God under whatsoever dispensation His wisdom laid us." " Answer me this question," said Magrath, with a look of restless impatience, " will you answer me truly 1 " " Assuredly, young man : I would not dare to do otherwise." "Well that good man, that heretic bishop, did lie ever curse the Catholics with ye ?" "Och, the fool's head that's upon your shoulders!" DERBY. PI exclaimed Shane; while Basil gazed with astonishment oil the querist. "Answer him !" exclaimed the Lady. < Basil now seemed for the first time to comprehend that a member of the Romish Church was present. With a look of placid kindness, he said, " My answer, brother, is short, simple, and true. No ! as soon would the sweetest springs of your native plains send fortU the waters of bitterness and corruption, as those lips could have given utterance to a curse. But they of whom you speak were the objects of his deepest, tenderest sympathy and love ; and their welfare was a constant theme of prayer in our afflicted little congregation." " Come, now, you '11 be after making the best of it, and no blame to yourself; but you won't pretend that you prayed for the fellows who gave you that lodging took the clothes off your backs, and treated you like dogs, I '11 engage?" "We did," answered Basil. "Our sufferings were great, and our oppressors cruel ; but morning, noon, and night, we made our supplication for them : that the light of the gospel, visiting their dark minds, might shew them under what deadly delusion they lay. Every murmur ex- cited by our own bodily pains was hushed by the awful consideration of what awaited their immortal souls, blinded and ruined under the influence of their false and perse- cuting religion." " That 's enough," said Magrath : and, folding his arms he leaned back against the wali, his eyes fixed on tb-> speaker. This strange episode had excited no common interest V 82 DERRT. in the little circle ; but all were silent, and Basil re- Burned. " Even under these depressing circumstances, the object dearest to his heart the Irish Bible was not forgotten by my blessed master. He would urge me to repeat from memory such portions as I could recall, suggesting improvements. I was the more encouraged to this work, because at such times I have seen the guards stealing towards some aperture to listen, as the language never failed to attract their attention. " True for ye," said Magrath ; but the words seemed to drop unconsciously from his lips. Before the old man could proceed, another discharge from the batteries broke in upon the comparative repose : and a guard, turned out for the especial purpose of per- ambulating the street, inquired if all was well within. A few words with them determined the young men on volunteering their services likewise for the night ; and, after joining in the supplications of the family, they sallied forth, leaving on the minds of their friends a more anxious tremor than had ever before accompanied the unwilling farewell. Shane's curiosity had been violently excited on more than one occasion during that eventful day. His nephew, from the moment of assuming the badge, had appeared to throw off a painful restraint, and to attach himself with unfeigned cordiality to a cause against which he had assuredly, not long before, harboured evil designs a circumstance to Shane quite unaccount- able. The unexpected and unwonted share which he had taken in the evening's conversation also perplexed him ; for Magrath's general deportment was marked by DERRT. 83 the extreme of reserve, rather than its opposite. To Shane's drowsy facilities, however, the latter transition appeared less surprising than the former ; but with the Lady of M'Alister it was far otherwise. She rightly attributed his morning animation to a relief from pain- ful forebodings as to the sufferings awaiting the family, whose kindness to him had evidently sunk deep into his mind ; and also to the removal of that restraint under which the fear of meeting Lundy had kept him. To the cause, as such, she could not suppose him attached ; but to Bryan, exceedingly so ; and she verily believed that an affectionate desire to watch over his personal safety was the motive of Magrath in adopting the prevailing badge. A more inexplicable mystery involved his evening conduct. The acquaintance which he seemed to have with many particulars related by Basil was not very wonderful, the events being compara- tively recent, and strong in the memory of those who survived the scenes of 1641 ; but there was an intense interest, an eager curiosity in his aspect ; and an un- moved endurance of reflections on his country's faith, from the lips of a Protestant and an Englishman, which formed a strange contrast with his fiery impatience under the reproach of Ross. The subject haunted her pillow, and prompted many an aspiration on behalf of the in- tractable object of her frequent endeavours, while she counted the hours whose flight brought on the wished yet dreaded dawning of another day. It was upon the 18th of April that the dethroned monarch met his unlooked-for repulse before the walla of Perry ; and the next day beheld him on the road to- wards Dublin, there to concert further measiires for the 84 DERRY. recovery of his abdicated throne. No hostile act was committed on either side during the two succeeding days, save in the silent but busy work of offensive and defensive preparation. Bryan was incessantly occupied among the citizens and soldiers, both of whom received with deference the suggestions of his intelligent and judicious mind. In his perambulations, Magrath was always at hand ; and evidenced the sincerity of his good- will by furnishing many valuable hints, both in the way of information and precaution, for his master's benefit ; but Bryan remarked that the measures which he seemed to approve were strictly defensive ; and in this, though on different grounds, their feelings coincided. "How I long for the Sabbath !" exclaimed Letitia, as the evening preceding it closed in. " We shall all assem- ble in the house of God, and raise the united voice of supplication." "And set up our Ebenezer," added her mother "And will my dear Ellen likewise venture?" asked Bryan. " Oh yes ! brother dear ; these two quiet days have refreshed me, and I feel quite strong. I long to tread the courts of the Lord's house, too : and I have a sort of fearful curiosity to pass through the street, and look upon the preparations, and to be made to feel how precious it is to have the Lord for a very present help !" "May it be a Sabbath of peace!" said the old lady; and she looked at Biyan, whose downcast eyes spoke little of encouragement to her hope. In fact, it had been decided to make a sortie from the walk on the morrow, as the planting of a large gun very near seemed to menace a hostile attack. The design wae DERRT. 85 deprecated by those alone who prefeiTed the sanctification of the day to the pursuit of a possible advantage ; and it may readily be believed that their voices were faint and few, compared with the clamours of the many who thirsted for vengeance and distinction. The morning came, and to the cathedral all repaired who desired to commit their cause unto the Lord of Hosts ; these were so numerous, that a succession of congregations filled the pile, a fresh crowd of worshippers still assembling as others departed ; arid amongst them the family of M'Alister sought the Lord with hearts united to fear His name. It was awful and affecting the stillness that reigned over the dense populace on the morning of that day. Thronged as they were, the streets yet wore the cha- racter of Sabbath solemnity, and the very sentinels ap- peared to soften their measured tread as they cast a frequent look to the azure sky ; with some, the upturned gaze bespoke devotion ; in others, it seemed rather ex- pressive of impatience ; and in many, it indicated an anxious observance of the weather, as though a few gathering clouds would have marred some design. The citizens of Derry, close pent within its narrow bounds for more than four months, already bore the marks of pining imprisonment and protracted care ; while deeper anguish sat on the features of those homeless wanderers, to whom the sacred season more forcibly recalled the memory of happy Sabbaths gone by, where their place knew them no more. " It is in such a spot as this," said a weeping mother, as she passed through the churchyard, " that my daughter lies buried. Just such a tender yew-tree was beginning 86 DERRT. to bud above her grave : ah, little did I think that stranger eyes should watch its growth, or stranger hands tear it from the sod, where I must never hope to lay my bones beside her !" "She is better there," replied a young woman, the wildness of whose pallid looks contrasted with the melancholy gloom of the former speaker. " Better in a grave any grave than living to weep over all that was loved, and is lost, and gone gone for ever " " Oh, no !" said Letitia, who overheard her ; "say not that all is gone, while He remains whose love for sinners took the sting from death, and victory from the grave. Come unto Him for the weary and the heavy-laden shall there find welcome and repose." Arranged within the building, how sweet to the ears o Christ's little flock sounded the word of promise and of peace ! Magrath had accompanied them to the door, and as he turned from it a deeper sense of their own inesti- mable privileges filled each heart ; while compassion for him added fervour to their intercessions, and earnestly did they long to share with him the abundance of God's treasury. The preacher took for his text an animating promise of deliverance ; and though the tenor of his discourse was more decidedly warlike than fully accorded with the feel- ings of his spiritually-minded auditors, there was much of solid comfort in the address. Returning homeward, Bryan directed his grandmother's attention to some military men who were hastening towards the guard- house, after attending at the church. He told her that they were about to sally forth and attack the enemy. " Oh, Bryan ! that ought not to be on this holy day ; dissuade them," DERRT. 87 "It is impossible. Malcolm and myself, with one or two others, attempted it ; but the clamour was over- powering. Colonel Murray leads them on, and Mr Walker leaves the pulpit to accompany him." " Then mark my words. This desecrated Sabbath will stand recorded against us ; and many a cry will ascend in vain from those who hallow it not." " They are so confident of immediate succours from the king, that they scai'cely anticipate a contest of a week." They must then learn what it is to put confidence in princes, rather than in the Lord. The culverin planted by the enemy now discharged its heavy shot the first which passed into the town and that shot, whizzing over their heads, struck the market- house. " Messenger of woe," said the Lady, "how many of thy fellows shall bring havoc into our streets !" Basil had remained at home indisposed ; and Bryan, softly ascending to his little apartment, was struck at hearing the old man's voice, with tones of solemn ear- nestness, addressing another in the Irish language. He paused as the name of " Slanuigheora losa Criosd " (the Saviour Jesus Christ) met his ear, and ascertained that the words were those of Scripture. Softly entering, he beheld Magrath, his face buried in his hands, in an atti- tude of fixed attention ; while Basil, with looks of un- speakable animation, was setting before him the pure gospel in the irresistible garb of his own tongue. Bryan withdrew unperceived, to communicate the glad tidings below stairs ; and "Blessed Bedell!" burst from the lips of the old lady, while her heart overflowed with thankful delight. 88 DERBY. But far other work was going on without the walls ; and after a fierce combat the party came back victorious, bearing the dead bodies of an officer and several privates, who, a lew hours previously, had left the town in confi- dent expectation of a triumphant return. They were hastily interred ; and while the military exulted in the comparative insignificance of their loss, a dark foreboding overcast the minds of many, with a sad experimental certainty that havoc was indeed begun. The single piece of ordnance planted on the opposite side of the water had inflicted little damage on the town : but now, at less than half that distance, four others com- menced their dreadful greeting from a different quarter, and their balls continually rebounding from the tiles, crashing the window-panes, and rattling through the streets, killed some, inflicted wounds on many, and struck terror into all. On the second day after this, some mortar pieces being added, the besiegers threw bombs from them ; which, by their noisy explosion, increased the panic tenfold among those altogether unaccustomed to the horrors of a siege. " Now, your honour," said Magrath, as with Bryan he bent his course towards the house in the evening of that day, "I'm altogether not agreeable to going home to- night." "Why not ?" " Oh, sir ! but it 's the ladies that will be frightened to purpose nov. And, the sowls ! what comfort cau we give 'em ?" " The very sight of us will bring comfort to them, Magrath ; for I have marked this day, while carnage has been in our streets, that those who go forth are followed DEKRY 1 . 89 by lamentations as though they went to certain death, and their return welcomed with cries of joy. But in our home, I trust, we shall find that the Lord himself ia giving strength according to their day." " Is it to-day, sir?" asked the other, a little puzzled. Bryan explained to him the promise, but it seemed not to make much impression on his mind. Bryan's heart was indeed oppressed with a grievous weight : not for that the instruments of destruction had now and again crossed his own path for himself he had no fear ; but faith was sorely tried in regard to those so dear, and the consolations which his lip spontaneously uttered, scarcely soothed his own bosom at the moment. But the word of the Lord is sure, and gratefully did he acknowledge it ; for they found the little party calm beyond all human expectation ; and such a holy chai'actei of resigned submission sat on every countenance, as ren- dered it far more touching than the wildest distress could have done. "And isn't the life frightened out of ye, then?" was Magrath's first inquiry, after the silent welcome of thank- ful love had been bestowed on Bryan. "We've been sadly frightened, indeed," answered Ellen : " but we prayed, and the Lord sent peace." " Wars and fightings without," added the Lady, " but peace within. Know you, Magrath, who walked the billows of the roaring sea, and bade them, ' Peace, be still ?'" "It was Jesus Christ, or the Virgin, or one of the Saints, I'm thinking." Basil raised his head, and in a clear tone he recited the whole passage in Irish ; while Magrath, his mouth 90 DERBY. half open, and his eyes dancing with a peculiar expression of interested curiosity and pleasure, gave earnest heed to every breath. Has the reader ever witnessed the effect produced on a poor native Irishman thrown among strangers, when the sublime truths of Scripture fall upon his ear, in that language so unutterably dear to him ? Probably not : but why, oh ! why is it probable, reader, that you should not ? Has not your path been too frequently crossed, and your step arrested, by the plaintive supplicant whose accent bespoke him a native of Erin, and to whom the utterance of his wants in your language appeared difficult and uncouth 1 Yes : you have met with Irish beggars, be your habitation where it may : and if the love of Christ rule in your heart, you have, according to your means, supplied their necessities : but few, indeed, in this age of missions, have bethought themselves of pur- suing a missionary work at their own doors, by the acquisition of that tongue in which the stammei'ing men- dicant could be as fluent, as eloquent, as you in your native English. Make but the inquiry, and you shall wonder at the result. And if you would be kindled into zeal on behalf of these poor outcast victims of a gross delusion, so far as means can do it, go forth among them where they congregate, and take with you one who is vei-sed in the Celtic dialect, bearing in his hand the Word of Life, and on his heart the love of souls. One such scene is never to be forgotten : and, blessed be the God of the friendless ! such scenes shall erelong be more frequent in our land ; for the Lord is remembering Erin, and His servants take pity to see her children in the dust of spiritual death. Yes, thrice blessed be His name ! DERRY. 91 there are young and accomplished women at this moment intently studying those characters so little known so grossly undervalued for the sacred purpose of imparting to these poor wandering beggars, these perishing im- mortals, what in their own tongue they call " the story of peace," and what shall instrumentally convey to many a one among them the rich gift of joy and peace in be- lieving. May the blessing of the Highest prosper their work ! "How beautiful the language is when Christ is the theme !" observed Letitia. "In what language can the name of Jesus sound un- welcome ?" asked Malcolm, who entered as she spoke. " The thunder of war has rolled about us this livelong day, and cries of terror, and groans of anguish, have mingled with its roar ; but, powerful above them all, the name of Jesus has prevailed, to still the throb of many a bursting heart, and soften to a prayer of resignation the scream of wild dismay. Oh, for the faith of Isi-ael's King ! ' Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea' for, ' The Lord of Hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is our refuge.' " " Ah ! but He is with us now in anger," said Ellen, " to afflict and destroy." Malcolm looked earnestly on her, and repeated, " The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." "No," said Mrs M'Alister, "that covenant cannot fail. Hitherto I have trembled and feared, and thought 92 DERRT. that my very heart would burst asunder whenever it came to this awful climax. But the day is come, and with it grace sufficient to the time of need. Those dreadful bombs, as they exploded in my hearing even they have seemed to uttr, ' Fear not,' and my weak spirit is enabled to respond, ' It is the Lord, let Him do as seemeth Him good.' " i "My daughter!" exclaimed the Lady, "have I not ever told thee that His faithfulness could not fail ?" " Yes, mother : but it is the Lord who tells me now." "Happy experience !" said Malcolm. " ' I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee.' Aged pilgrim," turning to Basil, "can you buffet this storm, so nearly at the journey's end?" " Ay, sir : and I bless God for it. I see young trees well rooted by its blast, and tender blades of corn may peep forth when the whirlwind has scattered opposing rubbish." The allusion to Magrath was evident. "All's well!" uttered the night-guard as they passed the door : the explosion of a bomb followed, and then Malcolm responded, "All's well ! sin is pardoned, salva- tion is secured, and the children of the promise sealed to their eternal inheritance." Then, suddenly addressing Magrath, he added, " Bro- ther, can you claim a portion here ? can you join us in the glorious anticipation ; and utter with assured convic- tion, that all is well ?" " Maybe it is, sir," answered Magrath, coldly. "What ! stake eternity upon a may-be?" Magrath, yet more sullenly, muttered something about the Catholic Church. "Out upon ye for an obstinate Papist!" ejaculated DERRT. 93 Shane ; " haven't we enough of the Catholic Church out- side 1 What else is it knocking the houses about our ears this blessed night but your rebelly church, ye spalpeen ] Isn't the bombs pretty beads to tell 1" " Musha, then," said Magrath, " it 's myself that '11 go look after my beads," and he left the house. " How obdurate !" observed Malcolm. "Have patience, sir," said Basil, "your query was a startling one, and may be blessed to his souL Let him digest it." The Lady reproved Shane for his ill-timed and railing accusation ; but the old man continued to exclaim against his nephew, who, as he said, ought to have been converted in half the time. The word of promise was then laid open ; and, amid the din of discord, the prayer and the hymn arose. Malcolm gave out a psalm from the paraphrase of his church, the 23d, dearly prized by the persecuted cove- nanters; and with deep intonation he dwelt upon the " Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale, Yet will I fear none ill ; For thou art with me, and thy rod And staff me comfort still." When Letitia retired with her mother to their little sleeping apartment, she stooped to look through the window, which nearly touched the ground, " How beauti- ful, mamma, is this night ! The moon shines sweetly, and Lough Foyle dances like quicksilver below. Is it not strange that, under such a sky, men should prepare to dye those peaceful waters with blood ? With the *vords that we have heard to-night, warm on my memory, 94 DERRT. metliinks I could go forth to yonder camp, and proclaim, to the foes who seek our lives, ' Peace on earth ; good- will towards men.' " " My child, it is the love of God, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, that disarms all bitter and re- sentful feelings. Coine, Letitia ; let us pray for them ; for they know not what they do." They kneeled in prayer, and peacefully composed themselves to rest, conversing for a while on the glorious privilege of God's children, so exquisitely set forth in the psalm, which Letitia again recited. The gray tint had not visited the darkened east, when a bomb broke through the garret roof, and falling on the bed, rolled thence to the window, which it forced from its frame, and exploded loudly in the street. But those two quiet sleepers awoke not : without a pang they had passed into eternity. DERRT. 95 CHAPTER VI. IN the crowded state of the city, it was needful to com- mit with all speed to their last earthly resting-place the bodies of the slain : and scarcely had the agonised survi- vors of M'Alister's race a competent time allotted to enshroud the forms so tenderly beloved, ere they were pent up in the narrow receptacle that sufficed for both one coffin was prepared one grave was dug and ere yet the shell received its lid, a crowd of weeping friends hemmed in the individuals, who, stationed close around the shattered bed, gazed upon those lineaments, as unin- jured and as calmly soft as when slumber first stole over them. The Lady's heart was rent beyond the power of her strong mind, and stronger faith, to sustain without a struggle that convulsed her frame ; while the tearless stupefaction of poor Ellen, as she hung upon her brother's shoulder, appeared more pitiable still. But Bryan's trial was perhaps the hardest, for nature strove in his bosom against the subduing grace of God, and raised a cry of wrath and vengeance. Shane's grief was frantic, and his passionate lamentations woke a responsive chord in many a breast ; for there were childless mothers by, and widowed brides, and orphaned children. The fugitives who had sought shelter in Derry had each some tale to tell that would have claimed an eminence in grief; and the stream 9ti DRRRT. of selfish sorrow now flowed afresh in the contemplation of another's woes. Up to this period, Malcolm had not been apprised of the event ; but he now appeared, led by vague rumour ; and, hastily passing the deserted apartments, ascended to the spot. His presence occasioned a movement through- out the party, whose sobs and niuaiis redoubled as they opened a passage for him to the coffin. "See there!" said Bryan, moving his clenched hand towards it. "And see there!" responded Malcolm, as he pointed to the broken roof, through which was visible a portion of the deep blue sky, and a little fleecy cloud, that glided like a distant wing athwart it. But while other eyes were raised to mark, his own fell again on the lifeless forms, and he burst into tears. The firing at this time became more rapid ; and whiz- zing balls passed through the streets, and another bomb exploded at a short distance. When the noise subsided, Malcolm spoke : " All is well ; ay, better than well with them : for what hallelujahs, what music of heavenly harpings, now surround those rejoicing spirits before the throne of the Lamb ! Oh, blessed confession ! " he added, as he bent over the shell : "said she not last night, that the Lord himself had taught her, whose teaching is the pledge of never-ending life 1 " Then, in a strain of triumphant prai?e, he rendered thanks for the victory achieved over death and the grave, and even whilst he gave thanks Ellen wept, and Bryan found deliverance from the revengeful cravings of a lace- rated spirit, and was able to contrast the triumphs of heavenly joy with the poor mangled remains of the DERRT. 97 earthly tabernacles which once imprisoned the now libe- rated souls. On rising, he inquired for Magrath. Summoned from a corner, the poor fellow approached, and covering his face with both hands, exclaimed in broken accents, "Oh, don't, sir, don't put blame upon me they are not my beads ! " " Blame you, Magrath ? never ! I blame only the sin which has brought death into the world. I called you to take a farewell look at those whom you loved, and served, and would have died to defend. See, how peace- ful ! Oh, Magrath, they are happy ; for they died trust- ing in Christ, and in Him alone ! He is all all-suffi- cient." Magrath gazed for a moment, then casting up his eyes, he wrung his hands, and, with a passionate exclamation in Irish, rushed from the room. Through the broken window the coffin was lowered, and, amid the tears of many, borne to its grave. Ross had quitted Derry three or four days previously, on a mission to Enniskillen; and, returning into the town, he met his friend slowly retracing the homeward path. " M'Alister, my dear fellow, are you going to give me the cut at last 1 ?" said he, gaily; but the eye that was raised to his own made him stai't away. To speak Bryan found impossible : he took his arm, and, strongly compressing it, led him back to the grave. Magrath had taken the shovel, and was carefully filling in the last earth. " Bryan, for mercy's sake, what is all this 1" " My mother and Letitia are there." O 98 DERBY. Aghast, and panting, Ross seated himself on an adjoin- ing grave, while a stander-by related the circumstances. " Come home with me," said Bryan. " Impossible ! what ! to see their places empty to look upon that venerable ruin, struck by such another thunder- bolt to see poor Ellen poor Ellen !" and his tears flowed. "Yes, my friend, to see all this, and to witness like- wise the power of Him to whom you too must come, that you too may have life." It was indeed a struggle of no ordinary intenseness by which the Lady of M'Alister had retained her self-posses- sion through the day ; but in Basil she found an invalu- able comforter. Long tried in such a school, he was well fitted for the office; and his gentle representations on behalf of poor Bryan, had prevailed to induce a compo- sure that could not but be soothing to his feelings, when at evening's close he returned to the diminished circle. The appearance of Ross, and his undisguised emotion, had nearly overcome them again ; nor had any one courage to invade the deathlike silence ; till, on the entrance of Magrath, the Lady, with marked kindness in her tone, invited him to approach the fire. Shane eyed him askance for a moment, and then began most piteously to moan, rocking himself to and fro on his chair. After the evening meal, scarcely marked by a whisper, Magrath took upon himself to lead the conversation, and in so doing, displayed a wisdom and delicacy for which they were hardly prepared. Slowly disengaging from his neck a narrow tape, he took from it what appeared a scapular, such as the lower DERBY. 99 orders of Roman Catholics usually wear : it seemed bulky ; and with a penknife he carefully ripped it open. A half-sheet of paper, closely folded up, was then dis- covered ; the marks of age visible upon it ; and the ap- pearance of having been much in use. This he held to- wards Basil, at the same time advancing the candle, and asked him, "Do you know it, sir?" An exclamation of wonder, and of delight too, bespoke an immediate recognition, as Basil commenced the per- usal. " It is my own," he said. " True for you, sir ; but it has had other masters." " To me it is scarcely legible now," observed Basil ; " but well I know the contents, a part of the Irish Scrip- tures." Magrath took it, and deliberately commenced reading it, to the no small surprise of his auditors. "It is the fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians," said Basil, " but not complete ; only a selection." " Will I tell you how I got that same ?" asked Magrath, addressing Shane. " No, no ! don't bother : will it bring back them that are gone?" " Maybe it will comfort them that remain, uncle." " Comfort is it !" uttered Shane, disdainfully ; but the Lady interposed, saying, "Proceed, Magrath. All comfort is contained in the words which you now hold in your hand, and nothing connected with them can be uninteresting." Magrath reseated himself, and commenced a story which, divested of extraneous matter, may thus be stated: His grandfather, Dennis O'Connogher, when a very young man, had made one of the party most activa 100 DERRY. in persecuting the family of Bishop Bedell. In reward for his zeal, he was intrusted with others to keep guaid over the prisoners in Lochwater tower ; and in the pocket of a gai-ment plundered from Basil, he had found that paper, which, being unable to read, he kept for some other to decipher. Much attached to his native language, whenever he heard the prisoners converse in it, as he supposed, he placed himself at a cranny to listen ; and so unconsciously heard many portions of the Holy Scriptures recited. Convinced that men who thus con- tinually spoke such good words could harbour no very evil designs, he became, though secretly and cautiously, yet effectually, their friend ; and to his favourable repre- sentations they owed much of the indulgence afterwards granted. Returning to the head-quarters of his army, Dennis found a person who read over to him the contents of the paper; which he recognised as having formed part of the supposed conversations between the bishop and his amanuensis. This increased his curiosity ; he revisited the palace at Kilmore ; and among some lumber, thrown by as useless by the rebels, he discovered, and appro- priated a pretty large parcel of manuscripts, in a rough state, which resembled the fragment in his possession. This he lodged, with other plunder, in safe keeping ; and forming one of the rebel party, who paid such unwonted honours to the remains of the good bishop attending his funeral for the purpose of firing a salute over his grave Dennis was more deeply impressed than ever with a consciousness that, in serving him, he had be- friended a true follower of Christ one whose example ne revered, and whose doctrine he longed more fully to examine. DERBY. 101 A series of battles and outrages soon obliterated from his mind the transient interest thus awakened ; and after many years, Dennis, crippled by a wound, accepted the shelter offered by his daughter, then recently married j and had scarcely learned to relish the sweets of a quiet home, and the dutiful affection of his child, when he be- held her suddenly snatched away, and a motherless babe left dependent on the attentions of others. The widower soon married again, but continued his hospitable kind- ness to Judy's father : while young Larry formed the solo earthly comfort and delight of the bereaved old man. Magrath was much moved when, touching on this sub- ject : and Shane's attention had become so eager as to banish for a while the pressure of his immoderate grief. " I was a wild gossoon," continued Magrath, " but I did my duty by the grandfather why shouldn't I ? he so crippled and sorrowful, and I the vein of his old. heart. My father, no blame to him, was a strong Catholic, and never heard the name of the bishop without putting a curse on him : and as my father was well off in the world, and a big man with the priest, old Dennis didn't care to be thwarting him, maybe : so kept all snug, and sorrow the word he would be spaking of what lay deep enough in his mind. But he was a thought arch, too ; and so, says he to my father, ' Larry Magrath,' says he, ' isn't it a thou- sand murders that Larry the boy should have no more larning nor a sea-gull, and he so 'cute, the cratur?' 'What is it you'd be after, the day?' says my father. 'Oh, then, it's myself that would put the boy to his larning, and Irish is the thing for Larry,' says my grand- father ; ' you see, honey, how Ireland will soon be at the top of her ancient glory, please St Patrick; and is it 102 DERRY. yovmg Larry that shouldn't rise to be lord, judge, or huntsman; or maybe an ancient bard, or such like, when the land and the language come round to be our own again?' So he bothered my father, good-luck to the blarney ! but I 'm thinking that little was in him, barrin' only the wish to get to the bottom of the ould papers. For, when he found me discreet, and no blab, he would tell of bygone days ; and out-and-out partial was he to all that savoured of the bishop, and his follower, that ran upon the pikes' points for the cold comfort of a lodging in Lochwater; and that's yourself, sir, I'm thinking," ad- dressing Basil, who, deeply moved, could scarcely reply, " It was." In short, by working on his son-in-law's ambition, Dennis prevailed to send the lad where he acquired a good proficiency in reading and writing his native lan- guage. Proud of his education, young Magrath returned to find his grandfather in wretched health, and worse spirits, confined to his bed, with no better prospect than so to linger out his remaining years. Convinced of his affection and fidelity, the old man, after many injunctions to secrecy, drew forth the scrap of paper : "and joyful was he when I read it off as aisy as I 'd skim a bowl of milk ; though for the matter of understanding it, all the pains that my grandfather took couldn't beat much of that into me." " Ah ! I '11 engage its little that himself understood it," sighed Shane ; " let alone that it wasn't for the likes of you to read it right." "Wasn't it, then?" exclaimed Magrath, rather hotly. " I '11 be bound to you, then, that I '11 not miscall a word of it ; " and with extreme animation, feeling, and em- DERRY. 103 phasis, he read the whole passage, from the 42d verse, beginning, "As mar an gcedna bhias ciseirghe na marbh" "So also is the resurrection from the dead" to the end of the chapter. Various were the sensations excited by this unlooked- for display ; while Magrath, his voice deepening, and his colour heightening as he proceeded, seemed to enter into the full sublimity of that exquisite passage. The circumstances under which he had, on that very day, heard the same portion read in English, and which no doubt led to its production now, filled his heart with tenderness, and gave an occasional pathos to his tones, that rendered them deeply affecting, even to Ross, who was totally unacquainted with the language. Bryan and Ellen could comprehend it, and to them the voice sounded as from another world. The Lady's hands were clasped, her eyes were closed, and every emotion seemed lost in prayer. Old Shane presented the most striking object of all : for, accustomed as he was to hear the Scriptures daily read, it would have seemed as though something most strangely new had reached his ear and heart. He sat in breathless attention, catching as it were at every word, and straining his faculties to grasp the mighty subject presented to their view. Basil who shall portray the feelings of Basil ? Hia countenance was shaded, but tears of joy and praise trickled fast down his furrowed cheeks, as the wonderful chain of events passed rapidly before his mental view. The master-chord was touched in the heart of that poor Irishman; he could not mistake its tone, and his was the blessed privilege to have wrought in the work. Nor did his happiness end here : such a persevering thirst after 104 DERRY. the word of life bespoke a Divine agency, exerted also in the case of old Dennis : and while, as Magrath slowly recited the concluding verse, he received it as a message from on high, addressed to himself; his emotion was in- creased yet more on hearing from poor Shane such an amen as never had before issued from his lips. Immedi- ately after, a heavy cannonading shook the town ; and the falling of some loosened tiles into the shattered room above recalled most bitterly the reality of their domestic loss. "Go on, Magrath, go on with your story, my dear fellow," said Bryan, hastily. But Magrath seemed to have come to a stop in his narrative. There evidently was something that he did not like to relate; and the Lady interposed, saying, " Magrath is fatigued, my dear child : another time he may resume. Bring the Bible hither, and let us seek to the Lord. He has smitten, and he will heal." Bryan obeyed : he took the fourteenth chapter of St John, and commented on it as one who felt its rich con- solations. Neither did he abstain from exposing most unreservedly the vanity of every hope that was not placed on Jesus Christ alone. He addressed Magrath, and, point- ing out the grounds of their perfect assurance, in regard to the present bliss of those so recently departed, he told him that of such bliss he could not be partaker, if cut off in like manner, while resting on an unsound, itnholy faith. In solemn terms he spoke to Shane, as one yet unrenewed in the spirit of his mind ; and directed to Ross a series of animated interrogatories, well calculated to probe his conscience, and to display his peril. " And now to prayer," he concluded. "Diminished as our party is, oh, let not one withdraw from it 1" Magrath DERRT. 105 understood the allusion to himself, and kneeled beside his uncle. "It seems strange," said Ross, when they arose, "that I, who have been as one of your own family these many months, and so heaped with kindnesses, should be the person who has not a single word of consolation to offer ; but I cannot it cuts too deep " and he sat down quite overpowered. " My beloved young friend," said the Lady, laying her hand on his shoulder, " we lack not the consolation which man can give. ' Our souls had fainted within us, unless we had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.' This, alas ! is the land of the dying, the land of the dead. Earth bears us on its surface for a little while, prepared to claim again the kindred dust. These bodies that shall yet be scattered on the winds, and whirled across the path of succeeding generations, do these deserve our care ? Yonder empty seats can preach as eloquently as angel-tongues, to tell us we are nothing. Hark to that shot ! You know not its commission ; the next may summon you and whither ? To the land of the living, or to that of the doubly dead ? To the God of purity, whom none without holiness shall see ; or to the father of lies, who whispers that what the Lord has said He will not perform ? Awake, awake, young man : escape for your life; flee from the wrath to come!" Bryan could not prevail on himself to quit the house on that sad night : but left with Basil alone, while Magrath had persuaded Shane to let him assist his tottering limbs to reach the little dormitory, they com- menced a discourse on the subject of that joyous recog- nition which awaits the members of Christ in the pre- 106 DERRY. sence of their Head. Magrath returned, and requested leave to join them. "Now, your honour," said he, when a pause ensued, " I 'm thinking that you would be glad to hear the end of the ould story. Somehow, I didn't like to go on, and my uncle by, and young Mr Ross ; but I 'm quite agreeable to letting you know the rest." His offer being very thankfully accepted, he proceeded to relate, that his grandfather revealed to him the hiding- place of the manuscripts, and he commenced their per- usal; overcoming, as well as he could, the obstacles pre- sented by many corrections and interlineations. He passed whole hours in this occupation, until his father, suspecting that all was not right, apprised the priest ol his doubts; and young Larry was unexpectedly assailed at the confessional by questions which, on peril to his soul, he was obliged to answer. A visit from the priest to Dennis was the consequence; but Magrath, not being present, could not tell what passed, excepting only that he heard a great deal of violent altercation ; and he him self, for having so long listened to the commendation oi heretics, and above all, for daring to read a wicked book, was sent on a long and severe pilgrimage. "Before I set out, I was resolute to see my poor grandfather; but that wouldn't be allowed me. How- ever, I contented myself with getting in at his window by night, the door being locked outside, and sure enough the old man was changed grievously. ' Larry, dear,' says he, ' it 's the last of me you 're seeing now ; for my ould heart is broke into five halves by the blasphemy of 'em I suppose he meant the books; 'and now, honey he, ' they '11 be after burying me afore you re- DERRY. 107 turn, for the life is flickering out of me like a wasted candle, but' and then he repeated something out of the papers about the blessed Saviour. ' Ay,' says he, smiling like a babe, ' out of my hands they may get it, but sorrow the thief that can steal it out of my mind.' I remember his words, though I couldn't pin much meaning upon them, and it 's like he was delirious. However, he gave me what was hanging about his neck, and said, ' That 'a a true gospel for ye, Larry, dear : now, don't ye part with it, but wear it unknowns!; for my poor sake. And, child, if ever ye 're puzzling to know how I died, it 's according to that.' I cried over the ould man, and left him ; and sure enough, when I came home from my penance, it was burying him they were." The young man was then, it appeared, absolved from his past sins, and told to be thankful for his escape from perdition. Dennis, they asserted, had made a full con- fession of all his crime against the Church ; and that the heretic bishop and his fellow-prisoners had met several times a-day to curse the Catholic Church, and put spells upon the kingdom. That by listening to the prayers of heretics, he had fallen under the power of the evil spirit, and was trying to lead poor Larry in the same way. However, having been convinced of his wickedness, on giving up the fatal papers to be burnt, he had received absolution, and died in the faith. "Not but that it needed a power of masses to help his sowl in purgatory," added Magrath, " and the priest warned my father that he was bound to do it for a penitent sinner. Indeed, I Ve heard my father say that Dennis in his grave cost him more money than his six living childer, that wer munching and supping from morning till night." 108 DERBY. Magrath, however, was not well at ease concerning hia grandfather : for it was whispered by some that he had died excommunicate, though the priest soon put such penances on those who hinted it as stopped their tongues. One day, recollecting that the old man had said the scapular, or gospel, as the people generally called it, would shew how he died, the youth ventured to rip it open, and was not a little amazed and alarmed to find that it contained the old paper. At first he thought to take it to the priest : but having never confessed his nocturnal visit, he dreaded further discoveries and another pilgrimage. He therefore read it over and over to detect any evil that might lurk in it; and finding nothing that could possibly do harm, melted too by the recollection of the afflicted donor and not a little afraid of being haunted if he disobeyed his last injunction he again sewed up what, after all, might be a true " gospel," as Dennis hadsolemnly assured him that it was, and had worn it as such to that day. " And this," said Basil, " was what led you to question me as to our having cursed your church and people ?" " It was, sir." "And are you satisfied on that point, now?" "Why, I can't say but I'm pretty clear about it Tisn't yourself, Mr Basil, that would curse a dog, let alone a Christian, and I 'm bound to believe that of ye." " But, Magrath, what becomes of the story told of your poor grandfather's dying confession : did he die with a lie in his mouth ?" " He did not, sir : I '11 take my oath to it he wouldn't, * answered Magrath, warmly. " Did the priest invent a falsehood to slander the dead, DERRY. 109 and to turn the living from the paths of peace?" asked Basil, with increased earnestness. Magrath put his hand to his forehead. " Why, then, your honour, I '11 tell you how it was. Poor Dennis hadn't his senses right about him at all. Vexation had bothered him, and he talked at random, which same they mistook for a confession." " Impossible ! the ravings of delirium cannot be mis- taken for reason and recollection." Magrath's perplexity increased : and he gladly evaded the subject by turning to Bryan, who, deeply brooding over the agonising dispensation which had bereft him of objects so dear, sate unconscious of their short dialogue, his eyes shaded with his hand, and tears flowing down his cheeks in the bitterness of unrestrained sorrow. Magrath for a moment gazed on him, and then repeated in Irish, "O death, where is thy sting ?" Bryan looked at him, and he continued, " O grave, where is thy victory 1 the sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law : " then added in English, " Many 's the time that I Ve gone over those words, for somehow they took hold of my fancy ; let alone that my grandfather would be saying it like a paternoster. But, Mr Bryan, dear, it 's myself that can't comprehend it." Roused by this judicious appeal, M'Alister replied, " Read the next verse." Magrath unfolded his manuscript, and read, "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." " And do you not understand that, Magrath ? " " Not rightly, sir, I 'm thinking." Supplied with so appropriate a text, Bryan proceeded, 110 DERBY. with kindling animation, to set before him the full and sublime consolation couched under those inspired word?, " By the entrance of sin into the world, sentence of death passed upon all men ; for all are born in sin, and live in continual transgression. To him who dies unforgiven, death comes in unspeakable terrors, summoning his soul to hell. The sting or dart which destroys him, is sin ; and that which gives strength or power to sin, is the holy law of God, shewing it in all its blackness, the off- spring of Satan, worthy to dwell with him in the lake of fire for ever. The grave swallows up its victims, and every mound of earth is but a monument of the power of sin. God's law declares 'the soul that sinneth, it shall die ; ' ' the wages of sin is death ; ' ' the wicked shall be turned into hell;' and, armed with this commission, Death goes forth to slay to furnish food for the grave, and fuel for the flames that cannot be quenched. Do you under- stand this, Magrath 1 " "I do, sir; and sad enough it is. But then the in- nocent and the good " " The innocent and the good are those who never in thought, word, or deed departed from the strict and holy law of God; who never were conscious of a motive that had not His honour and glory for its sole object; who were neither guilty of actual sin, nor partakers of that sinful nature which belongs to the race of guilty Adam. Where shall we find such characters, Magrath 1" " Indeed, sir, if you are so strict as that, it isn't in this world we must look for them." " Then, if we stop here, judging according to the law of God, what remains but death in all its terrors, a victo- rious grave, and a portion in eternal fire ?" "I'M QUITE ASTRAY HOW WE ARE TO GET OUT OF IT." Pa,ffe in. DERRY. Ill " Nothing else, sir." " Now, Magrath, in order to disarm death of his sting, what must be done 1 " " You must take away the law, sir." " Impossible : for God has said, ' One jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.' " " Then we must fulfil it." " We cannot : we are born under a broken law, and we break it daily ; one transgression shuts us out from hope ; for the Scripture says, ' Whosoever shall keep the whole law, yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.' " "Indeed, then, I'm quite astray how we are to get out of it," said Magrath. " Sin has obtained the victory over us, and by means of the law destroys us. But what if One came who could, as you say, fulfil the law, having been born with- out the sin of Adam's race, and lived and died without transgression ?'' " He would get the victory back again, sure." "Exactly so, Magrath, and Jesus Christ has gained that victory; for He was clothed in flesh, pure and holy as was Adam's when first created by the hand of Jehovah : and He perfectly fulfilled the whole law, suffering a wretched life and cruel death, persecuted by Satan and evil men. Yes, He won the victory indeed ! And what He won by bitter sufferings He gives to all believers. God, who armed the law with its dreadful power to slay, gives \is the means to escape its sting, gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. His sufferings satisfied the justice of God; atoning for our transgressions. His death is our life ; for Jesus, by descending into the grave, 1 1 2 DERBY. wrested from Satan the conquest that he had won. And knowing this, may we not exclaim, ' death, where is thy sting 1 O grave, where is thy victory ?' " Magrath replied not: and Bryan requested Basil to repeat in Irish the substance of what he had said. This was faithfully done, and attentively heard; and then M'Alister proceeded to describe who they were who could confidently appropriate the apostle's exultation, dwelling on the holiness, the zeal, devotion, and humi- lity which mark a true disciple of Christ ; drawing a marked distinction between the careless assent of a worldly mind and the active principle of true faith, uniting believers to their Lord, as the members to their head, the branches to their root, and the body of flesh to a vivifying soul. " And these," he concluded, " are the ransomed, the pardoned, the justified, who, having no hope but in Christ Jesus, find in Him all that they need , through faith in Him they can defy a stingless death, and triumph over the victory of the grave." " I believe it," said Magrath, as he looked upon the pale but animated countenance of his instructor; " for it isn't a fancy that could uphold ye all this sorrowful day. I Ve listened and watched, but lambs upon earth or saints in heaven couldn't take it more meekly. Not a word of revenge against them that did it; not a look of reproach to me that belong to 'em and yet a heartbreak it is, and veins of the heart were they " He grasped Bryan's hand, and ejaculating, "The Lord bless ye!" hastily re- treated into his apartment. "How characteristic was that burst of feeling!" ex- claimed Basil, "and how cheering! Mercies rich and abundant lie veiled beneath these cloudy dispensations j DEIIRY. 113 and the persecutions of God's people shall tend, as of old, to the enlargement of His Church." "Amen!" sighed Bryan. " The blow has fallen heavily upon my heart; and while faith struggles to look up and smile, memory cleaves to earth, imagina- tion digs beneath its surface, and all the sinful weakness of flesh gathers strength to resist the Comforter; refus- ing, hating to be comforted; I want reproof." " Alas ! my son, your heart reproves you, and Satan whispers hard sayings, adding wormwood to gall. That doubting, half-reproachful expostulation, 'Lord, if thou haclst been here, my brother had not died 1 how often has it breathed from my agonised soul ! But they shall rise again, rise to welcome His approach, rise to share the glories of His reign. Then shall death be swallowed up in victory, when this corruptible shall have put on incor- ruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. It was sweetly considerate of poor Magi-ath to lead your labouring thoughts into that track of life, and light, and glory." " It was indeed. A ray appeared to break on his own mind, revealing where true comfort lay. Oh, that it may lighten more and moi'e, exposing the snares that bebob his crooked path, and guiding his feet into the way of peace I" H DERBY. CHAPTER VII. THE morning which followed that day of bitter trial, dawned on the afflicted family through clouds and storms. A heavy fall of rain, finding free ingress through the broken roof, obliged the inmates to devise means for filling up the chasm a task too perilous to be performed in the usual way, since the workmen so employed would have become a mark for the enemy's gunners. Magrath displayed great skill in directing the operation ; and hastening down-stairs, employed himself in altering, as much as possible, the arrangement of the furniture, changing the usual position of the breakfast- table, and narrowing the space formerly occupied by the family. Bryan, as he paced the room with restless steps, surveyed from time to time the progress of his attached follower : and secretly acknowledged the mercy which had sent among them one, who, to the faithful affection of old Shane, added that judgment and self-possession in which the gray-haired domestic had always proved him- self remarkably deficient. But he spoke not. Those feelings of bitter wrong sustained, which had wrought in his mind on the preceding day, even to a momentary thirst for vengeance, had partially revived, while, standing on the bedstead, he assisted to repair the breach where death found entrance, and fixed a tempo- 115 rary shutter to the window-frame, through which the beloved remains were passed to the street below. To combat these suggestions was no easy task ; for patriot- ism combined its powerful voice with what seemed the pleadings of filial and fraternal love. Hitherto Bryan had refused to depart from the strict line of defensive operations, nor had he been much urged to do so ; but now it became evident that frequent sallies would take place, and not to volunteer a soldier's part must necessarily expose a young and active man to unpleasant remarks. It is the policy of the tempter to aggravate present grief by leading the imagination to dwell on the probability of future perplexities ; and poor Bryan experienced such a conflict as almost overpowered his frame, fatigued by two nights of watchful sorrow, during which he had not cast off his apparel. Magrath having ended his arrangements, brought out his uncle, who complained of his chair having been removed ; while Magrath in a low voice, and in Irish, explained his motive, and exhorted the old man to lay a curb on his feelings when the ladies should appear. Touched by the querulous tremor of Shane's tone as he promised obedience, Bryan drew a chair close to him, and, taking both his hands, asked how he had rested. " Rested is it ? Yourself may tell that, Master Bryan, while the eye and the cheek of ye shew that your young heart 's well-nigh broken. Ahone ! but the deed hasn't brought up to your sight the rivers of blood that trickled past mine ; nor unshrouded the dead to shew you their gaping wounds, and make the cries ring in your ears that were hushed long and long afore you were born. 116 DERRY. "It's nice comfort you're giving him, isn't it?" asked Magrath, impatiently. Shane hung his head, and Bryan with soothing kind- ness said, " It is I that should comfort him, for he speaks too truly of the agonising recollections bixmght to mind by this event. You know not, Magrath, what your uncle's affection for our race has led him to endure. We live in the veins of his heart, and what afflicts us, pierces him." Gratified by this testimony, Shane looked up at his young master, saying, " True for ye, dear ; but then we know they are in glory, and who would bring 'em back?" Then, with greater earnestness, he went on, " There she sat, she that's an angel in heaven now, after going to church las* 1 Sunday. ' And I 'm thinking, Shane,' said she, 'that my poor Ellen won't go again to the house of God, until they '11 be carrying her there in a coffin.' ' Ah now, Miss Letitia, then,' said I, 'and what '11 be putting euch dark fancies in your young head ? Many 's the day that ye '11 both be skipping with the kids, upon your own hills again.' Sure, my heart didn't go along with my words, but I said it to cheer her soul, anyhow. ' Is it dark iny fancies are, Shane 1 ' says she, with a smile like a sunbeam. ' Nay, but I '11 read you an account of the place that I'm thinking to dwell in.' And then she opened the ould book, and read something near the end of it, about a city that hath no sun, nor moon, nor candle, but is always bright with the glory of God. I asked her, how did she know that she was going to live there ? and sho told me that she knew it. 'And, Shane,' said she, 'you heard the shot that hit the market-house ? many of those Uiots will we have among us ; and if one of them hits me, DERRT. 117 I '11 tell you, Shane, dear, it will be but a chariot that my father sends to take me to the bright city.' Och, but I '11 never forget how she turned up her blue eyes and smiled, as if it was all before her sight." " She 's there now," uttered Magrath, in a deep tone of voice ; while Bryan in silence regaled on this almost dying testimony of the gentle spirit whose flight he longed to follow. The entrance of the Lady and Ellen severely put to the test both his fortitude and Shane's. They had slept, and the waking hour who that has known such a waking hour would wish it described ? who that has not could realise the description ? Deep sobs shook the frame of poor Ellen, as she vainly strove to answer her brother's tender inquiries : while the Lady, advancing to Shane, took his hand, and extending her other to Magrath, " What comfort, my aged partner in sorrow, has the Lord given you under this blow ?" " Tell her Ladyship what you told the master," whis- pered Magrath. Shane readily obeyed, and the Lady's countenance assumed an expression of triumphant delight, as she uttered praises to the Author and Finisher of her children's faith. " Oh, that such a chariot would come for me ! " mur- mured Ellen. " H\ish, love ; were you not even now resigning all your will to His 1 " "Ah yes! but" " Unsay that ' but,' my beloved young lady," inter- rupted Basil, who had entered. " He hath done ALL things well ; but it is never well with our souls till they ussent to that confession.'* 118 DERRT. Magrath had placed the Bible before Bryan ; and whispered, " Will I call the soldiers in ? " as their steps were heard descending the stairs from their breakfast. A nod of delighted acquiescence despatched him to summon them, while a look of mutual gratulation was exchanged between Basil and the Lady. Again was the domestic visitation improved to the benefit of others ; and Basil, having brought down his Irish translation, had the delight of seeing Magrath dili- gently studying the chapter which was read. "Heaven bless you !" said the elder of the soldiers, as they respectfully retired after prayer. "God sends trouble to all, and happy are they who get such comfort with it" "Blessed, indeed," remarked Basil, "are those afflic- tions which trim the lamp to make it burn more brightly causing the light to shine broadly before men, which else had illumined but a contracted sphere." "Oh, sir!" said Ellen, "I will indeed unsay that dis- contented but. It seemed hard, when first we entered this altered room ; but the Lord sends others to hear and to pray in their place yes," she added, raising her eyes with solemn fervency " yes, He hath done all things well ; and His will, His will alone be done ! " " Didn't she look like an angel then ? " whispered Shane to Magrath in Irish. " Ay, and she '11 be one before long." Magrath did not seem aware how widely he was departing from his church's bounds in thus freely con- ceding an entrance into heaven to those whom she stig- matises as the progeny of hell. Taught from his earli- est years to regard as the natural claimants of his most DERRY. 119 vindictive hatred all who bore the Protestant name, the temporary impression in their favour which his grand- father's narrations had made, wore away beneath the rough collision of fiercer spirits ; and gladly did he ac- cept the pre-eminence which his comparative learning acquired for him among evil men. Hardy, daring, and acute, he shrunk from no enterprise that was placed before him, conscious that his wit and' cunning would be found available where the rougher qualities might not suffice. He had been chosen to convey intelligence to Lundy, and approached the walls of Derry with feelings as hostile as ever beat in the bosom of man counting it a high privilege to accelerate the extermiiui. tion of what he considered a nest of poisonous reptiles. How far the hospitable generosity of Bryan might have wrought upon his prejudiced feelings, without the aid of his unexpected recognition of Shane, may be doubt- ful ; but the word is sure which says, " When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him ;" and many a persecuted member of the Church of Christ, in those days of discord and massacre, experienced its fulfilment. Certain it is, that consanguinity was the least powerful of all the ties which, after a little space, bound Magrath to the house of the M'Alisters. An Irishman is generally too much the creature of impulse to investigate very closely the origin of his warm feelings ; and when Magrath did incline to wonder at his growing attachment to an heretical brood, he referred it to the royalty of the O'Neill, which de- manded from him an allegiance spontaneously paid. Conscience occasionally whispered that the Lady, having strayed from their fold, was under the ban of the 1 20 DERRY. Church, and, as such, an alien from the prerogatives of her race ; but Magrath turned a deaf ear to these ad- monitions banishing the thought by a happy facility which he had of forgetting whatever he did not choose to remember. Basil's first recital had revived most unexpectedly the very feelings best calculated to soften his religious asperities ; and it was from a dim recollection of the calming effect which the Scriptures never failed to pro- duce on his grandfather, that Magrath was led, as it were instinctively, to place them in the hands of those who writhed under affliction. But to his own mind they were still devoid of interest, unless clothed in the garb of his kindred tongue. " It isn't that I care for the Bible," said he one day, when wishing to damp the evident hopes that Basil entertained of his conversion. "An ould legend of Bryan Boromy, or Conn, would take my fancy more. But you see the Celtic comes so natural to me, that the sound goes through my heart. Sure, and didn't they all speak it that are dead, and they that are far away 1 Wasn't it the comfort of ould Dennis to tell his griefs in it ; and didn't I hear it talked round the dinner-board, and sung over the cradle ? Och, but it's a murder to twist this English off my tongue-, while the Irish slips out of my throat like the breath of my lungs, or glides down into my heart be- fore I'm aware of it." An Irishman of our day has most beautifully expressed the charm of those familiar accents : " And oh ! be it heard in that language endearing, In which the fond mother her lullaby sung ; Which spoke the first lispings of childhood, and bearing The father's last prayer from his now silent tongue. DERR*. 1 2 1 That so, when it breathes the pxire sound of devotion, And speaks with the power that still'd the rough ocean, Each breast may be calm'd into gentler emotion, And Erin s wild harp to Hosannas be strung. When Bryan made his appearance on that day in the streets of Deny, his garb of deep mourning heightening the paleness of his dejected countenance, looks and words of heartfelt sympathy followed his steps. His young companions greeting him, evinced in various modes the sincerity of their commiseration, some dashing away a tear as they spoke of comfort, others bitterly imprecating vengeance on the authors of their common calamities, and nearly all describing the event as having kindled tenfold ardour in the breasts of the garrison. Arrived at the Diamond or open square in which the lour principal streets of the city meet, Bryan was quickly joined by Ross, and surrounded by citizens and officers of the garrison, all anxious to tender their inite of consola- tion. He had not stood long on this spot when a party ap- proached him, among whom he recognised the two most distinguished characters, Governor Walker and Colonel Murray. The former of these, a Yorkshire clergyman, had lately held some preferment in the county Tyrone; and being ardently devoted to the Protestant cause, which he consi- dered it lawful to support by other than spiritual weapons, he had raised a regiment for the protection of his imme- diate neighbourhood, placing himself at its head. During the early part of Lundy's administration, and before his treachery was generally suspected, Walker had opened a communication with him, volunteering his services to aid 1 22 DEKRT. in the defence of Deny; and very materially had he con- duced to the first repulse of the enemy. The undisguised malice of Lundy towards him, and his refusal to admit within the city one who had engaged the foe at a few- miles' distance during the whole night, had aroused the popular feeling so strongly against Lundy, that it issued, as we have seen, in the expulsion of that traitor and his unprincipled abettors. Walker was then, in conjunction with Colonel Baker, invested with the government of Derry ; and in his own person continued to unite the strangely incongruous characters of a military commander, and civil governor, and a spiritual pastor. Nor was his external appearance of less singular combination than his official responsibilities. Considerably advanced in life, his tall and commanding figure yet displayed no token of time's devastating hand, but well became the cuirass which shone from beneath his upper garment. This, however, was clerical, a gown of deep purple with loose sleeves, and a large ministerial band; but the military sash of bright crimson, not unfrequently stuck with pistols, formed, with the cuirass, as unsuitable an accom- paniment to it, as did the sword which his right hand generally bore, to the Bible frequently carried in his left. Governor Walker was, indeed, an apt personifica- tion of the days in which he lived ; and had he confined his active exertions to the spot committed to his trust, it might be difficult to pass at this distance of time, a severe judgment on a man who certainly appeared so far com- missioned for a most extraordinary work; but when wa follow him to the end of his mortal career, and find him numbered among the slain amid the waters of the dis- tant Boyne, whither no possible call of duty could have DERRY. 123 led him, we are again brought back to the emphatic warning of Him whose ambassador he assumed to be, "Put up thy sword again into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Murray wore a far different aspect. Descended from the race of Philiphaugh, whence sprung the house of Athol, he inherited an estate in Ireland from his fathers, who had settled with others of their countrymen in the north. He held the Protestant religion with the tena- city of his Scottish ancestry, and defended it with the enthusiastic ardour of his Irish birth and temperament. Still in the bloom of life, he had already acquired great distinction by various exploits of military courage and skill. To his energetic proceedings, after fighting his way to the gates of Derry at the head of his troop, was owing the sudden flight of Lundy and his crew ; and Murray, recognised as principal military commander, enjoyed the full confidence, both of the garrison and citi- zens, among whom he was exceedingly popular. The day had brightened into sunshine; and Shane O'Connogher, leaning on the arm of his nephew, hobbled unperceived towards his young master on one side, while the Governor and Colonel approached him from the opposite direction he was made, for the time, an object of general attention. Walker first advanced, and laying one hand on Bryan's shoulder, while he raised the other towards heaven, to which also he lifted his expressive countenance, he solemnly uttered, "I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held : and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou 124 DERRY. not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." These sublime words of Scripture, spoken with the deepest emphasis of genuine feeling, by a voice well accustomed to make itself heard, even in the din of battle, produced no slight effect on the surrounding listeners. Many an eye sparkled, many a cheek burned; and the martyr's zeal appeared to kindle among them. Bryan could not be insensible to their perfect applicability in the case of his beloved parent and sister. Well he knew, that for the testimony which they held, the testimony of Jesus as the only and all- sulficient Saviour of sinners, most gladly would they have laid their heads on the block, or given their bodies to the flame. But he was also conscious, that the indiscriminate zeal of Walker would have applied the same passage to any among the ungodly multitude, who had fallen, as Protestants, by the hand of the common foe. He could not, therefore, yield the animated response which the same passage would have called for, if adduced by the lip of Malcolm or of Basil ; but he deeply felt the affectionate sympathy of the warlike pastor, and clasping his descend- ing hand, assured him that, by the grace of God, he was enabled to resign submissively what His unerring judg- ment had seen fit to recall from among the many bless- ings bestowed on him. "Right, my young friend. You did not, without counting the cost, close these gates against the Popish DERKY. 125 legions, and choose the defence of the Lord Almighty before the favour of a treacherous king. We shall conquer yet, for our cause is righteous, our hearts are true, and our hands strong; and they who now lament the sorest, will exult the loudest when God has broken this accursed yoke from off the neck of the country." He drew back, and Colonel Murray, extending his hand to Bryan, spoke with a warmth that crimsoned his cheek and bedewed his eye. " Believe me, M'Alister, there is not a heart within these walls but throbs for your calamity in mingled sorrow and wrath. The first shot, I may almost say, seems to have singled you out as the fittest object of revenge you, who have been foremost among the gallant citizens of Derry to stamp upon her annals the record of inflexible patriotism, shewing them an example of active courage, as now of pious, unshrinking endurance." The Bentiment was so accordant with those of the bystanders, that it elicited an audible buzz of approbation, restrained only by delicacy from breaking out into louder applause. The Colonel then, stepping back a pace or two, still facing Bryan, with both hands resting on his sword, and the same bright animation playing on his countenance, resumed in a yet louder tone " Reparation we cannot offer for this deep wrong sus- tained in the public cause : yet what we can do, we will. Yonder, M'Alister" and he pointed with his sword, - "yonder are the infernal machines that brought death into your peaceful home. A sally is projected ; that battery must be stormed, and the unanimous voice of your fellow-townsmen will confirm my words, when I concede to your well-tried courage and fidelity the posfc 126 DERBY of honour the conduct of this assault the privilege of this just and honourable act of vengeance." A loud and general cheer from his auditory gave the anticipated con- firmation. Never, in the course of his short experience, had Bryan been called on to maintain such a struggle against every bias of natural feeling. Young, ardent, and de- voted to the cause in which so many of his race had bled, lie could not be insensible to the personal distinction con- ferred, by such marked respect from Walker and Murray. Twice had he with difficulty stifled the secret cry for revenge to which this public invitation seemed to give a momentary sanction ; while all around him was calculated to feed the indignant fire, as well as to render more in- tolerable the imputation of cowardice, with which a re- fusal might fairly brand his name. The bright eye of Murray, and the approving smile of Walker were both upon him : his young companions crowded around, eager to volunteer their services beneath his leadership. The sword of M'Alister was girded over his sable coat, and GJU its hilt his left hand unconsciously rested ; while a dis- charge from the enemy's guns, and a bugle-call from the guard-house, completed the exciting concomitants of that trying moment. And how did Bryan meet this exigency ? In a strength not his own. The principle on which he had declined to mingle in offensive warfare was unchanged, nor could its strong foundation be shaken by the inroad made upon his personal happiness. Indeed, as he raised his heart in mental prayer, that event assumed a restrain- \ng character, as recalling forcibly to mind the command, "Avenge not yourselves vengeance is mine, I will DEKRY. 127 repay, saith the Lord." Bryan's resolution was taken : but, before he could give utterance to it, Shane caught hold of his sleeve. The old man had frequently ex pressed his displeasure at the pacific counsels of the Lady of M'Alister, and loudly urged his master to seek distinc- tion in the paths of military peril ; but the last blow had fallen so heavily on the aged sufferer, that his spirit was utterly broken by it ; and distracted by the apprehension of seeing the youth borne home, a mangled corpse, to their house of mourning, he now uttered, in a plaintive tone, an appeal which increased the embarrassments of Bryan's situation. " Musha, then, honey dear, is it yourself that '11 go to be murthered and shot by the butcherly hands that have laid your kin in an untimely grave ? Ahone ! but a bloody welcome ye '11 get, and the Lady's heart to burst over your coffin." " Silence your blarney there ! " exclaimed an angry bystander : " d'ye think that ever a lad of us goes out to battle but some lady's heart must stand a chance of an ache, or may be a breaking, before he comes back ? " " Fie, fie, man ! " cried another : " what 's to come over us if old soldiers preach up faint-heartedness to young ones 1 " " Och ! and it 's no less than Shane O'Connogher,' added a third, more angrily ; " old fire-eating Shane, per- suading his master to be a coward ! " That word cut Bryan to the heart : his colour rose, and his lip quivered, and he felt as though more were required of him than strength was given to achieve. But seeing Shane about to renew his pleadings, he hastily interposed ; and, looking on the last speaker, said, " Can- 128 DERBY. not charity siirmise a less disgraceful motive than cow- ardice, where the hand is withheld from taking vengeance for a private wrong ?" "Private!" repeated Walker ; "can that wrong be private which has carried blood and havoc into the family of a patriotic citizen ? Nay, but ' if one member suffer, the rest suffer with it.' Your wrong, M'Alister, is ours, and our wrongs are yours. Private !" and he pointed to where a bomb was at that moment falling over the houses "methinks such messengers as that are suffi- ciently public to appease all scioiples on the score of individual grievance. Come, young gentleman, I, an Englishman, am daily hazarding my life on behalf o' your country I, a minister of the gospel of peace " and he drew his little Bible from his bosom " am in arms to defend the most holy faith contained in this precious book. Think you that a private wrong from yonder savages would win me to renounce this glorious cause ? Such qualms are unseemly." "Nevertheless," replied Bryan, "as I have hitherto declared my purpose of maintaining the character which I at first assumed one purely defensive I have yet to learn on what grounds I may now consistently depart from it, under a full disclaimer of personal revenge." " Please yourself, sir," said Walker, as he coolly turned away : and Bryan had to endure the glance, the shrug, the whisper of wonder and contempt from many of those who had most eagerly pressed forward to hail him their appointed leader. Even Ross walked off in gloomy dis- pleasure ; but Murray, after a pause of evident perplexity and disappointment, gave proof of the generous feeling for which he was distinguished. In the same clear audible BERRY. 129 tone he ouce more addressed M'Alistcr " I cannot say that I fully comprehend the nature of your distinction, nor where the precise line of demarcation lies. But your scruples I respect, because I know" and he laid a strong emphasis on the word "that your personal in- trepidity is as unimpeachable as your principles both above the breathing of a question. I would not, I con- fess, desire to see the example generally followed under our present circumstances ; but no man of honourable feeling can withhold the testimony of warm esteem where consistency of conduct springs from purity of motive. Give me your hand, M'Alister a hand that will never flinch from any enterprise where your conscience ap- proves." And with this kind farewell he followed Walker. Oppressed, and yet relieved from a far sorer oppression, Bryan turned towards the burying-ground, hoping by a visit to that endeared spot to calm his agitated spirit : yet before he reached the corner, now so sadly precious, his attention was attracted by two children seated on a ne \v-made grave, and crying bitterly. Bryan knew it to be that of a young townsman who had fallen in the sally of the preceding Sunday ; and, drawn by sympathy, he ap- proached the youthful mourners, gently inquiring why they grieved. " Oh, isn't it enough to be grieving at," cried the girl, " when brother Patrick is lying down here, ever so deep, and will never get up again ? " " Mother is always calling him," added the boy, who was much younger, "but he doesn't come, anyhow; though I've called him too." And, putting down his rosy mouth to the sod, he shouted " Pat ! " with all his power J ISO DEKRY. " Ah, vein of our hearts ! " sobbed the girl, as she aiso bent downwards, "is it never that you'll answer us again, your poor little Thady and me ? " Bryan was deeply touched ; he seated himself by them, on the grave, and said, "My dears, I can feel for your sorrow, and you for mine. Look yonder, in that corner, at the large new mound of clay ; my own fond mother, my young and beautiful sister, were buried there last /light" he could not proceed. The little boy leaned against him, looking up in his face, while the girl said, " What ! the ladies is it 1 the ladies killed by a big shot in their bed ? " Bryan nodded assent. " Oh, then, and I wish you saw my mother : it 's the only thing she '11 hear about, let alone Patrick. Maybe she'd listen, if you spoke of them first, and then of Jesus Christ." " And why of the Saviour last ? " " I don't rightly know : she 'd be talking of nothing else, and Pat couldn't tire of reading about Him in the ould Bible. But now, joy, if we'll be spaking the least word she goes wild, and cries out for Pat, to no end." " Will you take me to see her ? " asked Bryan. " Och ! and it 's we that will, sure," answered the girl, rising with alacrity ; but the boy remained seated, and as Biyan moved away he pulled at his coat, saying, " Sir, if you'd call vei-y loud, 'Pat,' maybe he'd hear you sir, will you then ? " Bryan made no answer, but lifting the child in his arms, and taking the girl by the hand, conducted them to the other grave. "See, my dears, if calling would awaken the dead, DERBY. 131 do you not think that I should raise my voice, and shout for those who lie here to return to me 1 " " Maybe not, sir," said the girl. " Heaven is a better place for them no shot fly about there : Jesus Christ feeds them, and takes care of them." Surprised and soothed too, Bryan rejoined, " Most true iny child ; nor would I, as I meant to tell you, bring then back to this world of woe : for I know that they are with Jesus. But how comes it that you wished to try am j awaken Patrick?" The girl again began to sob, and twisting her little apron, said, " I didn't wish to try, because I knew that the dead would never wake till the angel comes with a trumpet. But mother cries out so, and she can't believe that he 's with Jesus Christ. Ifc 's Thady wants to call him up, to make mother eat." More than ever interested for his little companions, Bryan only remained long enough by the grave to declare to them in simple terms the blessedness of sleeping in Jesus : with a solemn warning of the hourly peril in which their lives were placed : and then, still carrying Thady, who had become drowsy with grief and fatigue, he accompanied Sarah to the abode of her parent, which was not far distant. It was the house of a widow, in humble yet decent circumstances ; but all bore the marks of desolation and disorder. In a high-backed chair, at the further end of a little darkened apartment, reclined the mother ; her apron thrown over her face. A compassionate neighbour watched beside her, who, on their silent approach, whispered, " I 'm thinking she sleeps, the bereaved creature 1" ! LErfitY. "Sleeps!" repeated the mourner, throwing the aprc 1 ! from her face ; " no, no : He giveth His beloved sleeT, but none to me." Bryan quietly seated himself near her ; and carefully supporting little Thady, shewed him to his mother in sx profound slumber. He was a beaiitiful child ; and the. traces of t;ars on his eyelids and cheeks, with the dis- ordered state of Lis auburn locks, added much to the interest of his appearance. The mother's attention Avas arrested ; she gazed on her boy ; and Bryan said, " Is not this one of His beloved? see how peacefully he sleeps. I found him," he ccvitinuiti, "near the spot where last night I buried iny mother and sister." This abrupt intimation had all the effect that he antici- pated ; the widow looked at him with much compassion, and taking his hand burst into tears. " I have trusted the Lord," continued Bryan, " while His dealings wei'e plain and comprehensible to Immnu Teason ; but now is the trial of faith, when He comes in a cloud, rending away our heart-strings, and the soul would, if it could, stay His hand, and say unto Him, What doest Thou?" The widow shook her head from side to side, and hid lier face, but spoke not. Bryan resumed "To have trusted in Him, to have sought Him long in earnest prayer, and confidently known that the prayer of faith could not fail : to have seen a token of gracious acceptance, and then the vail drawn and all left dark impenetrably dai'k oh, it teaches us a lesson of our own unbelief, most sorely humbling ! For, had we faith but las a grain of mustard-seed, we should cast ourselves upon that seal, ' The promise of God standeth. sure.' " DERRT. 133 "Oh. sir !" exclaimed the poor woman, "yours are the first words that have reached my heart, and sure I see a little bright spot of hope and comfort where all seemed blacker than midnight." She then told him that her dear boy had given many evidences of spiritual feeling, delighting in the Scriptures and prayer. That on the preceding Saturday he had been appointed to accompany a party in the sally of the following day, but did not make it known to her until the Sabbath morning ; when, on her requesting him to attend her and the children to public worship, he waa obliged to confess that his destination was far different. In vain did she plead, and weep, and set before him the sin of violating the Lord's day : to hinder him was im- possible, and when he asked for her blessing, she still continued to urge him, until, after hastily embracing her, he ran off. His mangled remains were brought home at night ; and utter despair in regard to his eternal portion had taken possession of her mind to that hour. By representing the peculiar natui-e of that obligation which compelled the youth to follow his commanders, Bryan convinced her that she was not justified in decid- ing so unfavourably on this most momentous question. He entreated her rather to receive the message as one of admonition to herself, sent in love, to rebuke and chasten ibr the quickening of zeal and repentance. He dwelt on the mysteriousness of the Divine dispen- sations towards the most favoured people of God, and obtained a promise that she would seek grace to rest her burden on the unchangeableness of Him whose gifts and calling are without repentance. After kneeling in prayer, and persuading her to take 134 DERBY. proper sustenance, he left a kiss on little Thady's bloom- ing cheek, and departed. At the door Sarah stood, and raising her eyes to his face, with a low curtsy pronounced the words, "The Lord bless ye, sir!" in a tone of such solemn, such earnest gratitude, that Bryan's heart wel- comed the blessing, and acknowledged the hand of God in honouring him with this commission to comfort Hia mourners, rather than permitting him to go forth on an embassy of destruction against his wretched and deluded countrymen. DEHBY. 13fi CHAPTEK VIII. To communicate the tidings of Bryan's resolute consis- tency, Shane O'Connogher had hastened home; but Magrath lingered about the Diamond, exceedingly pro- voked by the sarcasms occasionally levelled at his absent master. Still he restrained himself; until, sauntering near a small group of the better sort of citizens, he heard a respectable merchant, an alderman, who prided himself on particular friendship with Governor Walker, most vehemently protesting that the insolent young scoundrel ought to be drummed out of the city forthwith. "Nay," observed another, smiling, "such a punish- ment would be somewhat too severe for a silly notion learnt of his fantastical old grandmother." " 'Tis no such thing," answered the other ; " malice and envy against Dr Walker prompted every word that fellow uttered. Did you not perceive, in his sanctimo- nious abhorrence of blood-shedding, an implied censure on our heroic governor? If a layman, forsooth, couldn't draw the sword against Popish traitors, how much less a clergyman ! This M'Alister, with all his fine mouthing, is a rebel at heart, a hypocrite, and a coward." This was too much for Magrath : with that peculiar expression of bitter irony and stern disdain in which he had few competitors, he addressed the angry calumniator. 136 DEB9Y. "Sure, and the lad's out of hearing : you needn't spare your lungs." "What does the rascal mean?" asked the other, sur- veying him from top to toe. " Mane ! what would it mane but to put the lie down the throat of any spalpeen that names coward on Bryan M'Alister?" "Hark ye, sir !" said another citizen, shaking his cane ; "if you don't ask pardon for your insolence, we'll soon teach you better manners." " Pardon, is it ? Fait, and I 've nothing to pardon you for : it wasn't your honour that spake against him." "Away with you, Paddy," said an English officer who stood by, " or your wit won't save your bacon." Magrath, however, moved not, but continued to bend a most ominous look upon the first offender, who called out, " Halloo ! a guard here. The fellow 's dangerous. Come, sir, off to the council : you shall confess your business to Governor Walker." " Confess, is it 1 and to the English priest ? Och, and it 's little he '11 get out of me, his fighting reverence, any how." At this sally, some laughed, others denounced him forthwith as a Popish spy ; and Magrath's case was be- ginning to assume an unpleasant aspect, when Colonel Murray, riding past, observed the commotion, and reined in his horse. The alderman bustled towards him, and his communi- cation induced Murray to dismount, directing that the prisoner should be conducted into the adjoining guard- house, requesting the attendance of the Governor, who v/*ta at hand. DERRY. 137 All the evil in MagrathV character was now at work religious prejudice, party animosity, and the dark passions of revengeful nature. Every individual present appeared a legitimate object of his hatred ; save only Murray, whose courteous and considerate behaviour to- wards Bryan had completely disarmed his malignity. The Colonel, however, took his seat on a side-bench, in the attitude of an observer only ; while Walker, with the alderman and other leading men, appeared in the con- spicuous situation of judges. There were not wanting some who treated the whole matter as a ridiculous farce, while others conceived that a mighty plot was on the eve of discovery. In fact, the worthy alderman was an alarmist, and one of those fond partisans who considered the whole cause of King William and the Protestant faith to hang on the individual exertions and personal security of Governor Walker : who, on his part, had by far too much good sense and integrity to encourage such misplaced confi- dence in a fellow-mortal. The charge having been gone into, the harsh expres- sions of the alderman being considerably softened in his own statement, Magrath was asked what excuse he could offer for so insulting an attack on one who had given him no offence. " Give him his oath," answered the prisoner, " till I cross-question him." This proposal, exciting some mirth at the alderman's expense, increased his wrath. " He has been on his trial before now, I '11 warrant you, and for something more serious ; biit waiving the insult, which is in truth beneath my notice, I tax the fellow with being a Popish spy." Then seeing Ross, who 138 DEBRY. had mingled with the crowd, he added, " You, sir, as the- intimate companion of young M'Alister, can attest whether this fellow has really been brought up in his family or not." "Does he assert that he was 1" asked a person whore Ross recognised as the original captor of Magrath. It was generally admitted that no such assertion had been made ; while the inflexible composure of Magrath impressed many in his favour. "It does not appear to me," remarked Governoi- Walker, " that anything more is proved than a very rude and unjustifiable speech to a superior. If the prisoner can shew himself authorised to fight the battles of Mr M'Alister, I for one shall be content to use my influence with my good friend Crowe to accept an apology, and dis- miss him." " Plase your riverince," asked Magrath, with a look of simplicity, "what call would a man shew for fighting of battles?" "There now!" exclaimed the alderman: but "Walker with great good-humour replied, " The call of duty, my lad. A loyal man may fight when his king's authority is resisted ; a Christian man will fight the battles of his faith ; and an attached follower may stand by his master when assailed, which in the present instance I do not see to have been the case. But come our time is precious call witness to prove your connexion with the M'Alister family, and then make a suitable apology to this gentle- man." Ross stepped forward, and said that he knew Magrath to have been some time in the family, that a near relation of his had served them for half a century, and the attach- ment, he believed, was very strong. DERRT. 139 "And is ne a steady adherent to our cause?" asked the, suspicious alderman. " He was among the first to assume the white badge, to my knowledge." " And his religion ? " Hei'e one of the soldiers quartered in the house eagerly advanced to depose that Magrath had, on that morning, invited him to join in family worship, at which he was also present. " After what form ? " inquired the per- severing accuser. The soldier answered that they belong to the Established Church. "All well," said tlia Governor; "and now make an ample apology to the alderman." But Magrath was thoroughly bent to ruin his own cause. He roundly accused Mr Crowe of having ' : mended one big lie with a bigger," and insisted that the apology ought to come from him. "Let him state his own case," said Colonel Murray, " or we shall never have it ended." Magrath turned to him, his countenance brightening, and his manner softening from dogged sullenness into courteous respect. " Why, then, your honour, and I '11 answer to you with all the pleasure in life." "Take rny place, Colonel," cried Walker, "and make what despatch you can." " Sure, your riverince, you '11 be laving your blessing over us, anyhow ? " drawled out Magrath in a ridiculous tone, as Walker stopped to buckle on his sword. " Come, come," said Murray, rapping his knuckles loudly on the table, " no more trifling, sir, be brief." In a moment Magrath assumed the aspect and attitude of a man resolved to make good his cause ; and, fixing a 140 DEKRY. proud look on Murray, said, "It's yourself, sir, that would scorn to put wrong over right, or call a noble young gentleman out of his name, braving him behind his back. It was you that spoke the generous word for him; and yourself would have stopped the foul mouth that angered me." "Angered you, truly!" interrupted the alderman. Magrath turned fiercely round. " Didn't you call him a rebel ? didn't you call him a hypocrite ? didn't you stick the name of coward upon him ? " "I hope not," said Murray; "your fancy, my lad, helped out his meaning." " Fancy, is it ? " Then taking a cane from one who stood near, he touched with it the shoulder of a gentle man, saying, " You '11 plase, sir, to give evidence. Sworn you are not a poor Irishman's good name isn't worth such security but a gentleman's word is fair coin. Speak the truth, sir." " Really," answered the person appealed to, " I cannot in conscience refuse. Certainly, Crowe, you did use the words, though I am sure they were spoken in the heat of argument." The momentary displeasure occasioned by Bryan's con- duct had already disappeared from the minds of those who well knew and rightly appreciated his exemplary character. Considerable indignation was excited by this disclosure ; and not a little heightened when Magrath proceeded "Wasn't he gone to grieve over the clay that these two hands shovelled last night into the grave ? Didn't he return to see where they are not, who used to brighten his meals when he came in from the long guard, and the comfortless watching ? A hypocrite ! ay, he DER-'tT. 141 vriil put on a smile over the breaking heart, to cheer up them thai, are fading before his eyes. A rebel is he ! and blood of O'Neill in every vein !" he trembled with passionate emotion. " A great preservative that against rebellion !" said Alderman Crowe, sneeringly. " Pardon me," interrupted Murray, somewhat warmly, "but allowances must be made for those national feel- ings which are interwoven with our very being. This poor fellow's attachment may well gather strength from the circumstance to which he last alluded. Young M'Alister holds some singular opinions, but I confess that his manly avowal of them struck me as indicating the reverse of hypocrisy. As to rebellion or cowardice, the words might escape in a moment of irritation, but intentionally they could not be uttered in reference to M'Alister." " Right for ye, Colonel Murray," said Magrath, triumphantly, " but his worship spoke a true word that he couldn't make good. He called me a Popish spy. Now, a Catholic I am, and never denied it ; and if I didn't come here as a spy, I came as an enemy. It isn't for love of your faith, nor for love of your cause, that I 'm your friend, anyhow : but I 've borne the badge, and I '11 stick to it, for the sake of Bryan M'Alister." " Upon my word," said the alderman, " we are prettily garrisoned, under this young gentleman's com- mand !" " You are at liberty, Magrath," observed the Colonel, rising. " Return to your master ; but, in future, put a check on these hasty ebullitions, or the consequences may be more serious." Then leaving the room, he re- 142 DERRY. marked to a brother officer, "Such a fellow is worth a regiment of mercenary allies." Not a few of the party concurred in this sentiment j for among the most faithful adherents of the afflicted Protestants were often found those who, though refusing to forsake their religion, yet held it in subordination to their more earthly attachments : and the bold honesty of Magrath's avowals had made its way to many manly bosoms. The alderman, however, was exceedingly annoyed at the unceremonious manner in which Murray had dismissed the prisoner, without even pressing the condition of an apology. In fact, Murray possessed too enlarged a mind for the abode of party spirit, which loves to coil itself within a contracted habitation. His generous sympathy was awakened by Magrath's brief yet touching allusion to M'Alisters domestic calamity; and the concluding trait of enthusiastic nationality struck a kindred chord in his own chivalric character, to which the alderman's unfeeling remark presented a discordant contrast. As Murray remounted his horse, proceeding towards Bishop's Gate, many anxious eyes followed his course. His popularity was a public blessing; because eveiy point of union told forcibly in favour of that singularly constituted garrison. In more tranquil times there had been no lack of hostile feeling between the two great divisions of Protestantism in Derry the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches ; and to widen such breaches was always a favourite device with the common foe. At this period, however, all minor differences were merged in devotion to the sacred cause ; and, with brotherly unanimity, the congregations agreed alternately to use DEKRY. 143 the Cathedral for worship according to their respective forms. Alike in closing the gates, in manning the walls, in dauntlessly exposing their lives, and in pa- tiently enduring a full share of the wants and sufferings more trying far than bodily peril, the Presbyterians had signalised themselves among the boldest and most un- flinching of the defenders ; and though symptoms might now and then break out among the lower orders of an unforgotten feud, all such indications were promptly checked by those in authority, who enforced the absolute need of perfect union in a common bond of fidelity ; while a higher motive was inculcated by men whose spiritual discernment detected in all that savoured of mutual ill-will, the permitted power of Satan to weaken their Protestant fortress. There was also much of treacherous instability among the worldly class, which manifested itself by degrees in frequent desertions, accompanied sometimes with dis- closures that kept the garrison in continual fear lest the enemy's guns should be so pointed as to ignite their scanty stores of ammunition ; and those very characters whose blind attachment was wont to manifest itself in ebullitions of misjudging zeal, like that of Alderman Crowe, were the most ready and efficient dupes of such hollow professors. Crowe had a follower in whom ha placed unbounded confidence, on the ground of his hav- ing forsaken Popery out of compliment to himself; and this man was made acquainted with many deliberations that were not supposed to be divulged beyond the coun- cil-chamber. To him the alderman communicated his sxispicions respecting Magrath, and directed him to keep an eye on the audacious avower of Popery an mjuno 144 DERRY. tion upon which the other acted, from motives some- what unlike those suggested by his employer. Time was rolling on, and the warmth of approaching Bummer appeared far more dreadful than the rudest storms of winter to so dense a population, pent up with- in a narrow compass. After the beginning of May tho throwing of bombs ceased ; and this was hailed as a welcome respite, though only of a few weeks' duration ; but the firing of cannon-balls into the city, some of which were redhot, created a new source of terror, and deprived sevei*al persons of life. James Stuart was still in Dublin, where, assisted by his mock parliament, he continued to issue the most tyrannical and oppressive edicts against the Protestants of the land, outlawing them, that his own adherents might obtain possession of their estates ; and proving that their sole hope must lie in a desperate course of resistance to his usm-pation. No succours had been received from King William ; while the French fleet, with a reinforcement of Popish auxiliaries on board, had gladdened the heart of James by making good their entrance into Bantry Bay, and landing their formidable freight in the country which, it was credibly reported, was to be annexed to the dominions of the French king, when his troops should have completed its subjugation. The Mareschal Conrad de Rosen, a fierce and pitiless commander, headed this expedition, and commenced his progress across the island, from which his object was to root out Protestantism in every form, and to lay the nation prostrate before the rulers into whose hearts it was put to give their dominion unto the Papal Anti- christ. It is difficult to assign a reason fur the tardiness "THE BESIEGERS DREW A TRENCH ACROSS THE WINDMILL HILL." 145. DERRY. 145 of the English Government in this emergency ; but it was overruled to the better instruction of the Protestants as to the value of the stake for which they contended ; and also to the severe chastisement of that pride, self- confidence, and disunion which had sadly marred the Church of Christ among them. During the month of May, continual sallies took place from the gates of Derry, in which the besieged were generally successful. Such was their confidence, that Walker in his Diary mentions, under date May 5 " This night the besiegers drew a trench across the Windmill Hill from the bog to the river, and there be- gan a battery ; from that they endeavoured to annoy our walls, but they were too strong for the guns they us'd, and our men were not afraid to advise them to save all that labour and expense, that they always kept the gates open, and they might Tise that passage if they pleas'd, which was wider than any breach they could make in the walls." This was five months after the com- mencement of the contest, and strikingly displays the undaunted resolution of men who, what with external assaults, and internal treachery, and disappointed hope, had endured enough to damp the ardour of minds sus- tained by anything less powerful than the consciousness of a righteous cause. In the bulk of those people there might indeed be found a few instances of vital, personal religion ; but collectively they had, by so- lemn public acts of devotion, committed themselves and their cause into the hands of the Most High, abjuring all connexion with the idolatrous power which is most emphatically opposed to the sole and absolute sovereignty of Jehovah. What was the result ? " He wrought for 14C BERRY. His name's sake," and having made them, in their unsup- ported constancy, a spectacle to the world, He finally brought them out of their distresses when in the utmost extremity, and blessed their efforts to the establishment of that pure faith for which they professed to suffer. Alas, that so signal an example should in our day have become powerless ! that on occasions of national per- plexity, instead of seeking that Arm wherein our fathers hoped, and trusted, and found deliverance, we should embark our safety in the nut-shell of our own strength, relying on a worldly, crooked, inconsistent, and unscrip- tural policy for that which our perverted wisdom can no more secure than could our puny might have acquired it. " Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy 1 are we stronger than He?" Neglected by their friends, and on all sides pressed by foes, yet could not the inhabitants of Derry entertain a thought of capitulation ; for not only were the most shame- less acts of treachery committed prisoners murdered in cold blood, and messengers fired at under a flag of truco by the assailants, but one of the captives brought into the town after a successful sally, moved by the generoua compassion and kind usage of the citizens, confessed to Governor Walker that the enemy were bound by dread- ful oaths to observe no faith with them ; but, on whatso- ever terms they might obtain possession of the city, to slaughter indiscriminately, without regard to age or sex, whosoever bore the Protestant name. Thus, by the mercy of God, their peril was still made known to them ; and any degree of suffering preferred before delivering up their helpless families to such blood-thirsty fanaticism. The report of De Rosen's probable advance, with for- DERRY. 147 midable reinforcements, was communicated to tlie be- seiged by their enemies, in one of the frequent parleys that took place. It reached M'Alister's home, and was variously received by the different inmates. "This commander," said Ross, who brought the tid- ings, "is alike celebrated for skill and brutality. He cares not about the price of a victory ; friend and foe may perish together, provided another leaf is added to his laurels, and his name clad in additional terrors. I doubt whether he would honour us with a menace, had we not made ourselves of some consequence by holding out so long." " The terrors of his name," observed the Lady, " will not daunt us. ~No blast can uproot what the Lord has planted ; no gate of hell prevail where He acknowledges a Church. Let De Rosen approach with his foreign band it will but relieve us from the pain of counting as our foes exclusively those of our own household." "True for you, my lady," said Magrath. "It's my- self that '11 serve again, if the Frenchmen but take a peep at the ould walls." "But," asked Ellen, whose increasing debility had rendered her almost helpless, " will they not again throw bombs when he arrives 1 " "You needn't doubt that, Miss Ellen," answered Shane. " The art of war requires it. Och, but we '11 be bombarded to purpose, and set fire to, and blown up, maybe !" Ellen shuddered, and Basil remarked, " You have got rather a croaking tune to-day, Shana Has De Rosen re- ceived any commission more effectually to harm us than those who have so long been kept at bay? Does an 148 DERST. event that will drive us clost to our Refuge call for" despondency ? Burnt, and blown up we should long sinee have been, had not a shield been over us which France and all her marshals cannot penetrate." " How like you that rebuke from a man of peace, my old soldier ? " asked Biyan, clapping Shane on the back. "You'll get me into some new scrapes by preaching cowardice, after all the ti-ouble it has cost me to retrieve my character." The sprightliness with which this was spoken, Bryan had recently assumed, to avoid the suspicion of those for whom he was suffering sore privations. Confident that famine would soon shew her ghastly face among them, and distressed at the thoughtless profusion of which many were still guilty, he, with a few others, had agreed to lay by for their families whatsoever their own abstinence could enable them to save, without secreting the common property. To this end they established a mess; and pro- curing the most durable articles, such as salt-meat, pota- toes, meal, cheese, &c., they barely satisfied the cravings of nature, and hoarded the rest. The effects of this spai-e diet were often visible ; but were little remai'ked where all were loosing their bloom, and pining beneath the hourly distresses of the time ; while, as if by common agreement, every tone became bolder, and the courage of every heart assumed a character of higher elevation. Scripture was ransacked by the vai-ious preachers, to furnish their flocks with examples of holy daring and pious endurance. Even those found in the Apocryphal books were rendered avail- able by some, while others, with more spiritualised judg- ment, selected the messages to the seven churches of Asia, applying the reproofs and encouragements in which BERRY. 149 those exquisite portions abound, to the present circum- stances of their afflicted community. At the fire thus kept constantly burning on the altar, many a torch was kindled which had otherwise perhaps remained in eternal darkness. And we, who by our peaceful hearths look back upon the sufferings of that period, may live to ex- perience that persecution can be made effectual to awake a drowsy Church, or to cement a disunited household of faith, or to compel the people of God to put away from among them the unholy leaven, with which false maxims of interest and expediency have led them to defile them- selves. In one of the skirmishes which took place during the month of May, at a little distance from the town, a gallant officer, Captain Cunningham, having been made prisoner by the enemy, and afterwards basely murdered, his remains were brought into Derry, and interred with great solemnity ; a strict fast being kept by the members of the Scottish and dissenting churches, while their re- spective ministers addressed them from the pulpit in terms suited to the affecting occasion. A liberal collection for the suffering poor was at the same time made ; and the laudable example was followed immediately by those of the Established Church. The fast was most strictly kept ; and nowhere more so than under the roof of M'Alister. Perceiving that Ellen refused to fare better than the rest, Magrath expressed his wieh that in her weak state her minister had given her leave to eat. He was not a little surprised at being told that their abstinence was altogether voluntary, and that no penalty would have followed their non-observance of the fast. This led to a full discussion of the subject with Basil and the 150 DERRY. Lady, in which Magrath evinced a deeper spirit of in- quiry than he had ever before displayed. He could not well conceive upon what principle the whole question of merit was excluded from the acts of self-denial and almsgiving which he saw practised ; but his readiness to abide by the decisions of God's Word occasioned great joy to his affectionate instructors; and they hailed the dawning of such pure light upon his soul, as must, in its progressive brightening, dispel every shade of error The Irish Scriptures were often in his hand, and Basil requested his assistance in translating anew some striking passages ; so that Magrath was becoming possessed of a little hoard of manuscripts similar to that which his grandfather had so dearly prized. But the Lady never failed to point out those peculiar doctrines and numerous declarations that brand the Romish fki.feh as an antichristian delusion. Malcolm Was wont to recommend that the Word of God should be left to achieve alone what nothing else could effect. "Without it, I admit," said the Lady of M'Alister, "that no real conquest can be gained over this delu- sion ; but from that Word itself I derive my authority for enforcing these distinctions. When our Lord com- missions His servants to go forth among the Gentile nations generally, the injunction is to preach the gospel, to baptize, and to teach them to observe and do what- soever He had commanded. To the Jews, in addition to this, we find a continual appeal made as to the acknowledged predictions of the Old Testament, which they possessed and reverenced as the oracles of God ; but when this mystery of iniquity, that should spring up in the latter times, is referred to, what directions BERRY. 161 are given? St Paul, after describing the unequivocal signs of forbidding to marry, and commanding to ab- stain from meats, adds, 'If thou put the brethren in remembrance of THESE THINGS, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine ;' a command which surely brings a heavy charge of omission against those who neglect to point them out. Again, in the revelation made to St John, where this apostasy is most vividly described, we find a voice from heaven proclaiming, ' Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.' Can you assign to these, and similar passages, any other interpretation than that of an open, distinct, and un- wavering testimony against the particular abominations of this fearful perverter of God's truth 1" Malcolm assented to this remark, and confessed that he had not devoted any careful study to that branch of the sacred writings which more immediately related to the Papal error; he had rather accustomed himself to spiritualise every part of God's Word for the edification of his own soul and the nourishment of his flock. "Ay," replied the Lady, "and behold in the sur- rounding horrors the fruits of that unauthorised proce- dure, too general among the pastors of the churches. The Lord has meetly and equally guarded every avenue to His fold, presenting against each assailant such bul- warks as His infinite wisdom and foreknowledge saw fit. But ye too often, in the exercise of a limited vision, displace the goodly arrangement, and, in order to heap defences in one point, leave many a gap whereat the wolf enters, and ravages at his pleasure." 152 DERBY. " Is it not," asked Basil, " as though we should take three of the" four city gates from their hinges to strengthen the other, when all quarters are equally as- sailed r " I must not dispute the point," replied Malcolm, smiling. "May the Lord abundantly bless your zeal- ous endeavours, and give you a harvest of many souls !" "Amen!" ejaculated the Lady of M'Alister; "and see that you withhold not your own hand from the work." But in despite of past experience, in the face of those provisions which the Reformers established, and in an unaccountable indifference to many plain commands of God, the ministers of our Protestant churches have with- held do withhold their hands, with very few exceptions; and the wolf enters, bearing away whole flocks, while scarcely an attempt has been made to rescue from his fangs a. single victim, until within so short a space of time that our youth can remember its first date. And with what epithets have they been hailed, who venture to claim for the outcasts of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah, their appointed portion from the Lord's inex- haustible stores ? a portion lent, indeed, to the Gentile church for spiritual improvement, and that by apostolical authority, but as unalienable from the Jew in its actual literal import, as is the land which God gave to Abraham and his seed for ever ; but which, during the period assigned for scattering the holy people, has likewise been permitted to remain in Gentile hands. Or has a less abiindant share of harsh reproof fallen to the lot of those who, under the title of the Reformation Society, have gone forth, bearing their divinely commissioned testimony DERBY. 153 against the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth? The men of Deny, in 1689, doubtless reckoned that succeeding generations would reap the fruits of their heroic endurance, in the wide extension of gospel truth ; and that from their little citadel should spread broader light over their beloved and suffering country, even through the effort to extinguish what she yet possessed. Oh ! that there had been such a heart in God's people as should have led them to verify these hopes, rightly dividing the word of truth, and conquering with the sword of the Spirit the fathers of those who, left in the bondage of spiritual Egypt through such cruel neglect, now array themselves in wrathful hostility against our name and nation, prepared to combat for the privilege of ]xrpetual darkness in the dungeons of Papal delusion 1 154 DERBY. CHAPTER IX. THE month of May had passed without any greater annoyance from the enemy than that of the frequent cannonading, which, amongst other unpleasant effects, so polluted the water of the city, that many hazarded, and some lost their lives in the attempt to obtain a purer beverage from without the gates. This was a dreadful hardship, bearing particularly on the sick, on delicate women, and children. Various diseases began to spread among them, heightened by the heat of summer, and the unwholesome food to which they were well-nigh confined. But on the twenty-ninth of the month a general panic was spread throughout the numerous families, by an order that every house should be provided with supplies of water ; a heavy bombardment being expected during the night, of which the probable effect would be to ignite the town in every quarter. All was confusion ; and among other precautions the gunpowder, hitherto lodged in the church, was removed into places of greater security. Wells, long since dried up, were selected to receive it, and covered with every article best calculated to repel the dangerous element. In this service Magrath made himself so useful, that Colonel Murray particularly noticed his activity, and the good sense that marked his frequent suggestions ; while DERRT. 155 Alderman Crowe observed to his factotum, that it argued Jittle short of madness in the leading men to follow the counsel of an acknowledged Papist in a matter of such importance. The wily follower of this honest zealot had good cause to know that Magrath was sincere ; since he had himself such frequeui; communication with the enemy as enabled him to identify every other traitor within the walls ; he was one of those purchaseable characters who may always be relied on by the highest bidder, and a chief agent of Tyrcoimel's retained him at a handsome price. He had ascertained many particulars relating to Magrath ; and was pursuing measures to rid the garrison of one so likely to become a valuable helper in a struggle. The bombardment did not take place ; but on the first of June a few shells were thrown during the night, and on the morrow an incessant fire was poured in from the enemy's guns; they had, in the course of the few preceding days, constructed no less than sixteen forts, on which to mount these engines of destruction. It was now that Magrath, for the first time, took part in offen- sive preparations ; for he assisted to cast leaden balls, mounting the roofs of houses with cool intrepidity to strip the metal from them, while shot were flying in every direction around him. But the following day was marked by a shower of bombs, which inflicted greater damage than had yet been sustained ; and a fierce assault from the besiegers brought the combat to the very walls of the town. " This is terrible," said Ellen, as the chairs on which she lay rocked with the concussion; but her look was calm, and her fortitude unshaken. 156 DERRY. "Isn't it a blessed thing that they wei-e taken away from all this evil ?" whispered Shane to Basil. The old man had, for some time past, given his atten- tion to the Word of God, as continually spoken in hia hearing by Basil. Conveyed in his native tongue, Scrip- ture truths came home to his understanding with a plain- ness of intelligibility never before felt. He did not often ask to be indulged in this way, but a sort of restlessness frequently came over him, which yielded to nothing else ; and when once that sound reached his ear, it subsided into pleased attention. Magrath was the first to notice this ' y and, struck with the similarity of his case to that of old Dennis, he would seat himself on the low stool, and read from his manuscripts, until, as he said, he fancied himself a gossoon again. It was a feast indeed to the Lady of M'Alister, when, employed at her knitting, she watched and prayed over this interesting scene ; and poor Ellen, with eyes half closed in delighted attention, followed the language, to her perfectly intelligible. Basil seemed engaged with his own book, occasionally intro- ducing a remark as passages of particular applicability occurred in Magrath's reading ; and, amid the bitter trials of that calamitous season, the voice of praise was incessantly called forth on behalf, not only of Magrath, but of Shane. On this dreadful day, however, the former was absent with Bryan, and every explosion spoke in audible menace concerning those abroad. " I have been in many perils," remarked Basil ; " but such a roar of artillery, such crashes and bursts, I never heard. Oh ! it is a happy privilege to know that the Lord who dwelleth on high is mightier than all tliia DERBY. 157 noise ; and that His thunders are not armed against out souls, nor will His terrors make us afraid." "My country, my poor Ireland!" said Ellen, "will she never leave off thus to wound herself?" "Alas for Erin!" responded the Lady; "her history is but a tale of horrors such as these." Basil was about to speak, but a tremendous noise, accompanied by a shock that made every pane to rattle in the casement, told that a bomb had exploded near the house. Groans and shrieks followed, and Ellen, her countenance convulsed with anguish, exclaimed, "0 grand- mother ! when will it end ? when shall I get free ?" " Hush, my child : tarry the Lord's leisure. Patience must have her perfect work, but rest is near." Shouts and screams, more appalling than before, were uow heard : explosions re-echoed in various directions, and the sulphureous clouds of dense smoke drifted past, until the girl's lungs were oppressed almost to suffocation. Gently raised by her aged attendants, she struggled long under the paroxysms of coughing ; and then sank down, sobbing for breath, and presenting such a spectacle of hopeless suffering, that Shane averted his eyes, groaning bitterly, while the others looked on and wept. But instead of dispersing as usual, the smoke increased BO fast as to suggest an apprehension of the city having taken fire. Another thundering explosion shook the house, and several panes of glass fell from the window. Rush- ing through the aperture, the choking fumes now whirled in eddies round the apartment, and Ellen's infirm sup- portei'S were themselves beginning to need support, when the door was hastily opened and closed again ; and Bryan, catching up Ellen from her couch, bore her rapidly into 158 DERRY. an iuuer room, returning for the Lady, whom he dragged rather than led to the same place, giving no heed to her questions j reaching again the outer apartment, he bolted the door after him. Then, clasping his hands on his forehead, he said, " There are times when I feel as if on the very verge of insanity. But a moment since, I looked with tearless and reckless eye on the mangled bodies of friends long endeared now, the bare recollection mad- dens me." " Yet be calm. Think of the Christian's perfect peace." " I do but, I had forgotten one of our poor soldier inmates has been desperately wounded : they are bearing him hither for that cause I bolted the door. Can you endure the sight ? " " Ay, and play the leech too, if needful : I am inured to all." The party now arrived, bearing the poor soldier, whose leg was completely shattered. They carried him xip to his apartment, followed by Basil, while Shane strewed ashes over tlie crimsoned floor, and Bryan went to break the matter to the ladies. "It is all well, my love," said the Lady ; " we will attend him with every care." Ellen asked for Magrath. " When I last saw him he was communicating some- thing to "Walker. There has been dreadful work, but the assault is repelled, chiefly through the intrepidity of the women." " Bryan ! are you not thankful concerning our mother and Letitia 1 " " I am, I am ! From the church battery I looked down, and rejoiced over their quiet resting-place. It is all well, Ellen : and as to us, the Lord fights for His persecuted DEBRY. 159 Church. There is some invisible wall of fire around as." "It is even so," rejoined the Lady, with a look of triumph; "horses and chariots of fire surround us, and we are impregnable in the bulwark of prayer. Come, kneel : for His ear is ever open, and His eye beholds, while His shield defends us." She poured forth a strain of inter- cessory supplication for her country; and in glowing faith commended the cause of His Church to their glorious Head. During the whole of the week, havoc and destruction were carried into the city : not satisfied with execution already done, their besiegers increased the size of the bombs, striking down houses, and killing numbers of all ranks and classes. Salted horseflesh was almost the only meat now discoverable, and of this they had put by a tolerable store. On the Friday evening Magrath entered, his countenance clouded in an unusual degree, and seated himself as if scarcely conscious where he was. " What 's come over the boy ?" asked Shane, anxiously. He received no answer : but on a similar question from Bryan, Magrath replied that he must leave the city before dawn ; adding, that he hoped to return in two days. Remonstrances and entreaties ensued, which at last compelled him to say that he had been sum- moned by his priest to confession, preparatory to the festival of St Columbkill. "Confession!" ejaculated Bryan; "surely, Magrath, you are not about to betray the confidence so freely reposed in you ?" " Nothing, your honour, barring what my clergy can require." 160 DERRY. " And that is just everything ! Besides, I could not believe you to be still under this irrational thraldom." " Is it that I ever turned my religion, sir ? " "I don't say so, but in .short, it perplexes as much as it grieves me." Magrath handed a paper to Basil, requesting him to declare its contents aloud. It was in Irish, and re- quired him to repair to the " station " at Culmore for the purpose of confessing, and hearing mass. " Culmore ! Really, Magrath, this is madness. Why, the enemy are in the greatest force there." " Maybe so : but it isn't for me to dispute my clergy's orders." "Ahone!" said Shane, "and what confession would you need, when the Saviour himself is ready to hear and forgive you ?" " True and He is : but then didn't Himself say, ' Hear the Church ?"' This led to an argument, in which Bryan, the Lady, and Basil took part. Magrath heard them patiently, but maintained that, as a member of the Church, he was bound to obey his priest. He added that the be- sieged would probably enjoy a respite on Sunday, as it was to be kept in the Irish army. Before separating for the night, the Lady addressed them in a solemn tone. " Mark me, Larry Magrath, if you bow the knee at that confessional, invoking de- parted saints to hear and intercede, you reject the sole Mediator who stands between you and an offended God. If you worship the wafer, you make the cross of Christ of none effect, owning another sacrifice than that which God appointed, and committing likewise the deadly sin DEHRY. 161 of Idolatry, Trifle not with your salvation; for you totter on the brink of eternal flames. Take with you this warning, from one who has burst the yoke, and knows it to be a link of perdition." Ellen, with tears, implored him to the same effect ; and Basil advanced a host of Scripture evidences against his purposed deed. The poor fellow was, however, inflexible, though evi- dently distressed ; and before daybreak he was past the gates, under a written protection from General Hamilton, which had been enclosed in the priest's letter. The scanty fare of the breakfast-table was rendered unpalatable to those who surrounded it, not so much by the tremendous sounds that deafened them, as by the dreary feeling which Magrath's absence produced. The wounded soldier had died in the night, and Basil, who had assiduously attended him, seemed exhausted by fatigue. Shane appeared lost in painful ruminations ; and the Lady herself was unusually cast down. Ellen wept as Bryan prepared to depart, and augured that they would lose him too : but her brother checked the mur- muring expression, reminding her that her doubts of his continued preservation would be the worst omen of their own fulfilment. He urged them to be much in prayer for Magrath, as well as for himself, and left the dwelling with a heavy heart; for in Magrath he had lost the voice which always spoke some cheering word as they crossed the threshold. Colonel Murray was one of the first persons whom he met ; and he instantly inquired where Bryan had left his shadow. Obtaining a promise of secrecy, M'Alister ac- quainted him with the fact, at which the Colonel ex- pressed no small annoyance, hinting that he questioned 162 DERRY. how far they were justified in permitting him to de- part. " Do you doubt his fidelity 1 " asked Bryan. " Why, I cannot if I would ; but the matter is one of a perplexing character. So many desertions take place, that, in fact, we cannot hope to conceal anything ; but I felt a sort of regard for that fellow, which renders the possibility of his treachery quite painful." As they approached the walls, Alderman Crowe came bustling up, and accosted Bryan, "So, Mr M'Alister, your trusty follower has turned traitor, and deserted to the enemy." " Indeed ! " said the Colonel, " how is that ?" giving Bryan a sign to be silent. " Why, I '11 tell you now, since it 's all out. You know I have an attached servant, who changed his religion entirely out of personal regard for me, and therefore must he sincere. He has kept an eye on this famous gentle- man some time past ; and last night informed me that he was going to desert, having all along maintained a com- munication with the enemy. This morning I hear that he passed the Ferry Gate, and was received with open arms by his fellow-scoundrels outside." " Well, he is not the first who has done so." " I hope he may be the last ; but don't notice what I have told you. In fact, Smith desired me to say nothing until I should hear it from other quarters. He does not like to claim the reward which his own fidelity merits." " He shall get it though," said the Colonel, as soon as the alderman was out of hearing. " Of the two, I 'd far sooner suspect his convert than your stout-hearted Papist. Keep Smith in view, if you can, M'Alister : I must awajf DERRY. 1 63 to the guard-house. You see what a peppering the rascals are disposed to give us to-day." Perfectly sure that Magrath was the victim of some treacherous stratagem, Bryan at once bent his steps to Alderman Crowe's house ; and, on the door being opened by Smith, asked first if all was well within ; and then whether he had seen or heard anything of his man, Magrath. "Nothing, sir; sure I hav'n't been outside to-day. The last I saw of Magrath, he was walking past with you yesterday. I hope no harm's come over the honest kd." Bryan turned away, and seeking out Ross, told him all that had occurred. He was not a little gratified to find his impetuous friend as perfectly convinced of Magrath's integrity, and Smith's perfidy, as himself; but how to make their conviction available, in the dreadful state of the town, was a difficulty which they could not surmount. "Let us to the church battery," said Ross, " and take a look around us." They ascended the cathedral roof, and surveyed the sickening prospect. The numerous forts, intrenchments, batteries, and works of every description that had com- pleted the investment, were occasionally obscured, as the mortars rolled forth their clouds of smoke, each sending into the city its messenger of destruction. Lough Foyle rolled its broad stream tranquilly past, unless when a shot ploughed the surface, or sank with an echoing plash into the tide. Towards its mouth many a longing look had been cast, in fond anticipation of coming succours ; and some, when their hearts failed them, were wont to mount the walls, and gaze in that direction, until the 104 DERRY. vision of hope pictured an approaching sail, and imagina- tion filled up the outline. But now, in addition to the accumulated works on either side, the enemy were be- ginning to stretch a boom across the river ; and thus presented such obstacles to the progress of a fleet, as tended to chill the most sanguine expectant ; and when the eye, withdrawn from this quarter, fell on the streets below, a spectacle of misery presented itself, difficult to conceive, and impossible to describe. At this time the mortality was such, that the burials averaged thirty in a day; so that the streets presented a succession of funerals, conducted in trembling haste; while the frequent bombs tore up the neighbouring pave- ment, and cast it among the attendants. Scarcely was more than the surface of the bury ing-ground disturbed, to furnish a shallow grave for several dead bodies to- gether ; and often was some mourner reached by a fatal bail while returning from his sorrowful task. Even a& Bryan and Ross looked down from their elevation, a bomb struck the house of a gentleman, driving out from the wall a ponderous stone, which, falling on a man near the Ship-quay bastion, dashed his head to atoms. The fort or castle of Culmore, situate on a point of land which projected considerably into the river, at a short distance, was an object of particular interest to the two friends. It formed the strongest of the enemy's positions of annoyance, in case of any approach from the harbour, and was well garrisoned. But beyond the asso- ciation of Magrath's image with its distant outline, it pre- sented nothing to their view ; and in melancholy silence they quitted the spot, to commune with those who thronged the Diamond j to assist in deliberation on the DERBY 165 Important subject of husbanding provisions, and the many other anxious cares that harassed the public mind. Magiath's augury, that the Sunday would afford a respite from bombardment, was fulfilled. Not a shell nor a ball was fired on that day; the Irish camp being engrossed in paying those honours to St Columbldll which they had never once afforded to the Lord of the Sabbath during the protracted siege. Advantage was taken of this cessation by many whom timidity had deterred from venturing abroad; and the church was thronged at its various services by a crowd of sickly objects, whose squalid and emaciated appearance contrasted most strangely with the words of hope and fortitude to which they gave utterance. Many with tearless eyes looked on the graves of their nearest and dearest relations ; while others, in greater emotion, uttered ejaculations of resignation to the Divine will, blessing the Lord for what He had done, and declaring that they deemed no sacrifice too great for a cause so holy. Ellen was wheeled in a low chair to the cathedral, her grandmother supported by Bryan, walking on one side, Basil on the other; and Shane, with trem- bling hand, essaying to steady the hinder part of the vehicle, which rather assisted his steps. An expression of heavenly peace was upon her pale fair countenance ; and though a tear swelled when she passed her mother's grave, a smile of indescribable sweetness illumined every feature, as, looking up to Bryan, she softly said, " I hope they will have room beside it." At the door a number of coffins were deposited during the service, and the departing congregation were con- strained to pass between two files of them awaiting a hasty interment. One very plain box, over which was 1 66 DEERY. thrown a black shawl, attracted Bryan's view : for the mother of Patrick, with little Thady in her hand, stood behind it. She curtsied as she caught his eye; and with unruffled serenity glanced first at the boy, and then at the coffin, indicating that her other child was there. " And is it so ?" asked Bryan, involuntarily pausing on his path. " She was so happy ! " answered the mother, raising her eyes to heaven ; while the deep hollow of her cheek, the sunken eye, and sallow hue, bespoke her also a can- didate for speedy admission to the mansions of peace. Thady retained all his beauty, blooming like a solitary flower in the midst of every imaginable species of deso- lation. " Ah ! the cause upholds her wonderfully," said a Btander-by. " The cause of the cross," rejoined the sufierer, " and the cross in the cause, are precious." The crowded coffins, the open graves, the church win- dows shattered by balls, together with the wretched aspect Df the living spectres, all arrayed in i-lie gorgeous beams of a dazzling summer's sun, presented a wild and ghastly incongruity, over which the holy enthusiasm of the hour threw a character of such awful interest, that many lin- gered and looked, as if to impress upon their minds a lasting recollection of the unearthly scene. Among these was Colonel Murray, who, as Walker in full canonical* took his station in the door-way, approached M'Alister, and requested to be presented to his venerable parent, to whom he immediately tendered his arm, addressing her with a suavity of manner peculiarly his own. " It is a sad, and yet a glorious spectacle which those DERRY. 107 who survive will labour to declare to their children's chil- dren, as a holy incentive to like fidelity." " And as a lesson of confiding faith," added the Lady, " that, hearing what the Lord has done for us, they may feel the blessedness of saying, ' This God is our God, for ever and ever.' " " I trust so," said Murray : then added, " No tidings of poor Magrath ? " " He is in the Lord's hand," responded she : " may he receive grace to resist every temptation ! " "I have taken precautions in a quiet way, that no hindrance should be given to his re-admission: but suspended, as we all are, by a mere cobweb over the abyss of eternity, a single life is perhaps too little recked of." " Yet each single life, Colonel Murray, involves tho doom of an immortal soul j and what of equal value does this material world contain ? " Murray took her hand and answered, " At this spot I must reluctantly leave you ; but to your query I reply, that a single soul is beyond all price; and, while your faithful prayers nerve our arms in battle, forget not to supplicate that those who fall may find mercy through the blood of the Redeemer." Then turning to Ellen, he bent over her little carriage, and said, with strong feel- ing, " Be of good cheer, dearest young lady j true hearts and firm hands are the walls that hem you in : and the Most High will not forsake His children." " May yo\i be numbered among them ! " was the secret prayer of each as he depai'ted. The family sat up late, indulging a hope that Magrath might return: but in vain. He formed the subject of 168 DERRY. their discourse and of their supplications; and unwillingly they bade good-night and parted, yet thankful for the day's unwonted repose. The following morning witnessed a renewal of the bom- bardment and cannonade. A new scene of horror was also exhibited ; for the dead, so lightly interred, were rent from their graves by the bursting of large shells. This proved to many fond survivors a more heart-rending visitation than all their personal afflictions, outraging, as it did, one of the strongest feelings of domestic love. But no trial seemed to be wanting in this season of fiery tribulation. Magrath's non-appearance increased the de- spondency of his friends: and Ross kept a strict watch over the mansion of Alderman Crowe, in the vague hope of eliciting something from Smith: but to no purpose. On the following day Ross himself was not to be found, nor could Bryan gain auy tidings of him. At the old Lady's suggestion, Basil had obtained per- mission to visit the prisoners, and make an attempt to read the Irish Scriptures to them. In this he was suc- cessful beyond his hope ; and although many rejected with sullen scorn, and some with abusive insolence, bis proposal, yet when he commenced, on the slender encouragement which a few afforded, such was the power of their ver- nacular tongue, that scarcely one refused to listen. Many were sensibly affected ; and as he chose the most simple portions, chiefly the recital of the Lord's miracles, teach- ing, and sufferings, their interest was engaged, their prejudices disarmed, and not a few repaid with warm thanks his kindness in cheering their captivity. Shane accompanied him once or twice ; and his report, divested as it was of every acrimonious expression concerning those DERBY. 169 whom he "before deemed it meritorious to revile, was doubly welcome to his friends. Weary, disheartened, and indisposed, Bryan stretched himself on some chairs in the evening of that day, lis- tening to a conversation between Shane and Basil, ami secretly wishing that he was as sure of a speedy removal to the unseen world as their advanced years rendered them. Ellen dozed ; and the Lady was engrossed with her Bible. Frequent explosions shook the house ; but they were now of too common occurrence to be much regarded. The door was flung open, and Ross entered with a shout of joy, which was echoed in some wise by each of the party, when they discovered that he led Magrath, evidently wounded, and extremely weak ; but staggering eagerly towards Bryan, who had started up, and upon whose arms he threw his own for support, while he exclaimed, " Praise to God the fleet ! the fleet ! " " Oh ! blessed sound ! " cried the Lady, as she raised her clasped hands; "and blessed sight, to behold our poor brother once more ! " " Magrath my dear fellow !" exclaimed Bryan, almost wild with joy ; while Ross said, " The fleet is in the Lough, though still far distant, and not likely to make any way for some hours, and panic is spreading among the enemy ; but we must look after Magrath. We fished him out of the water in good time, and I fancy that he is in poor plight have you any provision at hand?" Such as they had was produced, and Magrath voraci- ously devoured it. The bullet, which had passed through the fleshy part of his arm, had inflicted but a slight wound : and Basil remarked that it would be a source of great 170 DERRY. thankfulness if his soul had sustained no greater injury, exposed as it had been to worse peril than his body. " Sure, and I 've taken a power of care of the same. Troth, and it 's I that have need to do that," he added, vvith an indescribable grimace, and he checked himself. " You 've been to mass ! " said Shane, in a tone of sorrowful reproach. " Maybe I hav'n't." " Nor to confession ? " asked Bryan, eagerly. " Sorrow a bit, sir." " What ! could you not find a priest t " inquired Ross. " Och ! as plenty as pratees, your honour, but we couldn't agree, anyhow." He then, with perfect composure, proceeded to recount his adventures, and, in the effect produced by them, his mind appeared to lose all consideration of the triumph which such a narrative must afford to some who had hitherto been his opponents, as well on religious as political grounds. He related that no obstruction had been offered on the short excursion to Culmore, where he found a bishop of his church, who received him with much kindness, con- gratulating him on having escaped the hands of his enemies, and strictly enjoining him not again to hazard himself among them. After some discourse, in the progress of which Magrath baffled several attempts at obtaining in- formation concerning Derry, the bishop recommended his confessing to a priest, just arrived to hold a station there. Magrath obeyed; but, on coming to the confes- sional, honestly apprised the priest that he should give no information on anything that did not concern himself; a plan in which the other refused to concur, indignantly DKRRY. 171 assuring him that any concealment on points where he might be questioned, would burden his soul with mortal sin. Finding his penitent still refractory, he changed his tone, and pathetically appealed on behalf of "the persecuted Church, representing the Protestants, especially those of Deny, as children of perdition, obnoxious and detestable both to God and man, and with whom none could keep faith without incurring the contamination of their damnable heresies." The failure alike of his eloquence, and of the menaces with which he interspersed it, soon overcame his small stock of patience, and, seizing Magrath by the collar, he dragged him towards an adjoining room, the door of which he threw open, and, in violent wrath, denounced him as a pestilent heretic to the bishop, who was seated, at breakfast with a party of his clergy around him. Every eye was turned on Magrath, who presently recog- nised in one of them the ominous twinkle of Father Peters, under whose careful superintendence he had been sent on pilgrimage just previous to his grandfather's death. The recognition was mutual, notwithstanding the lapse of eight years since their last meeting ; and the priest, expressing great pleasure at beholding him again, assured his brethren that he was a faithful son of the Church, long under his care, and one who would gladly receive wholesome admonition from his ancient pastor. With Peters, therefore, Magrath withdrew, and had to maintain his post against every mode of displaying that authority to which he had once paid such unlimited obedience. " I tould his riverince that I came to confess all my 172 DERBY. own sins and get absolution ; but the Derry men hadn't put it upon me to fetch them a penance, and I couldn't in conscience betray them. ' Conscience,' says he, ' and who's to look after your conscience, ban-in' the clergy that has you under his knee ? ' ' Oh, sure,' says I, ' and isn't it myself that must give account of myself to God 1 Musn't I stand before the judgment-seat of Christ?' Then to see the face of him when he axed me, ' And who tould you all that stuff?' 'Stuff is it?' says I; 'sure, and it 's in the blessed book of God's truth.' And then I gave it him in Irish clane and entire, as it was on my memory." "And how bore he that?" asked Bryan. " Bear it he didn't anyhow ; but he clenched his fist in my teeth, and cursed me for as big a heretic as ould Dennis himself, that was burning like a dry sod of turf in the fire of hell. I axed him how long had he known that the sowl was there ? ' How long is it ?' says he ; 'it's ever since I put my curse on the ould heretic for sticking to the trash that has poisoned ye all. Didn't he tell me the rites of the Church couldn't bring him to heaven ? Troth, and he went fast enough to hell without 'em.' ' Why, then,' says I, ' it 's your riverince that's going to do the just and generous thing, giving back to my father's son the mass-money that went to fetch Dennis out of purgatory, and he in hell, the com- fortless creathur !' " Unmoved by the burst of laughter which this shrewd turn drew from Ross and Bryan, Magrath went on to describe the augmented rage of the priest, who swore that, unless he gave full information on eveiy point required, and amply atoned for his sacrilegious insolence, DERRY. 173 he should be turned out; among the faithful army as an excommunicated traitor. Left to himself in a small apartment, of which the grated window and iron-clenched door bespoke it a prison, Magrath had leisure to reflect on the probable termination of his adventure ; while the pacing of a sentry at a short distance proved that he was carefully guarded. " And didn't you repent of your stoutness the while ?" asked Shane, the intentness of whose interest struck all the party. "I didn't repent of my honesty, anyway," answered the other with strong emphasis ; " but Father Peters' blarney had put me on thinking over past times ; and sure it was I that had sins to confess, and wouldn't be let tell them to mortal man." He paused, his heart seemed full, and his downcast looks bespoke deep thought. Then suddenly raising his eyes with a bold ,nd frank expression, he fixed them on Basil, saying, " I '11 tell you what myself did : I couldn't well bear the weight that was on me, for somehow, talking of ould Dennis brought back the remembrance of the lone tower where the bishop was pent, and I couldn't but think a curse was upon me for that same ; so I kneeled down and confessed to the Lord Jesus Christ, without priest or patron ; and when I was in it, somehow I couldn't leave off, but confessed for ould Dennis and all the race, and asked Him would I get absolution that way t Why shouldn't I ? for sure the words were clear in my mind :" and he recited in Irish, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Bryan started from his chair, and, repeating the text 174 DEKRY. in English, paced the room, absorbed in mental thanks- giving : while Basil, suppressing his emotion, asked Magrath whether he experienced any comfort from this, to him, novel mode of confession. " Sure and I did, sir. A feeling came over me as if the great God looked and listened, and I cannot say but I trembled. Yet, comfort it was to think that He heard me, and I got up with a lighter heart." He then related that another attack was made on his constancy by one of the servants, who, coming as if by stealth, set before him the certain death which awaited him, should the priest denounce him from the altar on the morrow, as he would do, unless a timely submission averted the fate. Magrath, however, described the report of the pieces which sent shells and shot into Derry, as assisting to harden hin, against all pleading; and he made up his mind to brave the worst, passing the night in painful reflection, not unmixed with joy, as passages from the Irish Scriptures were forcibly brought to his remembrance. At early morning Peters once more appeared, accom- panied by the bishop, and armed with all the artillery of expostiilation and thundering menaces, both as regarded this world and the next. He stood firm, and they left him for the first mass, giving him until noon to consider the consequences of such unheard-of pertinacity. Peters had informed the bishop of old Dennis's refractory end; and the virulent abuse heaped on the Word of God by these soi-disant ministers of His truth, operated to strengthen Magrath against the uttermost that their malice could achieve. Through his narrow window he saw the men crowding to mass, and not wishing to be be- hind-hand in devotion, he knelt down to pray, as before. DERRY. 175 The ser.try had been frequently relieved; and about lioon, when, after a short query, to which an equally short negative was given, the priest had left his door, Magrath recognised in his new guard one whom he well knew as an active emissary of his party, high in the confidence of some leaders among the native Irish clans. Magrath called him by name; and the other, much sur- prised, advanced to the grate, inquiring by what means he had been placed in such a dilemma. " For my honesty," was the reply ; and before he could proceed, the other burst into low but bitter invectives against the French party, who, he said, were using the Irish as tools, to gain a footing in the land at the expense of their blood, and afterwards to enslave them. The priests then at Culmore, he said, were all in the plot, and would, no doubt, make away with every honest man who sought to maintain his country's independence. Ht then inquired if it was by their means that the prisoner lay under sentence of death, as he understood. Magrath simply gave an affirmative; which drew from his friend renewed expressions of indignation. As, however, the time for relieving him approached, he hastily desired the prisoner to watch until he should see a sentry on guard wearing a green ribbon at his button-hole, and then to try the door of his cell, and make what use he could of the opportunity. He finished by directing him to seek out their former employer, and apprise him that those in authority were deeply plotting the subjugation of Ire- land beneath the yoke of France ; and was gone before Magrath could answer a word, leaving him doubtful whether he should avail himself of succour given under BO evident a misconception. 176 DERBY. Connellan, his ancient comrade, he knew to be a man of dark and stern resolve, in whatsoever regarded the exclusive interests of the native race. Religion formed with him only an inferior branch of patriotism, and his was the hand that would stab on the high altar even a sovereign pontiff capable of conspiring against Irish ascendancy. Called from a distant post to take hi* turn in guarding a prisoner whose safe-keeping was OTily entrusted to men of tried resolution, he knew no more than that he had fallen under the displeasure oi their leaders. His former experience of Magrath's devoted attachment to the native cause, brought at once his impetuous mind to the conclusion that for it he w.as now about to suffer : nor would he regard the represen- tations subsequently made in answer to his inquiries as any but the artful invectives of his enemies. Revelry prevailed throughout the camp, while, in honour of Columbkill, a high feast was kept : and this disorder bade fair to facilitate the plans of Connellan, whose fixed resolve it was to liberate the captive. Magrath, meanwhile, ruminated on the strange event, opening so unexpected a way of escape. With charac- teristic scorn of consequences, he resolved to undeceive Connellan, rather than bear the brand of treachery to any party : at the same time not purposing to lose any hope of an honourable retreat from the grasp of those against whom his patriotism was rising into active hosti- lity. Some hours elapsed, and several times had Magrath taken an anxious survey of some new guard, before the welcome sight of an end of green ribbon, drawn out through the button-hole of his vest, apprised him that a confederate of Connellan bf>,d assumed the office. Tina DERBY. 177 man took a wider range than his predecessors, whistling a national melody as he paced the ground, and while observing him, Magrath distinctly heard a key turn in the lock of his door. At the same time, the sentry ceasing his tune, stood stationary with his back to the building. Magrath opened the door ; all was clear : he turned the key again to secure the entrance of his prison, and slipping it into his pocket, passed swiftly round a pro- jecting angle of the wall, and descended a bank over- hanging the lower ground a rude natural rampart under which he paused, stooping low beneath its level, to ponder on the next movement in his novel and peril- ous expedition. At any other time, such an escape would have been morally impossible, nor could he have occupied his present position for three minutes undis- covered; but all bonds of discipline had been loosed, and every military precaution sacrificed at the shrine of drunken revelry. In fact, the army had long mani- fested symptoms of disgust, and even of an insurrec- tionary spirit, under the severe privations imposed by their arduous task before the stubborn walls of Derry ; and it was wisely counselled by the crafty priesthood, that a day of unlimited enjoyment should be conceded, to re- store in some measure the good-humour of the troops ; while by an extensive application of that invaluable engine, the confessional, they should themselves be able to ascertain that nothing like an organised plan of mu- tiny existed among the complainants. Always ready to take full advantage of such festive seasons, the men were continually assembling in that part of the camp where liquor abounded ; and no such attraction residing u: 178 DERBY. in. Magrath's present vicinity, lie was comparatively safe while screened from the view of the sentinels, whose measured tread still vibrated before the empty guard- house. In deliberating on his future course, Magrath decided on that from which a mind of ordinary nerve would most intuitively have shrunk. With care and circum- spection he might have won his way back to the walls of Derry, favoured as he was by circumstances that would speedily be changed into double vigilance ; but he re- solved on gaining some further insight into the condition of his countrymen, and with this intent he prepared to throw himself into the midst of that confused company, which, like the mixed multitude that went up out of Egypt, still hovered about the regular camp, and antici- pated, if not a share in the future spoil, yet, at least, a sanguinary participation in the meditated carnage of the devoted city. The better to avoid such suspicion as his decent garb would perhaps excite, Magrath di- vested himself of his coat and shoes, which, with his hat, he buried under some loose earth ; then, having torn his waistcoat, and otherwise damaged his remaining apparel, he placed the fragment of a tobacco-pipe in his mouth, and sallied forth, exposed to any eye that might be roam- ing thitherward, and deliberately passed on towards the outermost part of the encampment. Bryan could not refrain from expressing some astonish- ment at a proceeding so manifestly imprudent : but Magrath assured him that, barring Father Peters, he could have faced any man who had seen him during that or the preceding day without apprehension of dis- covery. Addin that at first he had assumed some- DEKRY. 179 what of a staggering gait, as though intoxicated ; but some passage widen came into his mind, bidding him abstain from every appearance of evil and he quoted it in the Irish induced him to lay aside the semblance of that sin which he would not actually have committed, and to trust to such disguise alone as his conscience could not condemn. Arrived among the wild stragglers of his race, he was allured by the savoury steams of a pot, which promised some relief to his hunger ; and which, as he approached, was just taken from over a fire of turf, where it had hung suspended from sticks, and carried into a sort of cabin, or rather shed, most rudely constructed for the shelter of as many human beings as chose to congregate beneath its roof. His wistful looks were remarked by one who seemed to exercise some control over his sur* rounding companions; and who, as a matter of course, proffered a welcome to the stranger in that tongue which was almost exclusively spoken around him. Magrath thankfully accepted the invitation, while his host re- marked that it was a long fast some of them had kept ; adding, that probably Magrath, like himself, had been with the priest that day : a fact which the visitor readily confirmed. "I could not get to the blessed sacrament," said the other, crossing himself, " until just now ; and that is the reason that I am fasting still. Oh, it's a comfortable thing to come under the priest's hand, and to know that all is right between God and your soul ! " "Ay, Corny," remarked another, "you are the most religious man among us. I don't believe you ever put jour head down without prayers." 180 DERRY. "Never without an act of faith, and of hope, and ol charity," answered Corny. " How could I get my rest, if I was not in peace with God and all the world 1 " By this time the savoury mess was emptied into a capacious pan, and the guests proceeded to help them- selves, each as suited his own convenience. Some women and children were among the party, and the latter ap- peared particularly ravenous ; one little fellow was grasping at a small bone in such haste that he burnt his fingers severely, and threw it down with a cry. " Served you right, Dan," said Corny. " What good do you think you'll get of the food without blessing yourself ? Come, sir, do it now ; you are a perfect heathen." The child readily crossed himself, and Magrath could not but feel respect for the character of his pious and hospi- table entertainer. As the dinner proceeded, he cast his eyes around the room, if such it could be called, and in one corner discerned a confused heap, the outlines of which struck him with sensations of uneasiness, though he could hardly assign a name to the object before him. Corny, however, followed the direction of his eye, and exclaimed triumphantly, "Ay, that's one of them, and snug enough he is, I '11 engage you." He then put forth what partook pretty equally of the character of an im- precation and a prayer ; trusting that the Virgin would give them as many whole heretic carcases to pike, as there were hairs on that fellow's head. " Where did he come from ? " asked Magrath. " Skulking from Enniskillen, I suppose, to the wall of the devil's other fortress, yonder. We laid hold of him last evening, and paid him off to some purpose. It waa myself, though, that cut at him both first and last." DERRY. 181 "No, it was not," said little Dan, "for I stuck the knife into him after you." " Well, you are a brave little lad, and there *s a better bone for you, only don't forget the blessing again, Dan ; for what is a man or boy without religion ? " Magrath had never been sensible to how great an extent the veil had been removed from his heart, until he experienced the thrill of horror which this dialogue sent through it. A few weeks ago, and not the slightest incongruity would have appeared on the face of this fear- ful compound of religion and butchery ; but now it struck him as the very masterpiece of Satanic domination over the soul of man. Still, with his unfailing self-possession, he escaped exciting a surmise as to the tenor of his feel- ing ; and wishing for further confirmation, where his own experience bore but too clear a testimony, he asked, in a careless way, "And what said his reverence to you about it?" " It would not become me," answered Corny, " to repeat all that his reverence was so good as to say; for surely I did no more than my duty. But he gave me a plenary indulgence for seven years, and power to deliver the soul of my father and grandfather from purgatory ; saying and that I tell for the encouragement of others that if every heart was as sound, and every hand as steady as Cornelius O'Keefe's, we should not be so long unkennel- ling the poisonous vermin, and clearing the sod of their whole generation." " The infernal hypocrite ! " ejaculated Ross, while the rest of the party seemed petrified by the tale. Ma- grath quietly asked him, "Is it Corny, or the priest, sir?" 182 DERRT. " Why, both, but particularly the murdering scoundrel who made such a fuss about crossing himself." " Then, begging your honour's pardon, no more a hypo- crite than yourself, Mr Ross ; or than Mr Basil was, when he prayed over his enemies in the ould tower. And why did he do that ? Sure, wasn't it because his religion taught him, and his own bishop shewed him the way into it? Now, Corny's religion taught him the other plan, and his priest encouraged him in the same. If Mr Bas?l had murdered ould Dennis that guarded him, I 'm think- ing it 's he that would have been the hypocrite ; and sure, if O'Keefe let the Protestant escape, the same would have been his rightful name. Moreover, he 'd have earned the curse of his Church, instead of getting sowls out of pur- gatory." " Och ! " groaned old Shane ; " and you think they were in it 1 " " Myself didn't see them anyhow, in or out," answered Magrath, with one of his peculiar grimaces. He then resumed the thread of his narrative, relating that the sufferings of the Irish without the walls fell very little short of those experienced by the besieged ; while famine prevailed to a great extent, and contagious diseases car- ried off numbers daily. A feeling similar to that ex- pressed by Connellan seemed very generally diffused among the native Irish, who complained heavily of the callous indifference with which the foreign soldiers and officers beheld their sufferings, securing to themselves whatever they could lay hold on, and treating as an in- ferior race of beings those to whose aid they ppofessed to have come. Still, the priests had laid a timely and effec- tual curb on this murmuring disposition ; and by directing DERRT. 1 83 every excited feeling into its ancient channel of vengeful hatred against the Protestant name and cause, these ghostly engineers had wrought a diversion highly favour- able to their arrogant allies ; into whose hands, as Magrath again asserted, they had most assuredly sold both the country and its whole population. When ho had completed his survey, the intrepid Irishman bent his steps towards Derry ; but, having excited some suspicion when approaching it, he was fired at and pursued. As a dernier resort he had plunged into the Foyle, by his skill in diving baffling further aim, and, under the shades of closing twilight, escaped their view ; the attention of his pursuers having been arrested by the sudden report of a fleet entering the Lough. He had, however, exhausted his strength so much, that he might have perished in the water, had not Ross, with his little reconnoitring party, happily discovered and rescued him. " Ay, my lad," observed Ross, as he concluded, " and with a hearty good- will I landed you on terra firma; but mind, the next time you sally out at the priest's bidding, you may e'en fight your way back again, for any help that you '11 get from me." " True for you, sir," answered Magrath ; and the smile that accompanied his words seemed to augur little success for the priest, should he issue a second summons. Ross declared that he would have Smith tossed over to his confederates, at the top of the morning; but that worthy gentleman had anticipated his kind purpose, by stealing out soon after nightfall, leaving them to conjecture that tidings of the prisoner's escape had reached him, and that his disinclination for any possible meeting with Magrath prompted the hasty retreat. 184 DERRY. Magrath had not described to his auditors the effect produced on his mind by the horrible incongruities dis- played under the roof of Cornelius O'Keefe; but, from his ready disclosure of the facts, the inference was neces- sarily drawn, that Popery had nearly lost her victim, and powerful was the encouragement deduced, to pursue those rational and scriptural means whereby the infernal yoke should be effectually and for ever broken from hie neck. DEHRY, 185 CHAPTEE X. IT was a remark of King William, when alluding to the protracted defence of Derry, that there could not have been one soldier either without or within its walls. He spoke with that exclusive reference to second causes, which is too prevalent among warriors and statesmen , evidently implying that no man of military genius could have failed of carrying, or ventured upon defending, so weak a post. In thus saying, he, however, under- rated the professional abilities of the French mareschal, who, on the first view of that little citadel, was so struck with the human impossibility of any garrison maintain- ing possession, that he expressed supreme contempt for those who had failed of capturing it ; swearing a most impious oath, that he would make his soldiers bring it to him stone by stone. It would seem that neither the monarch nor the mareschal called to mind the over- ruling power of Him who, in answer to the prayer of a believing king, said of the vaunting enemy encamped before his walls, " He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord." It was a sore trial of faith to the fainting inhabitants 18C DERRY. of Derry, when the ships, whose approach had so re- vived their hopes, and struck terror into the besiegers, turned their prows against the breeze and departed. The drawing of a few cannon from the Irish camp down to the banks of Lough Foyle, intimidated the English commander into this cruel desertion of his suffering allies; and they were once more cast on the unseen Arm to which many of them clung with an enduring trust, well worthy the brightest periods of the Church. In vain did the signal of distress wave from their cathedral spire ; in vain did the famishing people mount their walls, and stretch their hands, and strain their eyeballs, as if to catch some answering sign from the receding vessels ; some with cries of anguish, others with loud reproach or bitter execrations, while a few, in patient submission, secretly prayed for grace to wait the Lord's appointed time. The shouts and insulting gestures with which the enemy mocked their baffled hope, proved to some more irritating than the disap- pointment itself; and one of the apprentices exclaimed that, to be revenged on those unfeeling English, he could find in his heart to fling open the town-gates, and swear fealty to King James. "Indeed you would not," answered Bryan; "our cause is unchanged, and so are we. We struggle not to sustain this dynasty or that, but to keep alive a glimmering spark, which, once extinct, must leave our poor country in utter darkness. We have nursed that little spark through storm and flame, through pestilence and famine, and we '11 guard it still, the Lord being our helper. Precious beam ! yet destined to survive, and shine, and brighten every nook of our own green isle 1" DERBY. 187 " Bravo !" cried Walker ; " tliree cheers for that senti- ment from all true Derry boys ;" and the call was obeyed with all the alacrity of rekindled enthusiasm. But sadly they descended from those walls to bear the unwelcome tidings, each to his home : to meet the hollow eye of craving famine, and to blanch the hectic of expectation on many a careworn cheek ; to hear the moan of insupportable disappointment, or to gaze on the more pitiable smile, beneath which affection sought to veil the sufferings of nature. This last it was Bryan's lot to encounter ; the Lady of M'Alister looked up with meek submission, saying, " All is welL The fire would not be thus intensely heated if the Lord had not here some precious metal to refine and purify." Ellen, stretched on her couch of chairs, turned her cheek to the pillow, and remarked, "I must needs grieve for others who hunger ; but none need pity ine, who have so poor an appetite." "You'll be saying that, anyhow," rejoined Shane; " but it 's a sup of nourishment that would put the blood into your veins again, avourneen." "I have a heavier trial than this," observed Basil; " for the swelling in my ankles threatens to forbid my visiting the prisoners." The Lady anxiously exclaimed, " Do not say so ; you ehall be wheeled in Ellen's chair. Amid these sights and sounds of horror, oh let not that voice of pity be silenced !" "And why would it?" asked Magrath, who in gloomy silence had occupied a distant corner. " Sure, and I 'm quite agreeable to go in his place." "And to read the Scriptures to your count ry men ?" 188 DERBY. "Wny not? The story o' pace is a good story to tell a man any day, let alone such days as these." He took Basil's book from the mantelpiece, and immediately sallied forth. " Now, grandmother," said Ellen, " is not that better cheer than all the ships of England could have brought us?" " I 'm thinking it is," remarked Shane, as he took hia staff, and tottered out after his nephew. " These are cordials," cried the Lady ; " precious cordials for fainting hearts. Year after year has that stubborn soil resisted the hand of culture, and chilled me oft with sinful unbelief, as though God had willed the death of a soul, placed by His own overruling provi- tlence under every means of grace. The famine and th6 drought are consuming his aged flesh : but Shane's spirit now hungers and thirsts after righteousness, and it shall be filled." " Indeed," rejoined Basil, " I never witnessed a more lively eagerness after spiritual nourishment than he has lately shewn. When you read he listens with serious attention, and strives to understand : but soon as the sentence reaches his ear in the beloved Celtic, every faculty is roused, and his whole soul absorbed, in the seeming exclusion of all bodily suffering." In the meantime, the subject of their remarks pro- ceeded to the prison, where Magrath, surrounded by his wondering countrymen, was reading the Word of Life to some' who had formerly known him under very different circumstances. Basil had in some wise overawed them by his venerable aspect and superior manners; but with Magrath they were under less restraint, and one began DERRY. i 89 loudly to cavil, rejecting the Bible as a book proscribed by the priest, and therefore to be abhorred of all true Catholics. Another maintained that the book proscribed was the English Bible, the real heretic words, whereas nothing but the right religion could be put into Irish. Magrath refused to avail himself of the ready assent yielded by the rest to this characteristic distinction : he stoutly asserted the supreme authority of God's Word, in whatsoever language conveyed : and his arguments, though abounding rather in point and shrewdness than in spiritual power, plainly indicated that growing light which had begun to triumph over the long-cherished darkness of Ms souL He returned home in good spirits, recounting what had passed, and apparently much gratified by the invita- tion given at parting to renew his visit. " This blessed leaven will work," remarked Basil to Bryan, " and the teacher will learn while instructing others." Ellen observed how much England must have to answer for, in so long neglecting those simple means of instruct- ing her sister island. " She has answered, dearly answered for it," said the Lady of M'Alister, " in rivers of her best blood, and hoards of her treasure : nor will the effect ever cease while the cause remains. Ireland, unenlightened, will still be Ireland unsubdued; her people may be won, may be melted, may be attached with all the ardour that their glowing affections are capable of; but conquered they cannot be into perfect subjugation, while the dearest feelings of their nature are outraged by the wild attempt to crush their national predilections, or left to expatiate 190 DEKBT. amid exciting themes, in a language unknown to the strangers who govern them. Strangers still, and ever to remain as such, while they suffer that language to run, like an impassable river, along the boundary which, by a little patient and judicious labour, might be led into channels of kindly communication and mutual benefit between two people so near, and yet, alas ! so widely and fatally separated." Thus, under many a roof, were the manifestations of Divine love enabling suffering families to glorify God in the fires of increasing tribulations ; and the prayers of the people prevailed to strengthen the bulwarks, in them- selves so miserably weak. A few days brought the ex- pected augmentation to their besiegers' forces of fifteen hundred troops, commanded by De Rosen, whose preli- minary vaunt has been already noticed, and who took especial care that threats and promises should be con- veyed in equal abundance to the straitened garrison. He menaced all, of every age and either sex, with the most cruel deaths that protracted torture could inflict, unleas the town were immediately delivered up to him : while bribes, as costly as the denunciations were terrific, were held out to those who should induce submission : but, as Walker writes in his brief diary, " God having under all their difficulties established them with a spirit and reso- lution above all fear of temptation," this intrepid gover- nor immediately issued an order denouncing the penalty of death on any man in Derry who should even mention the subject of surrender. Magrath, with undisguised satisfaction, communicated this order at home, adding, " It 's his reverince that is arch, sure enough : and he '11 be guessing that Mounseer DERBY. 191 hasn't the gift like one of the real blood, to bring the boys after his heels. Connellan wasn't the only one that grumbled over it; and myself doesn't care if I join the next sally, to put down the foreigners that come to en- slave us." From that day his activity increased in the service of the citizens, who were kept in continual anxiety by numerous desertions, and the consequent accui*acy ox the intelligence perpetually conveyed to their vigilant foes. Language is insufficient to portray the horrors of ac- cumulating misery sustained by the diminished band. The horse-flesh was all expended, and the twenty thousand sufferers who still remained were reduced to greater pri- vations than they had ever yet anticipated ; the daily deaths becoming a matter of calculation, not unmixed with selfish feeling, among those whose craving hunger grudged the supply of so many mouths; but instances abounded of noble devotion to the public cause, and self- denial was practised to an extent truly admirable. Bryan's little party had long since made a voluntary relinquishinent of their private hoard to the public store, and he had himself embarked in an attempt to gain the distant ships, with the view of making known their desperate situation to the unfeeling Kirke, who still rode at anchor where he could behold the piteous signals of agonising distress. This effort was rendered fruitless by opposing enemies; and the little party returned after braving such peril in the cause of humanity, that Ma- grath could not refrain from uttering a few remarks on the subject of M'Alister's cowardice, within ear-shot of his ancient antagonist, Crowe. The Lady was privy to this expedition, but they 192 DERBY. concealed it from Ellen, whose wasted powers could ill have sustained the agony of sisterly apprehension. Her grandmother had cut the silver buttons from a suit of her husband's garments, and added to them the poor remains of her family insignia, in the hope that a price of some magnitude might win from the well-supplied shipping a few articles of suitable nourishment for the uncomplaining girl ; but in vain. Bryan returned, after an absence of twenty -four hours; and the first feeling of his mind, on re-entering their poor abode, was a conviction that Ellen's sufferings were nearly terminated, although, to eyes less habituated to the sight of premature death, she would have appeared sur- prisingly revived. " What tidings do you bring us, deai'est brother ? " she asked, as he took his station by her side. He answered, " Governor Baker is no more ; and the enemy persist in tempting the garrison to treachery by every species of inducement ; but they will not prevail." " Prevail, is it 1 " said Shane ; " sure I saw the boy Larry, seize a fellow with papers in his pouch to tempt the lads ; and no thanks to them that he wasn't tore to pieces before Larry could get him under shelter." Magrath entered to confirm this statement, adding that the Deny men had a greater spite to traitors within than foes without. " And that is a good rule," observed Ellen, " if we all applied it to the traitors in our own hearts, as being far more hateful than all our outward afflictions." The Lady of M'Alister had caught Bryan's eye, and the look told much of mutual expectation of what was at hand. Magrath had riveted his on Ellen, and, with an DERBY. 193 altered expression of countenance, seated himself oppo- site. The summer twilight was closing, and a small lamp shed its pale glimmer on the beautiful but still paler face beneath it. " Now let us speak," she said, " of the mercies already experienced in our little besieged city, that from the past we may gather hope for the future." " First, then," said Bryan, " for a recent interposition, too remarkable to be overlooked. We removed our gun- powder from Campsie's cellar, on a vague apprehension of insecurity. In less than twenty- four hours a bomb fell and exploded in that cellar, by which, but for the provi- dential removal, our city had been destroyed." A pause of thankfulness ensued ; and several other in- stances of merciful interposition having been recounted, the Lady spoke of that discriminating goodness which had removed, by so easy a transition, the two who, of their little household, seemed most ripe for heaven ; sparing them the anguish which thousands were left to endure, adding, " Few and feeble will be the remnant reserved to welcome deliverance, if, to any, temporal deliverance come." "Never 'if it, my Lady," said Shane. "Delivered we shall be ; and of that we have tokens galore." " The token of continual answers to prayer," added Bryan. " That, to be sure, Master Bryan, dear ; but we Ve signs to shew us the same, if you '11 only listen to what haa been seen." " Well, go on." "Troth, and it's uncle that will make a long story," said Mugrath ; " but I '11 tell you clean off hand. Why 194 DERBY. then, sir, every night, as soon as the bell goes twelve, fair or foul, light or dark, there comes a big angel, riding a horse as white as Miss Ellen's hand, and going the round with a drawn sword, over land and water, to trace the holy circle, that neither man nor devil may pass ; " he was about to cross himself, but desisted. " And you believe this ? " asked Bryan, smiling. "And why wouldn't he?" indignantly retorted Shane. " Hasn't he told you the real truth ? How else would he know the horse's colour, and the sword that is pale and pink, like the top of the morning 1 Och ! but it 's no time to be doubting : when the devils come up against us by troops, is it that the Lord couldn't spare us an angel to stand sentry ? " "Very true, Shane ; but " " It isn't a but," interrupted Magrath : " and yourself, Mr Bryan, shouldn't question it : for why ? Didn't you Bhew me the Psalm that says it?" and he repeated in Irish, " The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." " There, sir," cried Shane, exultingly. "Not one angel alone," exclaimed Ellen, "but hosts of heavenly guardians, chariots and horses of fire, are on the hills around us. Are they not ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to us 1 Have they not charge concerning us, to keep us in all our ways? Do they not joy in the presence of God over one repenting sinner? Oh, to attain to that innumerable company that great multitude of the heavenly host, who, on the plain of Bethlehem, hymned the new-born Saviour, and /iow roll their unceasing anthems around the throne of the Lamb !" DERRY. 195 She uttered this most energetically : and Magi-ath's countenance bespoke such triumphant animation as re- called to every one present the fact of his having been taught from infancy to worship those ministers of God's pleasure. Ellen gathered breath, and proceeded: "Shall we not love our fellow-servants, and bless the hand which commissions them to aid us ? Because some have erred from the truth, and taught men to pray to them which are no gods, we run into the other extreme, and fear to speak of them. I can rejoice in the sunshine, love the warm beam, and bless the power and wisdom which created it, without danger of worshipping the sun, with eastern idolaters." "You are right, my love," responded the Lady; "we dwell too little on the realities of that spiritual world near which we live, unseeing, but how clearly seen. And doubtless, the sin of worshipping angels, introduced among a cloud of other idolatries, has operated to deprive us of many a sweet and cheering contemplation on their existence, nature, offices, and privileges so soon to be our own, through the grace of Him who, for our sakes, stooped to be made lower than they." " I '11 tell you," said Magrath, who perceived the drift of their allusions to his creed. " It 's myself that hasn't prayed a bead. to saint or angel this many a day. Why should I T Then, with an emotion that defied control, while tears burst from his eyes, he added, " Miss Ellen, dear, the cold hand of death is over ye." " I know it, Magrath." "Then carry this comfort with ye, that poor Larry Magrath will never put hope nor trust in living soul, let alone them that are dead, but believe in the Lord Jesus 196 DERBY. Christ, for 'tis He that can save and make his prayer to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, without cross or crucifix, bead or wafer, or anything but the blessed Bible itself. Amen." He clasped his hands, and raised his eyes with a look of fervent appeal ; but, save Ellen herself, none could fully participate in his feelings. A gleam of heart-cheering delight it did indeed shed over each ; but his abrupt annunciation of her approaching departure, and the calm response which confirmed it, wrung every bosom. She perceived it ; and after extending her hand to Magrath, with an earnest blessing, she threw it round her brother's neck, and asked him whether he wished to detain her from the blessed society of which they had been speaking. "No, Ellen, I do not. These are tears of selfish envy. You are happy quite happy?" and his voice softened from assertion into interrogation, as he bent over her. " Perfectly happy ; not a doubt, nor a fear. The Lord is present, who has done great things for me, and in that I rejoice. Oh, Bryan, trust Him at all times, and pour out your heai'ts before Him ! Yes, I am very happy; but oh, my bereaved mother!" and she turned to the Lady, who knelt beside her. " Hush, my darling : the mother sees her children laid to rest, and then how peaceful her own pillow ! . how bright that morning of the resurrection, when all shall bloom in renovated beauty around their Father's table ! I have lived to see the fruit of many prayers every prayer ; and shall I murmur ? No, Ellen, this is the victory that overcomcth the world, even our faith. DEKRY. 197 Go in peace, vein of my heart ! and we will abide in hope." Peaceful indeed, as affection itself could desire, were the few remaining hours of Ellen's mortal existence. She declined to be carried into her own apartment, observing, that there would be less trouble in removing her remains from where she then lay. Encouragement to persevere in defending the citadel of Protestantism, mingled with fervent supplication for her deluded coun- trymen, and glowing anticipations of the rest upon which she was about to enter, occupied her latest breath. The last faint whisper was one of praise ; and the last smiling look was bent on poor old Shane, who could not be per- suaded to relinquish her hand until its pulse had long ceased to throb. She departed soon after midnight, as if to verify the earnest whisper of Magrath to Basil, that the angel would rein in his horse to wait for her spirit, and bear it around the city, and away to heaven; a thought which seemed to delight him so much, that the old man, smiling through his tears, forbore to check it, otherwise than by an answering whisper, reciting in Irish the promise of Jesus, " If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you \rnto myself." Magrath assented, but immediately quoted also the passage which describes Lazarus as being can-ied by angels to Abraham's bosom; and Basil was too mucli rejoiced at his readiness in appealing to Scripture, to cavil at the innocent and touching inference which he delighted to draw. The last sigh was hushed, the long lashes had fallen over the sunken but beautiful cheek, and the chin was supported by a ribbon which had confined her chestnut 1 98 DERRY. tresses, now straying over the pillow. Solemn stillness reigned, broken sometimes by a stifled sob, as recollec- tions of past days became too powerful for entire restraint, and occasionally by a short but fervent supplication, offered in a low tone by Basil or the Lady, and mingled with praise. Bryan sat in deep, calm silence, gazing on the features which, from the day when first he peeped into the cradle to admire the " new baby," had been of all earthly things most lovely in his sight. The short gloom of a summer night soon passed away: the little lamp was extinguished, with that frugal care which the deep poverty of the poor succourless inhabitants rendered indispensable : and the Sabbath morning's golden hue crept round the apartment. Magrath arose to shade the window with a token of death ; and with one consent the trembling voices of age, suffering, and sorrow, commenced a funeral dirge, from the simple melodies that had fre- quently cheered their hearts during the long season of wasting calamity. Absorbed in the soothing employment, they marked not the opening of the door; and on con- cluding, beheld with surprise Colonel Murray leaning against a projection of the antique wall, gazing on the group with an expression of such mingled pity and love, as words could but weakly have conveyed. " Another deserter from our garrison," gaid Bryan, as with a melancholy smile he pointed to the couch. The Colonel advanced, and with clasped hands bent over it for a moment; then starting away, exclaimed, " It will not do; we must be men of iron and rock ! A few more such (rights as this, M'Alister, will melt us into children." " You wouldn't say that," uttered Magrath, reproach- DERBY. ] 99 fully, " if you heard the creature's dying breath, telling us to stand by the last stone of Derry walls." " And did she ? the beautiful martyr: may that lovely smile upon the lips that spoke such cheer, be prophetic of its accomplishment ! M'Alister, I came to speak of death and the grave, but knew not of this. Baker will be interred to-day; you will, alas ! you must be there !" and again he looked on the corpse, and from that to the Lady, until his eyes swam in tears. " Grieve not for us, Colonel," she said, " we share but the common woe. Would that every mourner equally shared our abundant consolations ! We are chosen to suffer in the cause of truth. May succeeding generations estimate the blessing, for the preservation of which we gladly endure the loss of all earthly things ! " "Amen!" he ejaculated. "The Protestant cause is the cause of posterity; and we are cementing with our dearest blood, bulwarks which they will value and main- tain." Before the sun had reached his meridian height, a long and mournful procession conveyed to the cathedral the mortal remains of Henry Baker, in whom the citizens had lost a valuable friend. He was united with Walker in the government of Deny, and generally beloved. A solemn funeral service was performed, a sermon delivered on the occasion, and groups of mourners surrounding their respective dead, collected as usual for interment near the door, listened with deep interest to a theme but too widely applicable. Ellen's bier was, by Murray'* command, brought near the governor's; and among the haggard countenances assembled, none excited more com- miseration than the venerable trio attached to it, Shane, 200 DERRY. Basil, and the Lady of M'Alister. Magrath involun- tarily accompanied them, and joined in the service of the church, having fulfilled his self-imposed task of digging a grave unusually deep, beside that of the two first victims ; and here, after depositing Baker in the vault, they bore the corpse of Ellen to its peaceful resting-place. On that same day the infamous Do Rosen sent in his peremptory order to surrender the town befoi'e six o'clock on the ensuing evening, on pain of indiscriminate slaughter by fire and sword. It was rejected : and he proceeded to renew the bombardment with increasing fury. This producing no appearance of intimidation or fluctuation in the devoted little garrison, the Frenchman had recourse to an expedient, in the execution of which he proved himself an incarnation of the spirit of cruelty; a meet son of her who is drunken with the blood of the saints. On inquiring for his friend Ross, Bryan ascertained that he had been wounded, and was unable to Jeave his bed. Repairing to him, he found him under considerable excitement, having been assured that De Rosen had some project of cruelty which should overcome the obstinate resistance of the Protestants. " It is the ruffian's boast, that in Languedoc he found moans to quell them, such as had never entered the dull heads of English or Irish. Come, M'Alister, promise me, helpless as I am, that you will join to your own my share of resolution, and stand, though it be singly, against every temptation to yield." " My dear fellow ! what is my resolution, and what your own 1 the weak, wavering flame of a candle, to be blown out by the first breath, unless lighted at the altar of Divine love and holy zeal For a double portion oi DERRY. 201 such fire I will pray : arid, so far as I know myself, I will suffer martyrdom rather than flinch from the sacred cause the cause that my poor Ellen cherished with her latest sigh." " So, so ! Ellen, too, is gone 1 Very good, and I am glad, and so ought you to be. She will never more feel heat, nor thirst burning thirst like this" he was evi- dently in great torture, and his brain becoming affected. " Be calm, dear Ross ; leave these agitating themes, and look to the Lord the Lamb who now leads Ellen to the living fountains of waters ; who is equally willing to lead you there, and to overrule these bodily sufferings to the eternal refreshment of your soul." " I know it ; I think of it sometimes often. But I fear it is the freshness of the cool, cool damp green pas- tures, and the bubbling and flowing of the delicious cold waters, that allure me. O M'Alister ! I fear it is my raving thirst of body, not the thirst of a parching soul, that makes all this so lovely ; for I am dying under these parching agonies, and no drop to moisten my burning lips." "Try to compose yourself until I return," said his friend; and then borrowing a small pitcher, he sallied forth at the imminent peril of his life, and filled it at one of the wells without the gate, while the enemy's marksmen showered bullets around him. The furious bombardment, just renewed, had polluted the water in the town to such a degree, that many of the sick, like Ross, rejected the nauseous draught while perishing with thirst; and few had the hardihood to brave, on their own behalf, what Bryan readily encountered for hia friend. W> DERBY. Ross quaffed the precious beverage with gasping eager- ness, and lay down refreshed. " Now will you hear of the Saviour ? " " Ah yes ! gladly ; but I fear that gratitude for the water, love to the friendly hand which brought it, will predominate over better feelings." "Well, you are right to mistrust yourself: but you must not, therefore, reject the offered mercy." He then spoke, and read, and prayed with the youth, and left him much composed. At the door he was met by Magrath, who asked him, had he heard the mareschal's message ? and informed him that the inhuman foreigner had threatened to plunder all the Protestants in the country round : and then to drive them, men, women, and children, to starve under the walls of Derry. A menace so barbarous was not to be credited; and Bryan found the council preparing an answer expressive of universal indignation at the threat, with the reiterated assurance that no regard would be paid to any proposi- tion which he could convey on the subject of surrender. This was the unanimous feeling of all ranks ; and the message was confirmed by hearty cheers from the walls. On the following morning the Lady of M'Alister appeared equipped for a walk. Bryan suggested that the continued bombardment rendered the streets unsafe ; but she replied, "My child, I have now no sacred task to fulfil at home ; and it becomes my duty to devote the remnant of strength to our more helpless fellows." " But, dear mother, you can pray." " And work too, Biyan. He who has coupled ' fervent in spirit,' with ' not slothful in business,' will accept the heart's prayer, while the feet and the hands are occupied DERHY. 203 in the service of His poor afflicted ones. Lead me to Ross." With secret gladuess he obeyed, and rejoiced in the delighted welcome of his friend, who received her as a celestial visitant. He left her there, and, joined by Magi-ath, who had fulfilled his visit of mercy to the prisoners, he mounted the walls. These celebrated bul- warks of Derry consist of an inner and an outer wall, the former of which is about twenty feet in thickness, afford- ing an excellent promenade ; the height of the other varies, in some places rising above the stature of a man, but generally not more than four feet, forming battle- ments to the inner one, to which it is united. Here, then, the besieged were wont to array themselves, and employ their smaller fire-arms with such effect as they could, to aid their guns, planted on the bastions and lines. Of these, they had no more than twenty fit for use, which, with two stationed on the cathedral roof, formed the entire battery for the defence of the town. Some excitement prevailed in that quarter to which Bryan had repaired; for a rising cloud of dust bespoke the approach of a large body of assailants ; and De Rosen's threats had rendered them doubly watchful. " Be steady, lads," said the officer in command, "and give them a proper greeting, if they advance." A line was formed, the men stood to their arms, and the party still drawing nearer, a volley was discharged into the mass. Screams and cries, in the shrill voices of women and children, with the loud and melancholy tones of entreaty from men, pealed back instead of the expected fire of musketry; and the smoke dispersing on a light breeze, and the dust abating from the temporary halt, a scene presented itself 204 DERRT. would it were a vision of the writer's fancy ! but, alas ! no description can do justice to the appalling reality of what has been left on record by eye-witnesses, then gazing from those walls. A crowd appeared, comprising several thousands of Protestants not captives taken in battle, but victims dragged by force from their peaceful habitations, of whom the great majority were females of every age, from extreme decrepitude of years to the infant newly born ; the rest were old men and young boys, or invalids brought from their sick-rooms, with some more vigoi-ous in appeai-ance, seized in the moment of unarmed security, overpowered, and compelled to mingle ii the wretched throng. Half naked, with bleeding feet and tottering knees, they staggered on, raising their supplicating voices to the besieged, to spare their helpless friends ; while the latter, in the very act of reloading their pieces, stood petrified with horror, staring as on some hideous vision which they wished to dispel. It was, however, no vision; still the crowd advanced ; and they might see the ruffian soldiery behind, violently pushing and goading with their swords the fainting forms that lingered last from in- ability to proceed ; or dragging them along the ground, to which some had fallen. The trance of horror into which the Deny men had been surprised was of short duration ; and such a yell of frantic fury was perhaps never heard from human lips, as then echoed from the walls. Faces, pale and ghastly with famine, now flushed into the deep hectic of rage, and not a menace nor an execration was left unuttered, that their boiling passions could suggest. For a time nothing was heard but incoherent invective and threat- DERBY. 205 enings, till Murray shouted out "A gallows!" and in- stantly a thousand eager hands were at work, preparing the apparatus of ignominious death, which they erected within view of the enemy's camp, for the execution of the prisoners then in their hands. Meanwhile, the exhausted crowds had gained the walls, under which they sat or fell down, wiping the starting moisture, and tears, and blood that mingled on their faces : extracting the thorns from their blistered feet, and striving to close the tattered garments that scarcely covered their emaciated frames. Mothers clasped their infants, and rocked them to and fro, moaning in answer to the little sufferers' cries, or vainly tried to ap- pease the clamours of children who screamed for drink ,nd food. Young girls were seen smothering their own complaints, though racked with the anguish of fatigue and suffering, while busied in contriving some little sup- port for the trembling head of an aged parent ; or bind- ing up the wounds of a bi'other, or relieving some faint- ing mother of her helpless babe. All this was terrible to witness ; but when the victims looked up to those who hung over the walls, and smiled, and blessed them for their heroic fidelity, it was too much : tears and sobs broke forth from many who had endured without a groan the inflictions of that dreadful siege : and the leading men hastened to despatch a message to the general who commanded under the hateful De Rosen, declaring that unless the fugitives were properly refreshed, and recon- ducted to their homes, the prisoners should be immedi- ately hanged within their view, including a nobleman and sevei-al officers. Yet, with this atrocious example of 206 DERBY. religious persecution before their eyes, they added a free permission for Popish priests to enter, and prepare them for their fate. The captives, acknowledging the strict justice of this proceeding, and expressing deep abhorrence at the deed of De Rosen, wrote an imploring letter to their general, to save them from a disgraceful death by his compliance, but in vain. The Frenchman was inexorable, and left them to their fate, merely signifying that their death would be revenged on the defenceless multitude. The sentence was not carried into execution, but every pos- sible method was taken to relieve the sufferers, who on the following day were joined by another thousand in similar circumstances. There was not a person in Derry able to move, who did not seem to lose the sense of every privation, in the all-absorbing sentiment of indignant pity. Many climbed the walls, whom age or sickness had apparently disabled from walking the street, and some were seen to drop their own scanty morsel of food, or change of cloth- ing, in the laps of such as seemed perishing for help. Recognitions the most heart-rending took place, while those on the walls discerned, in some bleeding, famishing creature beneath, a sister, a parent, a child sometimes a wife or husband. Distressed as was the garrison, it be- came necessary to prohibit, under severe penalties, the reception, and even the relief, of those over whom all hearts yearned; but the pleadings of natural affection overcame both fear and prudence, and many were ad- mitted, fed, and clothed, during the night. Among these, one amply recompensed the mercy shewn, by de- DEI:RY. 20? livering a message from the fleet, directing that m ease of great extremity two fires should be lighted on the church. The beacons were immediately ignited, and plentifully fed, that their blaze might reach the shipfa with a silent tale of unparalleled distresses. 208 DERBY. CHAPTER XI THE garrison of Derry was no\v reduced to less than sii thousand ; and within the walls were many rendered useless by age or debility, but assisting to consume its scanty store of provisions; while under its battlements there lay some hundreds of comparatively able men. It was proposed by several of the former that they should steal out under cover of the night, and their places be supplied by the latter. The most afflicted of the Pro- testants without had remonstrated against receiving that help which the besieged could so ill spare : and the voice of tender compassion from above was often answered from below in terms of cheering encouragement from those who lay dying. Many a sublime instance of devo- tion to the righteous cause was long recounted to the children's children of the mai*tyrs ; and when the above- mentioned proposition was communicated, they united in assisting to single out the stoutest of their party to the number of five hundred, while as many from within prepared to take their places. It was a night of partings in Derry : and often the half-stifled cry of agony broke forth, as the voluntary victims crossed their thresholds, to place themselves in the immediate power of their deadliest foes; and still the question will present itself, WHY did they thus suffer? DERBY. 209 WHAT nerved the citizens of this diminutive fortress even to the endurance of death in every shape rather than surrender it ? The answer is obvious ; they knew the unspeakable value of that PROTEST from which they derived their very name that solemn abjuration of an antichristian heresy wherein consists the getting of " the victory over the Beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name"* the main- tenance of that pure and spotless faith which loathes the ways of spiritual uncleanness. They trusted that the privilege which they individually enjoyed would, through their constancy, be confirmed as a national blessing; and that the bulwarks of their citadel should typify an im- pregnable defence, to be reared around the altar and the throne, to guard alike the palace and the hovel. They succeeded, and the walls of Deny yet stand a venerable monument of its incorniptible defenders. Shall we go on ? Shall we ask, Where are now the national barriers ? Gone ! The adamantine bulwarks were undermined and crumbled; and those who prostrated them are building a wall, and daubing it with untempered mortar. But let them look to it ; for the great hailstones are beginning to fall, and England will yet learn that it is an evil thing and a bitter to forsake the living God, who will not brook the Babylonian vest, however goodly in man's eyes. The voice of fervent supplication rose around the Pro- testant city for those who manned its walls, and with it the pleading of intercession for the deluded agents of a foreigner's cruelty. The victims said that the Irish officers had shed tears over their miseries; and that General Hamilton, in defiance of his tyrant commander, had given * Rev. xv. 2. 210 DERRT. them provisions on their passage through his camp. In- deed, deeply as were the native troops imbrued in kindred blood, this unprecedented act of barbarity towards their countrymen, on the part of a French intruder, united them in a feeling of detestation against him, and pre- vented that zealous co-operation which would have ren- dered the safety of Deny a human impossibility. This the sufferers did not fail to remark to their friends on the walls, rejoicing that their wrongs would be overruled to the promotion of their ultimate triumph. On that mournful night the home of M'Alister pre- sented signs of participation in what was going on. No- thing had been said; but Basil, after tottering to the walls, and holding converse with some individuals below, returned to gather up his little bundle of necessaries, and with tearful eyes gazed on the Lady, who sate in melan- choly silence, while Bryan and Magrath held a whisper- ing conversation near the window. They approached, and Basil said, " Under this hospitable and blessed roof let me once more render praises to the Lord who brought me hither, and commend to His grace those who yet remain." They joined him in his prayer, which flowed in a strain of devotional joy and hope, well fitted to cheer their spirits. "And now," he said, on rising, "farewell for a little, a very little space, until we meet in our ^Father's dwelling." While exchanging their tearful adieu, they were startled to behold Shane O'Connogher issue from his little cell, equipped for departure, while his countenance left no room to doubt that it was a final one. With earnest expostulation Bryan approached, and the Lady united Her remonstrances; but, hiding his &ce, the old man DERRY. 211 called upon Magrath to state his reason for accompanying Basil. " Sure and I will, uncle dear, and the Lord strengthen ye ! It 's the Irish, my Lady, that has warmed his ould heart, and he cannot 'bide without it." " The blessed Word," said Shane, " the story o' pace, it 's what I can't leave. And it 's he that has the com- forting words that keep me looking to my Saviour. Och ! but it's many a long year that ye prayed over me, and wasn't weary, though I grieved ye sorely; but he was sent, and my heart opened at the sound of the tongue : and I can't part v/ith him." " And can you part with us, Shane ? " "Don't, Master Bryan, dear, don't ye ask me. Tis duty, and God gives me help and comfort in it. We '11 be meeting again, avourneen: with them and with Jter. It's I that couldn't sit and look on the empty chairs. Maybe I 'd get dark, and anger the Lord. It 's the cross, Master Bryan, and who hasn't it now 1 " " He is right," said the Lady, with a deep sigh. " Come, brother pilgrim," exclaimed Basil, " let us go forth without the camp." Magrath stood by, frowning most sternly, and making every grimace that could serve to hide the workings of emotion. Basil's Irish Bible was in his hand, and he grasped it with tenacious affection : but now held it out to its owner. " Keep it, Magrath." " Me ! I wouldn't rob you of it for fifty thousand worlds," he exclaimed, with extreme warmth. " I 'in glad you know its worth to be so priceless; but I cannot lose what you may gain : for I have it stored in 212 DERRY. my memory : and the book itself would be taken from me by the foe." " Then," said Magrath, " give me your blessing with it." " God bless thee, my son ! The Lord has evidently given the promise which is never revoked. May the day-star brightly shine, where already day has dawned in thy heart ! May thy life be the life of faith, and thine end peace ! " " Amen ! " was the simultaneous response. But it was difficult to get Shane away from his Lady : he sobbed, and seemed to lose all resolution. Magrath whispered, and he regained it in some measure, while making the parting request that they would take young Mr Ross into the house, and nurse him, and teach him in the right way. Supported by Bryan and Magrath, the old men gained the walls, and were presently slipped into the crowd without; while several stout young fellows stole in at the half-opened gate. "I'll stay and look after them," said Magrath : "go, sir, and fetch Mr Koss home." Bryan felt the excellence of the arrangement, and fully appreciated the motive that suggested it. He found Ross, to his sm'prise, prepared for the removal, and a bier in readiness to convey him, beside which he walked, recounting what had occurred, and describing the self- devotion of the poor creatures under the walls. " They tell us to look on their sufferings, not as an inducement to surrender, but as a warning sent by heaven to shew us the consequences of trusting such perfidious foes ; for scarcely one among them but has James Stuart's pro- DERBY. tecfcion. Several expired yesterday in the very act of encouraging us; and indeed it has nerved us all to des- peration." " How did Magrath behave ? " " Like a madman at first : tried to tear stones from the wall to hurl at the ruffians. On the suggestion of the gallows, he darted away, and was foremost in that work : but when I spoke of the deed as emanating from a foreigner, and he heard Lord Netterville justify us in hanging him and his companions, his feelings took a less violent turn : at least, the whole tide of his indignation set in against De Rosen, his French troops, and their religion." " Ay, this is Popery unmasked to some purpose," said Ross, " and worth all your controversy." " Our controversy, however, in directing his attention through the produce of the tree to the root, paved the way for an application of the event, which few, I fear, of his former party will think of making." When the day was a little advanced, maiiv citizens thronged the walls, in hope of discovering among the multitude below some beloved relative, who had parti- cipated in the voluntary exile of the preceding night,' but carefully avoided any sign of recognition, lest tha watchful foe might detect the arrangement. They did> indeed, accuse the garrison of forming such intention; but failed to discover its success, although with insult- ing mockery, they passed among the shrinking victims, smelling too their garments, and declaring that they should identify the Derry people by the ill savour re- sulting from their wretched mode of existence. 'For, not only had their dwellings been impregnated by the sul- 214 UEKRY phureous effluvia of the shells continually bursting, which also had rendered the water unfit for cleansing their linen, but they were now reduced to subsist on the flesh of dogs, cats, and rats, on tallow, greaves, and every descrip- tion of offal that famine could compel itself to swallow The extreme length of the town being but three hundred paces, and its greatest breadth one hundred and eighty, some conception may be formed, even by those who have not seen it, of the dreadful effects produced on the health of its inmates, by a contest already of seven months' con- tinuance, during the last ten weeks of which their rest had been broken, their houses shattered, their friends slain, the water polluted, and the air poisoned, by the almost incessant explosion of shells in the streets, three hundred and forty having been thrown in, to that date. To this we must add the horrible circumstance cf dead bodies being frequently torn up from the grave by the same destructive engines ; and the devastating nature of the pestilence, which was carrying off the inhabitants in augmented numbers every day. It becomes a matter of increasing astonishment that human nature could endure such varied and protracted sufferings : if we refer it to dread of the infuriated enemy, what shall we say of those who voluntarily placed themselves in their power, for the sole purpose of relieving and strengthening the garrison within 1 That party spirit actuated its defenders, is palpably false in the eyes of every one who considers the circumstances : for when did the overflowings of party zeal produce effects in any way compai-able to those so faintly described in these pages? Men of resolute minds, or of very excitable passions, ha^e been known, under the influence of DERRY. 215 ambition or revenge, to sacrifice present advantage, to hazard fortune and character, perhaps even to peril life itself, in pursuit of that wherein they had embarked as avowed partisans : but when did the demon of faction so influence a mingled and motley crowd, comprising both sexes and every grade of rank, that with one heart and one hand they should combine to immolate upon His altar all that endears existence, all that makes it desirable, all that even renders it supportable, and then to pine and waste away in the protracted agonies of a most lingering death ? We must look far higher for a motive capable of producing acts of such extraor- dinary devotion ; and vain will be the search if we stop short of that high and holy principle which has, in all ages, nerved to superhuman endurance sincere pro- fessors of the true faith, when called on to resist the rulers of the darkness of this world. The Huguenots of France, the early confessors of the Piedmontese valley s, bear witness to the all-conquering power of this divine principle, which so overcame in them that they loved not their lives unto the death, but willingly partook the cup of martyrdom, aggravated as it was by all that the craft of Satan and the cruelty of man could wring into its overflowing bitterness. To the Lord of Hosts, and to Him alone, ascribe we all the glory of that endurance which the Protestants of 1 6889 were enabled to manifest under their fiery trials : in so doing we detract not from their well-earned meed of pitying admiration, but crawn them with a wreath more glorious than all the unhal- lowed trophies that deck the vaunted heroes of old Greece and Rome. Shame and confusion of face belong to us, while we contemplate the deeds and the sufferings of 216 DERRY. those confessors, contrasting with them our own un- faithful and sinful connivance at the rapid growth of tho overspreading abomination which they died to oppose. Will they not rise up in the judgment with this genera- tion and condemn it ? Magrath had succeeded in finding a spot on the wall of Deny, where, on bending forward, he had a full view of his uncle and Basil, who sate at some little distance from each other, amid a group of most desolate-looking creatures, one of whom was evidently about to enter eternity. The dying woman lay with her head reclined on the knees of a companion ; while her eyes, fixed on Basil with a character of earnest, deep attention, only wandered occasionally to the wan countenance of a little babe, which had apparently, not many days before, been added to the number of those helpless sufferers. The old man spoke in English ; and his earnest though tremulous tones, frequently rose above the discordant sounds that pained the dying ear, generally drowning the voice of pity and the accent of prayerful supplication. Complaint was rarely heard, except from children too young to stifle their lamentations, or when a wail of agony burst forth over the closed eye of some endeared connexion : or, more painful yet, when the maniac laugh and scream told a tale of woe, that reason itself had given way under the pressure of unmitigated sufferings of body and mind : but there were shouts of exultation from the foe, and bitter jests uttered in their own foreign tongue by invaders, too generally lost to eveiy feeling of humanity ; mingled with bursts of indignant reproach on the part of many who "bent from the walls, while the accustomed storm of bombs DERRY. 217 abated nothing of its fury, twenty-eight of those destruc- tive missiles being cast into the city on that day. Magrath gazed for a While from his elevated position, and then shifted it a little to approach a group upon whose wretchedness a party of the enemy stood gazing, and evidently animadverting. Some French soldiers were talking fast and loud, their tones bespeaking much of mocking levity ; -while several native Irish, with scowling looks, surveyed their allies, uttering in their own tongue remarks that seemed by no means favourable to the latter. It was not unusual for individuals among the besieged to hold parley with stragglers who came under their walls; and Magrath, seeing them within a favourable distanco, approached his countrymen near enough to ascertain the subject of their discourse. " To be sure," said one in reply to a comrade's observa- tion, " we have always done our best to rid the countiy of the heretic brood ; and good reason for it. The laud is our own, and we 've a right to recover it, and to see our holy church restored to her ancient glory ; but what brought these fellows over to shew their impertinence here ?" " They came to help us," observed another. " Help us ! sure there has been no luck since they came. Does not the old wall stand as fast as ever ? and does the Frenchmen suppose it will fall down with the cries of those perishing creatures beneath it ?" " The starving heretics," remarked a third, " will only become more obstinate by seeing what sort of usage tney should get from him. Any way, they can but die : and better among their friends within yonder, than 218 DERBY. to be mocked at in their last agonies by those booted baboons." " That 's a true word, my lad," said Magrath, bending over the ramparts where he leaned. " Starving we are, no doubt; and yourselves have no great feast to boast of, if all were spoken honestly." " Troth, no," answered the former speaker ; " we are short enough; but 'tis merit to suffer in the cause of religion, to root out heresy, and recover our fathers' in- heritance." "You are likely to have all the merit," observed Magrath, " and your allies all the rest. They don't look so hungry as yourselves ; and I am doubtful whether they mean to hand over the country to you when they've had the glory of conquering it for ye." This speech produced the effect anticipated : his hearers burst into indignant invective, and one exclaimed, " 'Tis ourselves that can conquer it far better withotit them. Haven't they taken the command over the heads of our best leaders? Isn't General Hamilton overlooked and affronted every day ? Does not our provision go to pamper the foreigners, while we are kept starving, and kicked about like dogs if we do but growl over our wrongs?" "Fair and softly," said Magrath. "You ought to consider that these gentlemen made their terms before coming here, and who can blame them for looking to their own share in the bargain ? It is but reasonable to make room for themselves before they send for their families; and you'll not catch a dancing Frenchman building a house where he can find one ready furnished to his hands. Now here," pointing to a crowd of suf- DERRT. 219 ferers who lay round, "here is the French manner of serving ejectments on troublesome tenants. Many a nice little dwelling-house and patch of land is left vacant by turning these out; and being convenient to the coast, you see 'tis all the better. Our town, when they get it, will be a famous key to the whole island; and as to starving a few thousands of ye, boys, or putting you for- ward in our way when we take the air in a sally, is perfectly natural, for it leaves more room in the land. Don't be severe on your friends, nor expect that they '11 fight your battles for nothing." And so saying he with- drew from the wall, leaving his countrymen to vent as they might the indignant feelings to which he had added no small degree of poignancy by his ironical harangue. It was, indeed, unspeakably galling to the native Irish, particularly to their officers, to witness the in- creasing arrogance of the mareschal and his troops : whose general deportment was such as to justify the surmises expressed by Magrath, and secretly entertained by many of those who hailed them as allies, and fought under their command. The recent act of outrage appeared too barbarous, even in the eyes of those who had not scrupled to commit atrocities equally cruel in the prosecution of that unnatural warfare : but the lat- ter had been perpetrated on a small scale, individuals, or at most single families, having been the victims of their murderous animosity : while the dreadful aggre- gate of human suffering, presented to their eyes under the wholesale system of De Rosen, assumed an aspect of horror not recognised before. Added to this, a secret jealousy, a sympathy which in the case of heretics they loth to confess, even to themselves, whispered that 220 IXERRY. the suflTerG*g were their countrymen the aggressors foreign intruders ; and national pride was roused to resent what bore the aspect of national insult. By such means division was wrought in the adverse camp ; and no small degree of perplexity harassed the impatient commander, who experienced its effects with- out being able to apply a remedy to evils to which he was unused, and which indeed were in their very na- ture irremediable. " No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper," is the gracious assurance given to God's persecuted people : and He has a thousand ways of rendering ineffectual the most skilful devices of their foes. The fourth of July found De Rosen in a situation far from enviable : the half-suppressed murmurs of hia Irish confederates were rising into threats of open in- surrection on behalf of their tortured countrymen. The professing Protestants, who had disgraced their calling by co-operation with the Popish army, and who were chiefly men of influence, put no restraint on their angry feelings, but inveighed most bitterly against the un- precedented insult offered to their nominal faith, and the scandalous violation of all that man could deem binding on his fellow-man ; for the greater number of De Rosen's victims had James Stuart's protection in their pockets. The Popish officers, as we have seen, shrunk from identifying themselves with the perpetra- ' tors of the outrage : and their feelings were responded to by the native soldiers. When the mareschal looked out upon his motley camp, he could not but perceive that elements were there at work which threatened a serious explosion ; and on turning his eye towards Deny, he DERRY 221 belield the appalling apparatus still displayed tlie gal- lows on which Lord Netterville and his companions were to terminate their earthly course, in full view of their former associates and followers. Yet all this, it is pro- bable, would have failed to turn the foreign general from his purpose, and under the walls of Deny those four thousand Protestants might have perished by famine, while above its ramparts the bones of his captured com- rades had whitened on a gibbet, if he could have further calculated on the countenance of the unhappy king whose cause he had been sent to xiphoid. But James was not sufficiently divested of humanity to concur in the dreadful project of the mareschal. L being made acquainted with his cruel order, the monarch, despatched a letter condemnatory of the proceedings, and strongly protesting against it. The receipt of this com- munication left De Rosen under a responsibility too weighty to be incurred ; and, after some delay, he reluc- tantly issued the order for driving the poor captives back to their homes. This command was hailed witJi joy by many who hu0 DERRY. ing what we suffer for, and being willing to suffer, though a man were left standing alone for the cause, and every back turned upon him." " And what do we suffer for, Magrath ?" asked Colonel Mnmy, who, unperceived, had joined them, and walked beside the animated speaker. " Troth, colonel, I 'm somehow bothered to tell the matter clearly, but" he hesitated ; then turning full upon the inquirer, he made a stand, and raising his voice, emphatically uttered, " Sir, we suffer for our God and for our country." " Most true, Magrath ; and from you that testimony is invaluable. It is not long since you held us the direct enemies of both." " I '11 not be denying it, your honour : but now I Ve learned God's will out of His own Word myself; and I '11 suffer to death rather than not see my poor country share in the blessing. They are God's enemies that wouldn't let His mighty works be made known to the people ; and they are Ireland's foes who blind her people from seeing the glory of God's truth. If Derry fell, we 'd soon see the dead idols set up over all the land, and the living "Word buried out of sight. 'Tis to hinder this, Colonel Murray, that we gladly suffer ; and in the name of God and poor Ireland I say, 'No SURRENDER !' " The last words were uttered in a shout, while he waved his hat exultingly. That watchword was caught by the surrounding population, Murray himself being the first to re-echo it; and like an electric shock the impulse was communicated, until a hundred hands were raised, and a hundred voices pealed the inflexible resolve, "No SURRENDER!" DERBY. 251 Murray, after this ebullition of patriotic, and more than patriotic feeling had subsided, turned with graceful courtesy to Morrison, just as Bryan was about to pro- nounce his name. "I need not," he said, "any other medium of introduction than the deep and heartfelt sympathy that must draw me towards one who has done and undergone so much in the sacred cause which binds us all together. Your name, Mr Morrison, is familiar to me, as are the many good deeds that adorn it. In yielding a hearty assent to the request of our honest Magrath, Governor Walker gratifies his own feelings no less than he hopes to soothe yours. He would have expressed this in person ; but unavoidable engagements detain him for two hours longer. At the end of that time he will be ready to perform the last solemn offices over one whose grave will be bedewed with many a tear. Meantime I attend, his willing representative, to sanction, and in every way to put such honour as we can upon thia mournful duty." Morrison expressed most warmly his grateful sense of such delicate attention ; while M'Alister enjoyed increased satisfaction in finding that his roof had shel- tered a valuable and active labourer in the cause for which it was his dearest privilege to endure the loss of all things. They had now reached the gate, Murray's presence affording a most welcome countenance to the proceeding : and on a given signal, that gate wnich, seven months be- fore, had been the first to close against the enemy, swung back upon its hinges to admit the lifeless remains of one who had perished under that enemy's implacable cruelty The body was laid on a rude bier, a dark coarse sack 252 DERRT. being thrown over it the better to conceal the nature of its freight. Before, however, any one could enter the half-opened portal, Magrath presented himself at its aperture, and in Irish demanded whether all was fair and honourable. " You need not doubt it," answered Connellan in the same language. " My own officer is on duty here, and not a Frenchman near us." " This is my own comrade, colonel," said Magrath to Murray. "I'll answer for him, if once he gives us his word : the other I don't know." By Murray's direction, Connellan was told that, in consideration of his compassionate interference, he was welcome, if such was his wish, to attend the body to its last resting-place ; pledging, of course, his promise to take no undue advantage of such discoveries as he might make. The assurance was given to Magrath's satisfac- tion, and Connellan with the bier entered within the eventful gates. A considerable number of persons had gathered around them, and many pi-offers were made, with indications of respectful sympathy, to assist in bearing the humble car- riage to the burial-ground ; but Morrison himself took the place of Connellan's former helper, while Bryan and Magrath, each raising one of the poles, the bier was thus carried onward, followed closely by Colonel Murray and a long train of voluntary mourners, who arranged them- selves in procession behind him. It was now that the full tide of sympathy seemed to Bet in with an uninterrupted flow towards the widowed husband : nor could he, amid his smothered anguish, be insensible to its soothing power. Appropriate texts of DERRT. 253 Scripture, touching allusions, sentiments of elevated piety and holy resignation, fell continually upon his ear ; while the haggard looks of those who uttered them bespoke how needful to themselves was the consolation that they tendered to an afflicted brother. Arriving within the churchyard there was a tempo, rary halt, preparatory to the opening of the cathedral door ; and Magrath suggested the removal of the un- couth covering, to be replaced by a sheet which he had considerately provided. He had previously ascertained from Connellan that all was neat and respectable about the corpse. " Some poor Irishwomen," said he to Morrison, " undertook to settle the dear lady in hei little bed; and you'll find they've not neglected it." It proved so : the placid countenance was uncovered beneath the flickering light of the beacon, for other torch could ill be afforded. The oil was spent, the remaining wood stored up to feed the watch-fire ; and tallow was become an article of food, eagerly purchased at four shillings the pound. Morrison, nearly overcome, seated himself on the bier ; and with clasped hands gazed on the sweet face that had never failed to meet his eye with smiles of conjugal affec- tion. The bystanders pressed nearer, after a short silence of pitying respect, and by degrees their words reached his ear with somewhat of intelligible meaning. " These are they which came out of great tribulation," eaid one ; and another added, " They were slain for the testimony of Jesus." A gray-haired man, raising his folded hands above his head, and casting up his eyes, fervently ejaculated, " The noble army of martyrs praise Thee 1"- 254- DERRY. A farnisned mother, pressing in her arms the living skeleton of a child of two years old, bent over the corpse, and repeated, in the bitterness of agonising feeling, " They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; " while a schoolboy, gently touching the shoulder of the silent mourner, tendered his little mite of consolation by whispering a Latin line "Dulce et decorum eat pro patria mori." "Sweet and becoming indeed it is, my child," re- sponded a bystander, " to die for our beloved country, a willing victim in that cause which, with us, is no less the cause of God." The door was now unlocked, a taper provided, and the body having been borne into the church, Morrison was left for a while to indulge his grief alone over the beloved remains. Connellan looked around him with a mixture of sur- prise and painful interest, not altogether divested of hostile feelings; while, heedless of his presence, the group pursued the subject that seemed for a time to have absorbed their individual sorrows. "I beheld the lady's death," said one, " and could not but thank God when I saw she was really gone. It was a quick passage at last, after some grievous tossings on the troubled sea of affliction." " Alas ! " exclaimed a female near him, " did you see the parting with her children ? Yonder are the graves of my two darlings, cut ofi) the elder by the sword, and the other by the pestilence, within a fortnight. I did not begrudge them in the cause ; but I never felt how mercifully I had been dealt with, until I saw that lady's DERIIT. 255 children driven from her side, to wander through a scene itf horror, and cruelty, and blood, without a friend to watch over their young heads." " Without a friend ! " ejaculated another ; " when did the best of Friends forsake those who cheerfully took their cross for Him ? We know better : we have tasted His mercy. He hath delivered us, He doth now deliver us ; and in Him we trust that He will more fully and triumphantly deliver us yet." "It must be by a strong force, at any rate," said Connellan. " There is no restraint with the Lord, brother, to save by many or by few," mildly answered the old man who had before spoken. " All power is His, and He wields at will the armies of heaven no less than the elements of earth. By the waves of the sea were Pharaoh and his host overwhelmed : by the soundings of rams' horns did proud Jericho's bulwarks fall. A few lamps concealed in pitchers wrought the defeat of the many thousands of Midian ; and when the haughty Sennacherib lay en- camped around tho city of David, even as yonder our enemies encompass our city, an angel was sent forth at dead of night, who with noiseless destruction slew at once a hundred and eighty-five thousand of these boastful Assyrians. This God is our God : His hand is not now shortened, nor His power in aught diminished. For the better trial of our faith, deliverance is delayed : but in the appointed hour it will come it will come, and not tarry." " And is this the way that you encourage yourselves to hold out?" asked Coimellan, with a shrug. "Ay, it is it is !" responded many voices : and some 256 DERRY. added, '"We'll stand to our guns while we can lift a match to them." "That -won't be long," observed Connellan, looking round him with more of pity than of scorn. " Perhaps not," replied Magrath ; " but when we can't move a hand to help ourselves, what follows?" " Why, your town will be captured at once." " Captured, is it ? Sorrow a bit do we fear that. It isn't yet that the Derry men have lost the ti'ick of pep- pering their friends outside : but when God takes it out of our hand, He '11 take it into His own. With His own right hand, and with His holy arm, He will get for Himself the victory !" and this he again repeated in Irish. A hum of applause, restrained by delicacy towards Morrison from breaking out into a cheer, followed this apostrophe : and Connellan, to change the subject, asked why they kept that great fire on the top of the church. Various replies were given, chiefly in a jesting strain one saying it was to assist the enemy in rightly pointing their guns and mortars ; another, that it was used to fumi- gate their town, being none of the sweetest. A third re- marked that it would be wanted to roast the oxen and sheep which they intended to take in the next sally ; while Bryan more truly observed that a pillar of fire having been formerly the signal of God's presence among His people, the token of His guidance, and pledge of their deliverance, it could not but cheer them to be reminded, whenever they looked towards the house of prayer, of those works and wonders of old, the contemplation of which was their unfailing encom-agement. 41 Here comes the governor," said Magrath. " Novr DERRT. 257 Connellan, we'll shew you a better friend to poor old Ireland than your camp contains." "He's an Englishman," observed Connellan, sullenly. " He 's not a Frenchman," warmly responded Magrath, " He 's not wading through Irish blood to enslave the land to keep it in darkness, and shut out the blessed light of truth." Walker now .approached ; and Connellan, from under his bent brows, took a keen and curious survey of a man whom lie had more than once seen in the confusion of a skirmish, but who now appeared in a garb better suited to the sacred profession which he had so often merged in that of the warrior. The governor's countenance bore testimony that he had fully participated in the privations of the suffering gai*rison ; but his air was more lofty, his step more firm, his eye more animated than in days when hope was buoyant, and their present extremity of want altogether unthought of. Slowly and majestically this singular man walked through the opening crowd, with every individual of whom he seemed to be on terms of personal acquaintance. There lacked not several, even among those then before him, in whose bosoms rankled the feeling of envy, suspicion, or dislike ; but the observ- ing eye of Connellan operated as a check upon them ; and care was taken to maintain, in his presence at least, the semblance of unanimous attachment to their celebrated leader. On arriving at the place where Bryan stood, Mr Walker stopped short, addressing him in words of familiar friendship, and, apologising for the delay in his arrival, inquired for the person who had acted so humane a pf despondency very unusual. " You are come on a hopeless embassy, if your purpose is to turn the council from the',r project : already are they appointing commis- sioners to treat with the enemy." " Then it is time for us to speak," observed the other; and, advancing to the governor, he loudly and clearly delivered his message. Walker frowned. " This painful necessity, Mr M'Alister, is rendered aoubly distressing by the unavail- ing opposition of our young friends." Ross did not relish the slight emphasis with which the word young was marked; he spoke respectfully, but 286 DERRY. with considerable animation, " They were young heads, Mr Walker, which first conceived the plan of defending this town ; young hands that made fast those stubborn gates ; young hearts that have been foremost to bleed in the protracted conflict ; and young voices may surely be heard in deprecation of a deed that must render nugatory all their services." " The ships have disappeared the stores are exhausted King William gives no heed to our extremity of suf- fering." " The stores are not yet totally exhausted ; the ships may sail in again' as easily as they have sailed out ; and King William with royal respect I speak it holds not the power to save or to destroy. We look to a higher source for rescue." " Very true, Mr Ross," said Walker ; who, while from policy he appeared to advocate the proposed measure, in his heart determined to resist it to the uttermost ; " very true : but if we hold not this citadel for his Majesty King William, and experience not his royal countenance, in whut predicament, I pray you, do we stand ? " M'Alister answered, " In the predicament, sir, of men who have experimentally learned not to put their trust in princes nor in any child of man; for there is no help in them. We, as loyal Protestant subjects, are leagued to uphold that cause, which to a Protestant government must be the strength of its life. Imagining for a moment that such a government should become blind or indiffer- ent to that which constitutes its very existence, are we therefore to assist in driving the suicidal knife to its heart? If King William, our Protestant sovereign, DERRT. 287 whom God preserve, or his responsible advisers, know not the incalculable value of Protestant loyalty in his Irish dominions, must we league in a treacherous sur- render of his dearest interest, leaving it to our king and our countiy hereafter to lament the error when past recall ? No, sir ; we must yet be loyal, though our loyalty bore for a day the brand of disaffection : we must withstand the enemies of our king, though for a little moment he were beguiled into considering them his friends. Above all, we must ay, and we will contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, nor give the adversaries of that faith occasion to blaspheme, as though we mistrusted the will or the power of our God to main- tain His own most righteous cause, and to magnify Hia great strength in the feebleness of our emaciated band." Walker gave full time for this speech to take effect upon the hearers ; then repeated his regret that circum- stances had rendered it impossible to decline the prof- fered treaty ; and, the commissioners being named, the second day from that the thirteenth of July was ap- pointed for the final adjustment of those terms on. which Deny should be given up to the combined French and Irish armies. On that evening a sally took place, in which tho Derry men exhibited so little of their characteristic courage and enterprise, that it formed a matter of exult- ing reproach among the strenuous opposers of capitulation, and wrought on the minds of many who had before wavered, to renew their sternest resolves. The Lady of M'Alister took especial note of the circum- stance, remarking that the Lord would no longer ac- knowledge their cause, since they ceased to confide in His DERBY. delivering power : while Bryan was indefatigable in urging upon the citizens every argument, persuasion, and re- monstrance that could tend to fix their fainting hopes upon that succour which, however long delayed, they had professed to anticipate as certain. " If now we cease to hold fast our confidence," said he, " who shall calculate the extent of that evil which our faithless abandonment must entail on the Protestant name and cause 1 Inclosed in our diminutive town, we have hitherto found our de- fence invulnerable, and can fearlessly shout to the baffled hosts around us, that ' their rock is not as our Rock, our enemies themselves being judges.' Shall we invite them to hurl back upon us this word of holy exultation in the tones of tiiumphant mockery ? Shall we yield in a conflict where we assm-edly know that the Lord himself is on our side, that our cause is the cause of His eternal truth, and our foes the enemies of His righteous dominion ?" By such expostulation he succeeded in increasing and strengthening the party who appeared to be the forlorn hope of Protes- tantism in that her strongest hold : and when, on the ap- pointed day, the commissioners met to deliberate in a tent erected for that purpose outside the walls, those ramparts were lined with many an anxious expectant, secretly re- solved never to be found acquiescing in the surrender against which they had so steadily, so vauntingly protested. A letter was received on that very day from the fleet; announcing that a formidable encampment had been effected by Kirke on the Island of Inch, with a view to some speedy movement towards the relief of Derry ; and the promptitude of Walker in circulating these glad tidings through the town, sufficiently indicated his real sentiments on the question of capitulation. It became a DERBY. 289 matter of the greatest moment to protract the parley, iu expectation of the promised succour ; and therefore the commissioners on one side were urgent in demanding for the besieged some days' space to consider of the proposed terms an indulgence most strenuously resisted on the other side. One day, or rather one night alone, was given for the final settlement of this most moment- ous point within the walls, and the terms demanded by the garrison being such as the enemy would by no means accede to, the negotiation abruptly concluded a furious cannonading from their disappointed foes con- veying to the defenders a speedy token of the wrath excited by their enduring pertinacity. This was fol- lowed up by new and menacing demonstrations, large bodies of the hostile army being marched upon the different points towards the city ; but these were met and repulsed by the intrepidity of the besieged, who sallied forth to meet them, apparently as much refreshed by the assurance of enduring yet longer their dreadful privations, as though they had received that supply for the lack of which they were perishing with hunger. In the midst of these awful scenes, Magrath had never failed of pursuing his delegated task among the Irish prisoners, who, subdued by the sufferings in which they were compelled to share, gave frequent encouragement to their zealous visitor to hope that his labour among them was not altogether in vain. In one of the prison rooms was confined an ensign, with thirteen privates of the Irish army, from whom Magrath generally expe- rienced a welcome reception. Going one evening to visit them, he found the guards reduced to so exhausted a state as to be incapable of bearing to the poor cap- x 290 DERRY. lives their wretched pittance, which, nevertheless, stood untasted by the famished beings around. " What 's the meaning of this 1 " asked Magrath. The temporary jailer, who was lying on the ground, raised himself a little and replied, "It's sheer starva- tion, comrade : I could not gain the door, but reeled from side to side after a most drunken fashion, until I fell where you see me ; and not one among us is in a oetter plight. It is yet a good hour before the regular relief of our guard : and I fear the poor wretches within are even in worse condition than ourselves." " Where are the keys ? " " In my pocket take them, and carry in yonder the precious mess that would turn the stomach of a dog : 'tis a bitter temptation though, to have it in our sight." Magrath took the keys as directed ; and raising also the earthen pan, which contained the garrison fare of meal fried in tallow scarcely himself equal to the effort of bearing even such a moderate freight he proceeded to the prisoners' apartment. The spectacle there was touching, even far beyond what he had witnessed without. The officer, a fair and delicate youth, lay stretched on a low bedstead, sur- rounded by several of his men, one of whom appeared in the act of directing the point of a rusty nail to the veins in his own bare and emaciated arm, while a com- rade with difficulty restrained him, by grasping his wrist, from prosecuting his strange purpose. The dis- course that passed was in Irish. " Be easy, Terence : he has said and sworn that ft drop of it should not touch his lips. Why will you drain the little life that is left in you, to no purpose ?" DERIIY. Uyi " To no purpose, Cormick ? Is he not my foster- brother 1 Did not the milk of my mother nourish hia infancy, and should not the blood of her son flow to bring back the young breath that is fleeting fast away?" "No no !" faintly whispered the youth, with a move- ment of the head indicating much distress. " You must, grarnachree how else could I shew my face again under the roof of that cabin where your smile was the sunshine of the day ? Now let me go, Cormick !" and he strove by a sudden wrench to release his hand j but, unequal to the struggle, both staggered together, until they fell against the grated window of the prison a low groan from the officer shewing at once his con- sciousness, and painful appreciation, of his poor follower's deepty-rooted attachment. "Let us have no blood-shedding," said Magrath, ad- vancing. " We are not yet quite driven, to be cannibals. Come, Terence, lend a hand to raise your officer's head, while I give him a spoonful of what may yet keep the life in him, sorry food though it be !" The sustenance was eagerly administered, and its effect presently apparent ; for the youth sat upright, and lean- ing his head on the naked arm of Terence, exclaimed, " Never again think of such a thing ; my poor fellow, do you imagine I could feed upon your life ?" Magrath was deeply affected : his heart yearned over the noble and generous natures whom he knew to be per- verted, even from the cradle, into instruments of perse- cuting cruelty. He divided in silence the mess ; and leaving them to devour it, hastened to the place where he knew that some of the council were then sitting in anxious deliberation. To them he related the circum- 292 DERBY. stance, and heard with delight an unanimous vote passed for the liberation of the whole party authority to carry it into effect being at once vested in himself. With a beating heart he returned to the prison ; and drawing forth his Irish Bible, first coinnumicated the welcome tidings of their release, and then abruptly com- menced reading the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah, drawing a vivid picture of the far mightier deliverance wrought by the anointed Saviour, for those who are held in spiritual bondage. He next represented how beautifully in accordance with the Divine example was the act of those humane Protestants, in conferring the unsought boon of freedom, in that hour of the prisoners' extremity ; and he compelled them to acknowledge that, had the case been reversed, the spirit of their merciless creed, and the too consistent practice to which they had been inured, would have suggested a scene of slaughter, or of more lingering death by famine, as the fitting dole to ene- mies so sternly and so perseveringly opposed. He then conducted his countrymen to the Ferrygate, recommending them to the care of the enemy's patrol, who in silent astonishment received the charge. It was by such deeds as this for such a liberation really took place in Derry that the Protestants con- tinually weakened the hands of their opponents. To so great a degree was the disaffection of the Irish army now visible, that from the inaccurate pointing of their guns and mortars, scarcely a shot took effect in the besieged town, where previously such fearful execution had been done by those formidable engines. This was continually remarked by the garrison ; and while some hesitated not U> aver that balls and bombs were miraculously turned 'MUKRAY WAS BROUGHT IN .... WOUNDED BY A SHOT.' Page 293. DERBY. 293 out of their course, others, more sober-minded, recognised a no less mighty display of Divine power in thus softening the implacability of foes long distinguished by their ex- terminating rage. Still, whatever might be the subdued feelings of the native Irish towards their persecuted countrymen, no visitings of compunction were discernible in the leaders of that army. De Rosen prosecuted to the uttermost of his power the work of destruction ; and little it availed the sufferers that their dwellings were less frequently shattered by missiles from without, while pestilence walked, their streets, and famine reigned under every roof. In the frequent sallies, too, their loss was consi- derable ; and every family participated in the affliction experienced, when, from one of these sorties, the gallant Hurray was brought in, so severely wounded by a shot which passed through both his thighs, that for a time his life was despaired of, and his valuable services were, at best, to be lost to the distressed inhabitants in their greatest need. It was now that the household of M'Alister found the trial of their faith most precious. While confidence was eti-ong, and hope was buoyant, many had rejected their solemn counsels, making light of their faithful reproofs ; but the season of extreme destitution brought these scor- ners to their door, in humble quest of the teaching that was often blessed to the qxiickeuing of souls, while the poor tenement of clay crumbled beneath 'the pressure of overwhelming calamities. Often, when, on the point of famishing, the M'Alisters had resigned themselves to what appeared inevitable death, the grateful love of those whose starving souls they had led to feast upon the bread 294 BERRY. of life, brought tlie unlooked-for morsel to their colourless lips, and wept with joy at beholding its revivifying effect. " You have sown unto us spiritual things : is it a great matter if you reap our carnal things 1 " was the affection- ate plea to induce acceptance of what the donors could so ill afford to lose. And every new accession of strength, thus mercifully given, was freely expended in fresh labours of faithful love, of devoted zeal in their Master's cause. Magrath was as a ministering spirit among them : how the cravings of his own hunger were appeased, no one could tell ; for seldom was he seen to taste of food all that his diligent search could obtain was for those who lived in the warm recesses of his grateful heart. When urged to partake of their pittance, he would smilingly express his thankfulness to the watchful care of Father Peters, in early habituating him to the exercise of fast- ing ; adding, that one who had been accustomed to keep black Lent for forty days would not flinch from a few weeks of self-denial. The natural hilarity of his cha- racter shone out in an extraordinary degree during the darkest seasons of gloom and despondency; but there was one place where Magrath's tone always softened into tenderness, and where his movements were cautious as those of a careful mother by the cradle of her slumbering babe this was the chamber of Murray, whither he bore his daily report of temporal warfare and of spiritual peace. " Please your honour," said he one day, on seeing the Colonel somewhat revived, "is it now that you'll hear what I have been about this morning ?" " Do, my good fellow, tell me." " Why then, sir, it 's me that has introduced a regvJar spy into the city." DERBY. 295 a I can't believe that of you, my lad." " It 's true, sir, notwithstanding. I made out that an old acquaintance of mine was on the sharps to discover what sort of meal we had got inside : so I made my plan known to the governor, and brought him privately in, to let his two eyes bear witness to the dozen good barrels of meal that were stowed away in one cellar." " You could not do that, Magrath ; for there are not so many left in the garrison, I fear." " Maybe not, your honour ; but empty barrels there are, galore. 'Twas no difficult matter to turn a dozen of these upside down ; and when the bottoms were well covered with good meal, they must have been sharp eyes that could find out it wasn't the top." " And did you really play off such a trick ? " asked Murray, laughing. " I did, your honour ; and sent him away to report it in the camp." Murray greatly enjoyed the stratagem, which was one among the many that were resorted to in order to dis- hearten the enemy ; and Magrath very adroitly turned the discourse to the affecting tale of the Zidonian widow, whose barrel failed not while the prophet of the Lord found shelter beneath her roof. More eloquently he could have told it in the loved language of his race : but the gospel he was resolved to preach, however imper- fectly ; and now, beside the pillow of that wounded warrior, zealously and sweetly he proclaimed once more the " story of peace." 296 DERBY. CHAPTER XIV. SHORTLY after the renewal of hostilities, the fleet that mocking vision of deceitful hope to the poor suffering citizens had anchored in the Lough, near Cuimore. The boom thrown across, between that fort and Deny, barred its nearer approach ; but the besieged were hourly flattering themselves that the English spirit of the com- mander would lead him to attempt at least some enter- prise for their relief. "With straining eyes, and agonised hearts, they beheld once more these inconstant ships spreading their sails, and saw them again recede into hopeless distance. It is difficult to devise an excuse for such selfish, such unseemly forbearance on the part of Xirke : neither will the constitutional slowness of William of Nassau justify, in the eyes of Protestant inquirers, his indifference to the calamities of those attached subjects, whose heroism in the defence of their little forti-ess materially contributed to the final siiccess of his arms, at this period, against the disaffected Scottish clans. Had Deny been I'educed, the Irish and French army encamped before its walls might have speedily passed over from the swelling Lough, to pour a formidable reinforcement upon the Scottish coast, for the mainten- ance of James Stuart's cause. But they could not over- leap that barrier ; and while De Ilosen thundered forth DERBY. 297 his ineffectual rage against its stubborn wall, the battle of Killiecrankie decided the northern campaign, sealing the doom of Popish usurpation in the hour of bootless victory. But desperate beyond description was the case of those unvanquished defenders of Derry. For a time, as we have seen, the efforts of the enemy seemed to lose much of their wonted energy, and very little execution was done by their guns. This comparative respite did not long continue j a new spirit appeared to be infused into them, and very severe was the injury inflicted, both upon the outworks and in the town. The enemy's cattle, grazing within sight of the walls, induced the famished garrison to make repeated sallies in the hope of capturing them, and many lives wei'e lost in such fruitless attempts ; yet the tones of expectation sounded as boldly confident, the words of encouragement were as cheerily exchanged, as though the floating rumours of promised relief had been its unquestionable harbingers. The voice of despondency, and even of open disaffec- tion, was indeed sometimes to be heard ; but to silence such sounds appeared to be the especial business of all who distinguished them. On one occasion, as Bryan approached a group near the market-house, he recognised the querulous tones of Alderman Crowe, who had long ceased to consider even Governor Walker a sufficient staff whereon to lean in the grievous emergency to which they were reduced. "It is useless to talk of it," said the alderman ; " so long as meat remained in the shambles, though it were but a barrel of salted hides, we might anticipate a further struggle against these desperate odds; but after what I have this day 298 DERRY. seen and heard, it does sound like a jest to talk of hold- ing out any longer." " Many a true word, however, is spoken in jest," re- marked a bystander ; " and the joke of our holding out will come in among them." "So you say," responded the alderman, "but iook round you. Can you eat the stones out of the walls r " No, no," observed Bryan, " they do us better service where they are. The walls, boys, the walls of Derry are a marvellously tough morsel, as the gentlemen yonder can vouch." A hearty laugh yielded the general assent to this observation. " There, now, Mr M'Alister," said Crowe, " you are well known to be among the most obstinately sanguine of our infatuated citizens : yet you have suffered enough to damp the enthusiasm of any person. Yesterday it was currently reported that your venerable grandmother had died in consequence of feeding upon one of the nauseous rats that now form our dainty provision." " It must have been the tail," observed another, laugh- ing, "for they say that's poisonous. However, I saw the good lady to-day as active as ever among the sick ; and I shall see her ere long carving plump slices of beef and mutton to strengthen her patients." " Or if not," said Bryan, " we '11 never stand by to see the isle of our birth carved out among foreigners, or cut into fat slices of abbey lands, to nourish the priests and friars of Rome. Come, come, my good friend Crowe," he added, seeing another lamentation ready to break forth, " what change has passed upon our glorious cause DERRY. 299 since you so loudly exhorted us to die in it, that your tone is become so discouraging ?" " The cause is not changed, M'Alister, but " " Then it is still the cause of truth, and the God of truth will uphold it. Is His arm shortened, or is there anything too hard for Him to achieve 1" " Certainly not, but" "No more butting against our faith, my dear alder- man ; or stay, if we must have a but, I '11 find you one presently : ' For a small moment have I forsaken thee, BUT with great mercies will I gather thee,' 'for the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, BUT my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee.' " This quotation was received with delight; and the alderman ceased to oppose the strong current of deter- mined hope. He took Bryan's arm, and, leading him a little apart, expressed his regret for having formerly wronged a character which he felt to be far superior to his own, adding, that he had still a small store of good meal, and some few salted provisions, which he must insist on sharing with the Lady of M'Alister. Magrath conveyed this welcome supply, and the more welcome information that the poor old man had shewn him, with tears, the passage quoted by Bryan, observing that the chapter had been the best cordial he had got for many a day. " Let patience have her perfect work," said the Lady : " we shall know by and by that there was a need-be for every shot fired against our fortress." " I doubt it not," remarked Morrison ; '* but it is 01 300 DERRT. posterity to gather in the plenteous harvest, whatever individual gleanings the field may offer to us." " Ay, if our posterity follow up the work of those who now sow in tears, they shall surely reap in joy; but should they suffer themselves to be lulled into thought- less security, while the enemy sow his tares, they will be compelled to enter anew upon this conflict, and against eorer odds than what we now encounter." " I often fear it," said Ross. " In that false liberality which, shrinks from the imputation of bigotry and in- tolerance, the lesson now written in our people's blood will perhaps be forgotten, or laid aside with disgust ; until, bursting forth with recruited strength, the enemy of all righteousness shall succeed in driving Protestant- ism into its ancient fastnesses ; and Deny will again be remembered, amid bitter regrets that ever its instructive records were buried in oblivion." "And if it be so," exclaimed Bryan, "let the Protes- tants of Ireland recollect in whose name we strengthened ourselves, remembering that He abideth always the same. If the Lord deliver us, and establish the true faith in this land, a similar crisis can scarcely occur except through the most culpable neglect of men's souls the most infatuated connivance at the moral, the spiritual, and political plague of Popery. In such case, let them take patiently the chastisement, searching and trying their ways, and turning anew to. the Lord, with purpose of heart to work in reality that deliverance which cometh not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit alone." But deliverance, though often on the lips of the suf- ferers, was a word that mocked them. Language is inadequate to describe the wretchedness to which they DERBY. 301 were reduced towards the end of this month. Repeated suggestions were made of surrendering the town ; but an overpowering majority of resolute voices never failed to drown the timid accents of despair. A formidable sally was planned and executed, of which the object was, as usual, to capture a few of the enemy's cattle ; in this they failed, but took some inconsiderable spoil of oaten bread and fragments of meat, on which the captors re- galed themselves, and as many as they could admit to share it, the hungry bystanders felicitating themselves that it was at once a sample and an earnest of what they too should enjoy on the arrival of the promised succours. So debilitated were the frames of the men, who made the sortie, that they reeled tinder the shock occasioned by discharging their own muskets, and often fell in the effort to strike a blow ; yet such was the vigour of this un- looked-for assault, that three hundred of the besiegers were slain, while the loss of the assailants amounted but to one officer and two private men.* " I love not," said the Lady of M'Alister, " to be told of slaughtered hundreds ; my thought pursues those souls into the dreadful world of eternal realities, and shrinks from contemplating their doom." "The closing of our gates," said Bryan, "was an act purely defensive ; and some who were most forward in. accomplishing it would have been the last to engage in aggressive warfare. These, however, and others like- minded with them, form but a small, a very small portion of the inhabitants, and possess little influence in the * This disparity appears scarcely, credible, considering the state to which the besieged were reduced; but it is authenticated by Gruhain. See History of the Siege of Deny, page 248. 302 DERRT. council. Worldly policy, trusting in the arm of flesh, is eager to make a proud display of physical strength, re- solved that not to God, but to man, shall be ascribed the glory of whatsoever shall be achieved." " It may appear a strange assertion," observed Morri- son, "but I have always thought that the numerical strength of Protestantism among us constituted its actual weakness. Our Protestantism is a sacred ark, upon which no unhallowed touch should come it is pure Christianity, distinguished alike from the systems of false religion, and from the worldliness which regards all religion as a party question a symbol of adherence to this or that political cause. We have among us a little band of praying and believing brethren, for whose sakes the Lord defends our citadel ; but there is also much to pro- voke His wrathful indignation, to keep the scourge uplifted Btill, and to make us almost tremble for the final result." Bryan remarked, " The frequent desecration of the Sabbath-day stands prominently forward in that dark catalogue of provocations." " Assuredly," answered the Lady ; " and my child will remember that, as the first ball fired into our fortress bespoke the enemy's scorn of that hallowed institution, so, alas ! did the first sally of our unthinking garrison bring us under the like condemnation in the sight of Him who is jealous over His Sabbaths." " I never could relish that part of the business," said Ross, "as far as the governor was concerned. To my thoughtless and ignorant mind it appeared suitable enough for military men to pursue their work on that as on any other day ; but it struck me as incongruous, almost re- volting to see a minister of religion descend from his DERRY. 303 pulpit to gird on a sword, and to lead his flock into mortal combat, merely from choice not from any necessity, real or imagined." " No real necessity ever did, ever can exist, for cast- ing God's law behind us," said the Lady of M'Alister. " Woe to the people whose rulers lead the way in pro- voking to jealousy the Lord of hosts ! Success may, for a little, appear to smile upon their council table ; conquest may proudly sit upon the banners of their warlike array ; but no blessing is there no permanent advantage shall that nation reap. In tribulation and anguish they shall be compelled to own, that it is an evil and a bitter thing to forsake the Lord their God." "That experience is deeply written upon all our hearts," said Morrison, with a heavy sigh. "My slaughtered wife, my helpless, wandering children, seem to speak a perpetual reproach to my soul for having compromised the holy principle of Christian separation, leaguing with worldly men to promote, by worldly means, the cause which rests upon a purer basis than to brook such alloying mixture. Collectively, we suffer for the truth's sake ; but individually, each can doubt- less point to some bygone compliance, some treacherous departure from the acknowledged standard of his faith, and say, ' My sin has found me out.' " At this moment the half-opened door was pushed further back, and a most pitiable object presented her- self. A woman, whose husband and two sons had already fallen victims to disease and famine, reeled forward clinging to her soiled and tattered garments were three children, whose cries appeared to have overcome her reason, for she stared around with looks of wild distrao 304 DERBY. tion, repeatedly endeavouring to release herself from tlieir grasp. " Naughty mother ! naughty mother ! " screamed one of the children, striking at her with his little fist in furious passion. "Mother's not naughty," cried another, beating down the uplifted hand ; " poor mother couldn't help it." This interference was vehemently resented by the first speaker, who seemed scarcely four years old ; he dealt a blow at his sister, and amid their redoubled cries of rage and pain, the battle continued, each maintaining its tenacious hold on the agonised parent. The infant combatants were presently separated by Bryan and his friends, who vainly strove to pacify them. Their little bosoms seemed bursting with resentment and despair, and it was long before an answer could be obtained to the mild inquiries of their captors. At last the girl, who had been placed by Morrison on his knee, said, "Mother had a loaf, a beautiful loaf, that a kind gentleman gave ; she dropped it, and a big boy snatched it up, and ran away." " Naughty mother wouldn't catch the boy," roared her brother. The third child was too young to join in the ex- planation. The poor woman, who had sunk into a chair, clasped her withered hands, exclaiming, "When will mercy come T' "It will come," said the Lady, "when we cast our- selves on it in utter self-despair." Then looking round on the miserable objects that encompassed her, she uttered, with a burst of anguish, " Hath the Lord for- gotten to be gracious? hath he shut up his loving- kindness in displeasure ? n DERBY. 305 "Never ask such a question, my Lady," said Magrath f who had entered ; "it's the first doubtful word that ever come out of your mouth. Forgotten ! No, no, God hasn't forgotten anything but our sins ; and doesn't He say that He will remember them no more?" He then drew from beneath his coat a wooden bowl, adding, " Here 's a new dish just invented, that 's in great request among us, enough to mess ye all." He glanced at tho squalid children and their stupified mother, adding, as he put down the provisions, with a look of deep feeling, "When God sends mouths He will send meat." The supply proved to be a composition of starch and tallow, fried together a large quantity of the former article having been found in a store. A respectable mei - - chant, Mr James Cunningham, was induced to try whether it might not be made available in the extremity of famine. He found it not only eatable, but medicinal, and gladly published the important discovery, which became a means of saving many valuable lives. With the greediness of young wolves did those poor babes devour the portion joyfully raised to their livid lips; and that sight, melting the mother into tears, relieved her brain from its intolerable oppression. She also ate, and, invoking blessings on that hospitable roof, departed with her now laughing little ones. In almost every house some spectacle of equal sufier- ing might be witnessed : but while the strongest frame lay fainting, and the most sanguine voice of hope died into the silence of despair, even a whisper breathing the hated word SURRENDER, rekindled in each sunken eye the tire of indignant reproof, and " Never, never ! " was tho imiversal response. The ministers sf religion, who had u 30f> DERBY. indefatigably fanned the steady blaze of self-devoting zeal, redoubled their efforts as the time became more awfully critical. Their exhortations varied, indeed, ac- cording as the love of God or the pride of man ruled in the teacher's heart ; but their object was the same, and endurance unto death the unvarying topic of their animated admonitions. On the twenty-seventh day of July there was a general darkening of countenance, an interchange of looks among those who had charge over the public stores, that bespoke an approaching failure of the last poor pittance : and by the governor's order, an urgent invitation was circulated through the town for all to assemble on the morrow at the cathedral, and with united supplication to make known their request to God. The Lady of M'Alister, reclining in her antique chair, with folded hands and closed eyes, was placidly medi- tating on the inscrutable ways of HIM whose path is in the deep waters. She sensibly felt the loosening of those cords which held her earthly tabernacle together, and secretly resolved to waste as little of the city's scanty provisions upon it as the vigilance of her attached house- hold circle would allow. More than once she had baffled the watchful anxiety of even Bryan ; but Magrath it was still harder to elude, with such jealous care did he note her reception of each providential supply. Neither could her dignity overawe him ; for when, witli a semblance of displeasure, she had demanded to be left alone over her pittance, the poor fellow replied, with glistening eyes, " And 1 ? ii go, my Lady, as soon as I 've seen the morsel pass your lips. Sure, and what is it keeps the life in poor old Shane, but the hope of looking you in the (ace again 1 " DKURY. 307 "Shane has a better hope, Magrath,> she answered, but, touched by his evident distress, partook of what his affectionate zeal had provided. On this evening no inducement presented itself, for food there was none ; and Bryan returned from an unsuccessful search, with looks of deeper dejection than he had ever worn, and seating himself opposite, silently gazed on the venerable rain before him. It was then that the summons reached them to join tha morrow's solemnity ; and the Lady, aroused by the welcome sound, said, " It is well : be the issue life or death, in God's temple let us find it." The silence of the grave reigned in Deny throughout that solemn night, save only one unceasing sound the :;rics of hungry children, unsupported by the high ro- solve which nerved the adult population. Morning arrived ; and at an early hour the ghastly apparitions of that famished town were seen approaching from every quarter to the house of prayer. In little more than the space of a fortnight, the garrison had lost upwards of a thousand men ; the mortality among other classes having been proportionate. No marvel that death, become so familiar to their daily and hourly view, seemed strJppc'l of half its terrors : no marvel that the burying-ground, crowded as it was with objects nearest and dearest to their hearts, presented to many an inviting couch of repose. They entered the cathedral, and, prostrate in E Application, sought help of Him who alone is mighty to save. Walker preached : in a strain of sublime eloquence he set before his drooping hearers the encouragements of holy writ, shewing the marvellous interpositions by 308 DERBY. which the Lord had of old maintained the right and the cause of His oppressed people. He exhorted them to trust, and not to be afraid : he recounted the extraordi- nary instances of a peculiar providence which had been remarked during the siege ; and, with a confidence that infused new life into many a fainting heart, he predicted a speedy realisation of their most sanguine hopes. He exhorted, he prayed for, he blessed them with paternal tenderness : and then, descending from the pulpit, he mingled with the departing congregation, as slowly they emerged from the sacred edifice. In the burying-ground a pause was made, as by general consent, each individual seeming disposed to take one more survey of the beloved temple in which they had been wont to meet their God, and of the lowly resting-places where so many of their kindred reclined far removed from the troubling of the wicked. Leaning upon tombs and grave-stones, or upon each other, for a momentary support, they gazed in solemn silence on those objects long familiarised, but, by every human probability, soon to be shut out for ever from their view. Then might be seen the dilated eye, deep sunk indeed within its socket, but still beaming forth the high resolve of unsubdued devotion to their right- eous cause, and fleshless lips, livid as those of a corpse, compressed as though they would forcibly imprison the struggling sigh of famishing distress. Walker, still robed as in the pulpit, paced slowly among the scat- tered groups, his gaunt frame and hollow cheek present- ing a personification of suffering as acute as had been undergone by any one. Arrived at an eminence, formed by the recent interment of several bodies beneath one DERRY. 309 mound, lie looked for a moment at the crimson flag, whose folds fell languidly over the battlements of the church tower, then cast his eye around upon the patient sufferers, who met it with something approaching to a Binile, so full of melancholy endurance, that his tears well-nigh overflowed while once more addressing them in the tones of soothing encouragement. " Nay, doubt not, my faithful, my true-hearted fellow-Protestants : the Lord has heard the Lord will assuredly answer the united appeal of His poor perishing creatures. Doubt not, for when did He reject the prayer of faith? when did" A sound, sudden and strange, and wildly joyful, came from the direction of the water-side : it produced a singular effect upon the hearers, and occasioned, even in Walker, a sensation of sucn choking emotion as cut short his address. That sound dare they believe it 1 had they heard it aright ? Yes, again it was re- peated, and again the shout was raised; and again in articulate words was the transporting intelligence borne to their ears. " The fleet, the fleet approaches ! The ships are in the Lough ! " It was as in a death-struggle that the greater number of those emaciated beings rushed to the walls. Hus- bands carried their dying wives, mothers their expiring children ; and, by efforts that seemed supernatural, they gained the height, to witness what to their eyes appeared a celestial vision the broad sails of three stately vessels, filled by a favouring gale, whitening upon the curling waters, and steadily approaching, with the undoubted purpose of anchoring beneath the walls. In the besiegers* camp all was bustle : a desperate resistance would no doubt be made ; and the boom that stretched across the 810 DERBY Lough, menaced destruction to the coming deliverers. The fort of Culmore was manned, and its batteries opened with thundering fury upon the advancing ships j while volleys of musketry from either bank poured upon their sides. The fire was returned, and evidently with considerable execution, upon the wretched instruments of Romish aggression ; while, comparatively unharmed, the gallant vessels made good their passage past the fort. " The boom ! the boom ! " was breathed in gasps, and whispers of unutterable agony, by the terribly interested spectators on the walls. "Will they venture to pass? Can they break it ? Oh NOW, NOW, OK NEVER ! God give them resolution ! Still they approach ! " Such exclama- tions burst from the parching lips that had so recently moved in united pi-ayer ; while a party of the townsmen mounted the cathedral, firing as a knell their minute guns of distress, and combining the efforts of theit trembling arms to wave the crimson flag, in mute yet touching appeal to the hearts of their compassionate deliverers. The Mountjoy had taken the lead : her captain was a native of Deny, and within its walls were his wife, his children, and his friends. The boom was right before her, and she swerved not ; but rising upon the flowing tide, impelled by a lively breeze, she bore with all hei force upon the sturdy barrier. It broke : alas ! the shock was too severe for the vessel ; she recoiled, rolled deeply in the waters, and striking into the shallow stream, was instantly aground. A shout, or rather a yell of rapturous exultation, re- sounded from the hostile banks ; and boats were rapidly pushed off for the purpose of boarding the Mountjoy , DERRY. 311 while a groan, a deep, low, scarcely uttered groan, seemed to issue from the walls of Deny, with now and then a shriek of woman's agony, re-echoed by terrified children. There was a horror on the minds of those devoted beings, compared with which all their preceding sufferings seemed light and trifling : but there was also many a prayerful spirit wrought into that iiitenseness of supplication, which cannot fail of entering into the eai's of the Lord God of Sabaoth. The Mountjoy lay upon her side, seemingly a helpless victim, within reach of the foe : but the stake for which her captain fought was too precious to be trifled with. He fixed an earnest gaae upon the crowded walls of Derry, then raised his eyes to heaven as in passionate appeal, and, drawing his sword, sprang forward to the most commanding station upon deck, cheering his men to a determined resistance. His shout was answered by a general huzza from the crew, each gunner applying his ignited match, and a tremendous broadside instantly enveloped the combatants in a cloud of smoke. This was indeed the climax of agonised expectation to the gasping spectators, who clung to their rampart-walls for that support which their own trembling knees refused to yield. Mothers strained their infants as in the very grasp of death, and joined their little hands together, lifting them between their own in mute supplication. Some were actually fainting under the conflict of hope and terror ; not a few of whom had mounted the walls by that strength alone which desperation gives, to sink exhausted into the arms of bystanders somewhat less enfeebled. And the voice of trembling affection was heard in anxious whispers, imploring some loved one to DERBY. revive, and hope, and .pray for the issue of that fearful hour. It was a scene to mock description : a reality before which all the powers of imagination fade into contemptible nothingness. The few seconds that elapsed before that cloud of smoke rolled away, leaving the Mountjoy once more fully visible those few seconds seemed long indeed to the breathless gazers. They passed, and the gallant ship reappeared, not lying in stranded helplessness upon the bank, but, majestically floating in deep water, she ploughed the dancing tide right onwards towards the town. " That broadside saved her ! " shouted Walker. " She has bounded from the shore she has passed the boom ! Derry and Victory ! " Loud and long, varied and strange, were the sounds that pealed from those invincible walls. The thunder- ing shout of triumph again and again burst forth, mingled with passionate cries of devout thanksgiving. "Not \into us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name be the praise ! " M us the language of many a lip ; wliile streaming eyes and outspread hands were raised towards the dwelling-place of HIM to whom out of the depths they had called, and from whom they had re- ceived so gracious a reply. " Hush, baby, hush ! " said the mother, while the laughter of joy mingled with her agitated sobs ; " look yonder at the pretty ships : they come like birds they come like angels to us There is food for my baby bread for my child meat, meat for us all. O God of mercy, ever mindful of Thy covenant, Thou wilt open Thy hand and fill us all with plenteousness ! " DERBY. 313 Leaping from the walls, the men of Derry now has- tened to throw wide the Ship-quay Gate, and in the bustle of rapturous preparation they made all ready for receiving their precious freight. The other ships had fought their passage past Culmore, and followed the Mountjoy, whose gallant captain had fallen in the moment of success. A musket-ball had terminated his mortal career, the last effective shot discharged by the baffled foe. Magrath had hastened to his favourite post, the bed- side of Colonel Murray, whom he found in joyous exul- tation, too great for language to express. A silent grasp of the hand bespoke their mutual congratulations, and then Magrath sat down, and, burying his face in his palms, wept like a child. " Many a stout heart has melted to-day, my lad," said the colonel, after a short pause, " and I should not envy the feelings of the man who could be ashamed to weep, when he looks upon our living spectres, and thinks upon our martyred dead." " True for you, Colonel Murray; and the last soul that passed hasn't left its fellow among us." " Do you mean the gallant Browning?" " No, sir ; I mean the Lady O'Neill." "The Lady of M'Alister !" exclaimed Murray, almost starting from his pillow ; and before Magrath could re- sume, Bryan entered, with Morrison and Ross. The smile with which M'Alister greeted his friend met no response ; Murray's brow was contracted, and he said, in a tone almost resentful, " Surely, surely, she might have been spared to rejoice a while with us !" " Ay, surely," said Morrison. " She is spared indeed; 314 DERBY. spared all further conflict with a body of sin and death spared to rejoice with us for ever." " Don't teach me rebellion, dear colonel," said Bryan, smiling through his tears ; " my own heart is ready enough to prompt that lesson. The liberated saint whom we would fain have kept a longer tenant in this dreary dungeon lingered till our deliverance was certain. At her own request, she was taken to the church-battery where we were stationed ; and there, upon that hallowed roof, she poured forth the supplications of a soul that truly wrestled unto death for us and for our cause." " When the minute guns of distress were fired," ob- served Morrison, " she expressed her thankfulness that even our engines of destruction had laid aside their cha- racter, uttering only the voice of sorrowful entreaty." " She called them a goodly passing knell," said Ross " and, seeing that I both understood and felt her mean- ing, she added, ' All, all is peace : full pardon, full salva- tion, joy unspeakable, and full of glory !' " " But the flag," said Magrath. "Ay," rejoined M 'A lister, "we waved our flag, the signal of distress, and reeled beneath its weight. She gazed upon its crimson folds, and in a tone of holy triumph ejaculated, ' Jehovah-nissi ! In thy name, O Lord ! we first set up our banners : for Thy name's sake, put to Thy hand, hear, behold, and save.' It was then that BroAvning's vessel ran aground, and every shout from the enemy, every cry from the walls, seemed to infuse new energy into her prayers. Life was ebbing fast away; I gave her my support, and strove to join her fervent supplications ; but I think my head and heart were failing together, for never did so fearful a DESKY. 315 darkness overspread my soul as during that season of sus- pense." " It was not yourself only, Mr Bryan," said Magrath. " Every man's face was changed and blackened as if by a spell. Such looks were never seen among living men as we beheld this day." " And did she rally again ?" asked Murray, whose interest appeared intense. " Yes : when the ship gave that successful broadside, she raised her head in earnest expectation ; and then the shout, the clamorous joy, that told its glad result, came pestling on our ears : our comrades on the battery ex- claimed, 'She floats ! she floats !' and I raised my dying charge, and bore her to the point from whence she might descry the stately vessels bearing down in unimpeded approach. She uttered a sound of joy, and, spreading abroad her hands, exclaimed, ' Lord, I have lived to pray I come to praise Thee!' Then she sunk back, breathed the name of Jesus, and departed to abide with Him for ever." There was a pause of solemn silence, broken at last by Magrath. u There 's a rest and a glory, Colonel Murray, prepared for the people of God a city where nothing can enter that has not been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Outside its gates is another place, and that place is hell. 'Tis an awful question to put, which dwelling is for us ? That question was once put to me within these walls, and it stuck like a barbed hook in my conscience, till God gave me the peace that only He can give. The question is here," he continued, drawing forth his beloved Irish Bible, "and here, too, is the answer; and sorrow a sun that may rise upon Larry Magrath shall set till he 's told both 31 6 DEKRY. question and answer to the ignorant people of his own poor country. Over mountain and bog I '11 bear this precious Word this story of peace ; and many a knee that 's now- bent in sinful worship before an image of wood or clay, may learn to bow at the name of Jesus, knowing no hope but in Him alone." "You must not leave us, Magrath," said Murray, anxiously ; " we owe you a debt that I will see paid. Your fidelity, your zeal, your courage" "Colonel Murray," interrupted the Irishman, rising, and standing before him in collected dignity, " Colonel Murray, you owe me no debt. The debt that was owing is paid, but not by your hand. This," and he elevated the IBISH BIBLE, and spoke with passionate feeling, " this is the debt that you owe to every poor child of sorrow- ful Erin. It 's a long debt, and it bears a fearful interest, and woe to the Protestant who doesn't come forward to pay his share of it ! You Ve made a resolute stand, and God has prospered it : the dark hour is ended, and yonder foes will be marching away by to-morrow's dawn : but Papists defeated may rally again; they'll nurse the red spark of hatred from father to son, till your children's grandchildren may see the flame break out, the vengeance of heaven to fan, and no power in man to quench it !" "But, Magrath, wherein lies our security, if not in Papists defeated ?" " In Papists converted, sir," answered Magrath ener- getically. "Take the word of a Papist who came hero to destroy his friends, and now goes forth with no wish but to save his enemies. You'll never enjoy the land 4 till you've conquered it ; you never will conquer it while Popery reigns. You may build palaces, and dwell in DERRT. 317 fenced cities, and laugh your enemies to scorn ; but there 's that concealed under the cabin roof which all your armies cannot overcome. You may hang, and shoot, and persecute, but destroy it you cannot ; you may flatter, and foster, and give it power, but your friend it will never be. Popery is the curse of God upon a land ; and nothing can remove it but the blessing of God, made known iu the cjospel of Jesus Christ." THE EXD. Frinted by BALI.ANTYNK HANSON & Co. London and Edinburgh. THE GOLDEN LADDER SERIES. With Plain and Coloured Illustrations. Handsomely bound in cloth, gilt edges. Crown Svo. 3s. Gd. each. " Children welcome with glee the volumes comprised iu Nisbet's ' Golden Ladder Series,' for they are full of interest, even though they are stories with a moral, which is always a high-toned one." Liverpool Courier. "'The Golden Ladder Series,' of story-books, o much appreciated for their excellence. They can be all safely recommended to the notice of teachers as being 1 especially suitable as rewards, while no school library can be *id to be complete without a selection from them." Schoolmaster. 1. THE GOLDEN LADDER : Stories Illustrative of the Beatitudes. By SUSAN and ANNA WAENEK. 2. THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD. By SUSAN WARXER. 3. QUEECHY. By SUSAN WARNER. 4. MELBOURNE HOUSE. By SUSAN WARNER. 5. DAISY. By SUSAN WARNER. 6. DAISY IN THE FIELD. By SUSAN WARNER. 7. THE OLD HELMET. By SUSAN WARNER. 8. NETTIE'S MISSION: Stories Illustrative of the Lord's Prayer. By JULIA MATHEWS. 9. GLEN LUNA ; or, Dollars and Cents. By ANNA B WARNER. 10. DRAYTON HALL : Stories Illustrative of the Beati- tudes. By JULIA MATHEWS. 11. WITHIN AND WITHOUT : a New England Story. 12. VINEGAR HILL STORIES : Illustrative of the Parable of the Sower. By ANNA B. WARNER. 13. LITTLE SUNBEAMS. By JOANNA MATHEWS. 14. WHAT SHE COULD AND OPPORTUNITIES. By SUSAN WARNER. 15. TRADING AND THE HOUSE IN TOWN. 16. DARE TO DO RIGHT. By JULIA MATHEWS. THE GOLDEN LADDER SERIES continued. 17. HOLDEN WITH THE CORDS. By the Author of " Within and Without." 18. GIVING HONOUR : Containing " The Little Camp on Eagle Hill " and " Willow Brook." By SUSAN WARNER. 19. GIVING SERVICE : Cofltaining "Sceptres and Crowns " and the "Flag of Truce." By SUSAN WARNER. 20. GIVING TRUST : Containing " Bread and Oranges " and " The Rapids of Niagara." By SUSAN WARNER. ** The Tues in Vvh. 18, 19, 20 are Illustrative of the LORD'S PRAYER. 21. WYCH HAZEL. A Tale. By SUSAN and ANNA WARNER. 22. THE GOLD OF CHICKAREE. A Sequel to " Wych Hazel." By SUSAN and ANNA WARNER. 23. DIANA. By SUSAN WARNER. 24. MY DESIRE. By SUSAN WARNER, 25. THE END OF A COIL. By SUSAN WARNER. 26. THE LETTER OF CREDIT. By SUSAN WARNER. 27. NOBODY. By SUSAN WARNER. 28. STEPHEN, M.D. By SUSAN WARNER. 29. A RED WALLFLOWER. By SUSAN WARNER. 30. DAISY PLAINS. By SUSAN WARNER. 31. CROSS CORNERS. By ANNA B. WARNER. 32. MISTRESS MATCHETT'S MISTAKE. By EMMA MARSHALL. 33. YOURS AND MINE. By ANNA B. WARNER. 34. ONE LITTLE VEIN OF DROSS. By Mrs. Rum LAMB. 35. OAK BEND ; or, Patience and her Schooling. By ANNA B. WAU.XEK. LONDON: JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNEB* STREET, W. THE "PILGRIM" SERIES. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. Small Crown 8vo, 2s. each. With gilt edges, 2s. 6d. BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PEOGEESS. FOXE'S BOOK OF MARTYES. BUNYAN'S HOLY WAE. THE PEINCE OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID. THE PILLAR OF FIEE ; or, Israel in Bondage. THE THEONE OF DAVID. BEN-HUE. By LEW WALLACE. THE LAMPLIGHTER By M. CUMMINS. UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. By Mrs. H. B. STOWS. KOBINSON CEUSOE. MY DESIEE. By SUSAN WARNEB. NOBODY. By SUSAN WARNER. THE FAIECHILD FAMILY. By Mrs. SHERWOOD. THE SWISS FAMILY EOBINSON. ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY. By P. H. GOSSK DERRY. By CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH. GREAT MEN. By the late Eev. F. MYERS, M.A. TOO LATE FOR THE TIDE-MILL. By E. A. RAND. LITTLE WOMEN AND "GOOD WIVES." DRAYTON HALL. By JULIA MATHEWS. THE END OF A COIL. By SUSAN WARNEK. GLEN LUNA. By ANNA B. WARNER. DIANA. By SUSAN WARNER. STEPHEN, M.D. By SUSAN WARNER. MELBOURNE HOUSE. By SUSAN WARNER. BIBLE WARNINGS. By Rev. Dr. NEWTON. THE PHYSICIAN'S DAUGHTERS. By LUCY NELSON. THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD. By SUSAN WARNER. DAISY. By SUSAN WARNER. DAISY IN THE FIELD. By SUSAN WARNER. SCRIPTURE ANIMALS. By Rev. Dr. NEWTOK. NOR'ARD OF THE DOGGER. By E. J. MATHER. A DREAM OF THE NORTH SEA. By JAMES RUNCIMAN. QUEECHY. By SUSAN WARNER. DARE TO DO RIGHT. By JULIA MATIIEWS. NETTIE'S MISSION. By JULIA MATIIEWS. WANDERING HOMES AND THEIR INFLUENCES. FRANK WEATHERALL. By W. C. METCALFB. THE "GOLDEN LADDER" SERIES. Uniform in size and binding, with Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Gilt edges, 3s. 6d. each. " Children welcome with glee the volumes comprised hi Nisbct's * Golden Ladder Series,' for they are full of interest, even though they are stories with a moral, which is always a high-toned one." Liverpool Courier. "'The Golden Ladder Series' of story-books, so much appreciated for their excellence. They can be all safely recommended to the notice of teachers as bing especially suitable as rewards, while no school library can be said to be complete without a selection from them." Sehoolmagter. 1. THE GOLDEN LADDER : Stories Illustrative of the Eight Beatitudes. By SUSAN and ANNA WARNER. 2. THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD. By SUSAN WARNER. 3. QUEECHY. By SUSAN WARNER. 4. MELBOURNE HOUSE. By SUSAN WARNER. 5. DAISY. By SUSAN WARNER. 6. DAISY IN THE FIELD. By SUSAN WARNER. 7. THE OLD HELMET. By SUSAN WARNER. 8. NETTIE'S MISSION: Stories Illustrative of the Lord's Prayer. By JULIA MATHEWS. 9. GLEN LUNA; or, Dollars and Cents. By ANNA WAENEK. 10. DRAYTON HALL : or, Laurence Bronson's Victory, and other Tales. By JULIA MATIIEWS. 11. WITHIN AND WITHOUT : a New England Story. 12. VINEGAR HILL STORIES : Illustrative of the Parable of the Sower. By ANNA WARNEB. 13. LITTLE SUNBEAMS. By JOANNA MATHEWS. 14 WHAT SHE COULD, AND OPPORTUNITIES. By SUSAN WARNER. 15. TRADING, AND THE HOUSE IN TOWN. ( 2 ) THE "GOLDEN LADDER" SERIES continued. 16. DAEE TO DO EIGHT. By JULIA MATHEWS. 17. HOLDEN WITH THE CORDS. By the Author of "Within and Without." 18. GIVING HONOUR : containing " The Little Camp on Eagle Hill " and " Willow Brook." By SUSAN WARNEB. 19. GIVING SERVICE: containing "Sceptres and Crowns " and " The Flag of Truce." By SUSAN WARNER. 20. GIVING TRUST: containing "Bread and Oranges" and " The Eapids of Niagara." By SUSAN WARNEB. 21. WYCH HAZEL. A Tale. By S. and A. WARNER. 22. THE GOLD OF CHICKAREE. A Sequel to " Wych Hazel." By S. and A. WABNEB. 23. DIANA. By SUSAN WARNEB,. 24. MY DESIRE. By SUSAN WARNER. 25. THE END OF A COIL. By SUSAN WARNER. 26. THE LETTER OF CREDIT. By SUSAN WARNER. 27. NOBODY. By SUSAN WARNER. 28. STEPHEN, M.D. By SUSAN WARNER, 29. A RED WALLFLOWER. By SUSAN WARNER. 30. DAISY PLAINS. By SUSAN WARNER. 31. CROSS CORNERS. By ANNA B. WARNER. 32. MISTRESS MATCHETT'S MISTAKE. By Mra. MARSHALL. 33. YOURS AND MINE. By ANNA B. WARNER. 34. ONE LITTLE VEIN OF DROSS. By Mrs. RUTH LAMB. 35. OAK BEND; or, Patience and her Schooling. By ANNA B, WARNER. 36. A CANDLE IN THE SEA; or, Winter at Seals Head. By Rev. E. A. RAND. ( 3 ) THE "GOLDEN SILENCE" SERIES of Is. 6d. Books. With Illustrations. Small Crown 8vo. Neatly bound in cloth boards. GOLDEN SILENCE ; or, Annals of the Birkeit Family of Crawford-under-Wold. By Mrs. MARSHALL. THE STOEY OF OUE ENGLISH BIBLE AND WHAT IT COST. By Mrs. BAYLY. STEPPING HEAVENWAED. By Mrs. PRENTISS. WHAT KATY DID. By SUSAN OOOLIDGE. MOEAG : A Tale of Highland Life. By Mrs. MILNE EA.E. AUNT JANE'S HEEO ; or, Sorrow and Sunshine. By Mrs. PRENTISS. WHEN I WAS YOUNG. By Mrs. MARSHALL. THE HOME AT GEEYLOCK. By Mrs. PRENTISS. MICHAEL'S TEEASUEES; or, Choice Silver. By Mrs. MARSHALL. THE THEEE LITTLE SPADES. By SUSAN and ANNA WARNER. MAGGIE AND BESSIE, AND THEIE WAY TO DO GOOD. By JOANNA H. MATHEWS. By the same Author. BESSIE AT SCHOOL. BESSIE AND HEE FEIENDS. BESSIE AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. BESSIE AT THE SEASIDE. BESSIE ON HEE TEAVELS. THE "GOLDEN SILENCE" SERIES-eontinued. CISSY'S TROUBLES. By BARLEY DALE. LITTLE BEICKS. By BARLEY DALE. EFFIE'S FRIENDS; or, Chronicles of the Woods and Shore. MATTHEW FROST, CARRIER. By Mrs. MARSHALL. MY LADY BOUNTIFUL. By Mrs. MARSHALL. A TALE OF TWO OLD SONGS. By LADY DUNBOYNE. ESTHER'S JOURNAL. A Tale of Swiss Pension Life. By A RESIDENT. THREE PATHS IN LIFE. A Tale for Girls. STELLAFONT ABBEY; or Nothing New. By Mrs. MARSHALL. A SUNBEAM'S INFLUENCE; or, Eight Years After. By LADY DUNBOYNE. SUSY'S SACRIFICE. KENNETH FORBES. THE CHILDREN OF BLACKBERRY HOLLOW. THE SAFE COMPASS, AND HOW IT POINTS. By Rev Dr. NEWTON. MR. RUTHERFORD'S CHILDREN. THERESA'S JOURNAL. PAT'S INHERITANCE. By Mrs. MARSHALL. IN THE MIST. A Tale. By ROSE PORTER. THE OTHER HOUSE. A Tale. By MARY R. HIGHAM. GRAN. ByE. A. B. D. ( 5 ) AMERICAN TALES. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. each. URBANE AND HIS FRIENDS. By Mrs. PRENTISS. OUR RUTH : A Story of Old Times in New England. By Mrs. PKENTISS. PINE NEEDLES AND OLD YARNS. By SUSAN WARNER. THE BLUE FLAG AND THE CLOTH OF GOLD. By ANNA WARNER. MOTHER'S QUEER THINGS ; or, a Bag of Stories. By ANNA WARNER. AVIS BENSON; or, Mine and Thine, &c. By Mrs. PBENTISB. THE SELECT SERIES OF BOOKS SUITABLE FOR PRESENTS AND PRIZES. With Illustrations. Small Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. each. THE MOUNTANS OF THE BIBLE : Their Scenes and their Lessons. By the Bev. JOHN MACFABLANE, LL.D. LIFE : A Series of Illustrations of the Divine Wisdom in the Forms, Structures, and Instincts of Animals. By P. H. GOSSB, F.B.S. LAND AND SEA. By P. H. GOSSE, F.E.S. THE ROMANCE OF NAT DEAL HISTORY. By P. H. GOSSE, F.R.S. Two vols. TALES FROM ALSACE; or, Scenes and Portraits from Life in the Days of the Reformation. WANDERING HOMES AND THEIR INFLUENCES. By the Author of " The Physician's Daughters." BYEWAYS IN PALESTINE. By JAMES FINN, M.R.A.S. ( 6 ) THE "CHIMES" SERIES. By MES. MAESHALL. Each Volume containing several Illustrations. Handsomely bound in Cloth. Crown 8vo. Price 3s. 6d. each. SILVER CHIMES ; or, Olive. A Story for Children. DAPHNE'S DECISION; or, Which Shall it Be? A Story for Children. CASSANDRA'S CASKET. POPPIES AND PANSIES. REX AND REGINA. STOEIES OF THE CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ENGLAND. DEWDROPS AND DIAMONDS. HEATHER AND HAREBELL. THE ROSES OF RINGWOOD. IN THE PURPLE. THE "LAUREL" SERIES. Each Volume containing several Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Price 2s. Gd. each. WINNING HIS LAURELS; or, the Boys of St. Raglan's. By F. M. HOLMES. THAT AGGRAVATING SCHOOLGIRL. By GRACE STEBBINO. WHAT A MAN SOWETH. By GRACE STEBBINO. DULCIBEL'S DAY DREAMS; or, The Grand, Sweet Song. By Mrs. MARSHALL. THE LADS OF LUND A. By JESSIE M. E. SAXBY. THE YARL'S YACHT. By JESSIE M. E. SAXBY. A NEW EXODUS ; or, The Exiles of the Zillerthal. A Story of the Protestants of the Tyrol. By CATHERINE KAY. GEACE MUERAY : A Story. By ELLA STONE. ME. ORDE'S GRANDCHILDREN. By CECILIA SELBY LOWNDES. WHERE THE DEW FALLS IN LONDON. A Story of a Sanctuary. By SARAH DOUDNEY. ( 7 ) THE "SUNSHINE" SERIES. Each Volume containing several Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Price 2s. each. THROUGH SHADOW TO SUNSHINE. By Mrs. HORNIBROOK. A SUMMER IN THE LIFE OF TWO LITTLE CHILDREN. By Mrs. HOWARD. OLIVER'S OLD PICTURES; or, The Magic Circle. By Mrs. MARSHALL. RUBY AND PEARL; or, The Children at Castle Aylmer. By Mrs. MARSHALL. LADY TEMPLE'S GRANDCHILDREN. By Miss EVERETT GREEN. A LONDON BABY: The Story of King Roy. By L. T. MEADE. HIDDEN HOMES ; or, The Children's Discoveries. By M. A. PAULL RIFLEY. AN UNWILLING WITNESS. By Miss LYSTER. OUR NEIGHBOUR, WIDOW YATES. By GRACE STEBBING. BIBLE PLANTS AND ANIMALS. By ALFRED E. KNIGHT. THE "MARBECK" SERIES. Each Volume containing several Illustrations. Crown Ovo. Price 1s. 6d. each. THE STORY OF JOHN MARBECK: A Windsor Organist of 300 Years Ago. His Work and his Reward. By Mrs. MARSHALL. MY GRANDMOTHER'S PICTURES. By Mrs. MARSHALL. THE OLD VIOLIN; or, Charity Hope's Own Story. By EDITH 0. KENYON. A BOY'S WILL. By ELLEN L. DAVIS. SPOILT GUY. By DARLEY DALE. HIGH AND LOWLY: a Tale of Hearts and Homes. By ELLEN L. DAVIS. PETER PENGELLY ; or, True as the Clock. By Rev. JACKSON WRAST. NELLIE GRAHAM. The Story of a Commonplace Woman. By ELLA STONE. ( 8 ) "DOLLY'S CHARGE" SERIES. With Illustrations. Small Crown Svo. 1*. each. "Would be very useful In the national school or parish library." Guardian. 1. DOLLY'S CHARGE. By BEATRICE MARSHALL. 2 THE LITTLE PEAT-CUTTERS ; or, The Song of Love. By Mrs. MARSHALL. 3. PRIMROSE ; or, The Bells of Old Effingham. By Mrs. MARSHALL. 4. THE BOY GUARDIAN. By C. E. BOWEN. 5. GENTLEMAN JIM. By Mrs. PBENTISS. 6. OUR LADDIE. By Miss L. J. TOMLINSON. 7. VIOLET IN THE SHADE. By Mrs. MARSHALL 8. LIGHT ON THE LILY. By Mrs. MARSHALL. 9. A ROSE WITHOUT A THORN. By Mrs. MARSHALL. 10. ALICE'S PUPIL. By Miss M'CLINTOCK. 11. HEATHERCLIFFE ; or, It's no Concern of Mine. By Mrs. MARSHALL. 12. ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY PASCOE. By G. NORWAY. 13. MISS BROWN'S BASKET. By Mrs. HENRY CHARLE9. 14. LOTTA'S LIFE MISTAKE. By Mrs. EVERED POOLE. 15. THE PRINCESSES OF PENRUTH. By M. H. DEBENHAM. 16. SEE FOR YOURSELF. By GRACE STEBBING. 17. SUNDAY OCCUPATIONS FOR CHILDREN. By Mrs. BARCLAY. 18. PARSON'S GREEN. By G. NORWAY. 19. HELEN ; or, Temper and its Consequences. 20. THE CAPTAIN'S STORY; or, The Disobedient Son. 21. CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE. 22. FRANK GORDON AND LITTLE JACK. 23. TO-DAY AND YESTERDAY: A Story of Summer and Winter Holidays. By Mrs. MARSHALL. 24. BOTH SIDES. By JESSIE W. SMITH. 25. STEPHEN GILMORE'S DREAM. By JESSIE SMITH. 26. JUDITH THE STRANGER. By Hon. G. BOSCAWEIT. 27. THE GATE IN PARK LANE. By the Hon. GERTRUDE BOSCAWEN. 28. SIMPLE LESSONS FROM NATURE. By the Hon. M. 0. LEIGH. 29. THE SPOILT TWINS. By EMILY DIBDIN. 30. BEN BRIGHTBOOTS, AND OTHER TRUE STORIES. By Miss HAVERGAL. 31. SAM'S MISSION. By BEATRICE MARSHALL. 32. KATIE : A DAUGHTER OF THE KING. ( 9 ) By R. M. BALLANTYNE. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 5s. each. "The fathers, mothers, guardians, uncles, and aunts who wish to find an acceptable present for a healthy-minded boy cannot possibly go wrong if they buy a book with Mr. Ballantyne's name on the title-page." Academy. THE HOT SWAMP : A Eomance of Old Albion. THE BUFFALO EUNNEES : A Tale of the Eed Eiver Plains. CHAELIE TO THE EESCUE ! A Tale of the Sea and the Rockies. BLOWN TO BITS ; or, The Lonely Man of Eakata : A Tale of the Malay Archipelago. BLUE LIGHTS ; or, Hot Work in the Soudan. A Tale of Soldier Life in Several of its Phases. THE FUGITIVES; or, The Tyrant Queen of Madagascar. EED EOONEY; or, The Last of the Crew. THE EOVEE OF THE ANDES: A Tale of Adventure in South America. THE YOUNG TEAWLEE : A Story of Life and Death and Rescue in the North Sea. DUSTY DIAMONDS, CUT AND POLISHED: A Tale of Arab City Life. THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE; or, Adventures in the Laying of Submarine Electric Cables. THE GIANT OF THE NOETH; or, Pokings Eound the Pole. THE LONELY ISLAND; or, The Eefuge of the Mutineers. POST HASTE : A Tale of Her Majesty's Mails. IN THE TEACK OF THE TEOOPS: A Tale of Modern War. THE SETTLES AND THE SAVAGE : A Tale of Peace and War in South Africa. UNDEE THE WAVES ; or, Diving in Deep Waters. EIVEES OF ICE : A Tale Illustrative of Alpine Adven- ture and Glacier Action. THE PIEATE CITY: An Algerine Tale. BLACK IVOEY : A Tale of Adventure among the Slavers of East Africa. THE NOESEMEN IN THE WEST; or, America before Columbus. THE IEON HOESE ; or, Life on the Line. THE FLOATING LIGHT OF THE GOODWIN SANDS. EELING THE BOLD : A Tale of the Norse Sea-Kings. THE GOLDEN DEE AM: A Tale of the Diggings. ( 10 ) MR. R. M. BALLANTYNE'S BOOKS-eontinued. DEEP DOWN : A Tale of the Cornish Mines. FIGHTING THE FLAMES: A Tale of the London Fire-Brigade, SHIFTING WINDS: A Tough Yarn. THE LIGHTHOUSE ; or, The Story of a Great Fight between Man and ihe Sea. THE LIFEBOAT: A Tale of our Coast Heroes. GASCOYNE, THE SANDALWOOD TRADER. THE WILD MAN OF THE WEST: A Tale of the Rocky Mountains. THE RED ERIC ; or, The Whaler's Last Cruise. FREAKS ON THE FELLS: and Why I did not become a Sailor. THE BIG OTTER. A Tale of the Great Nor'-West. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. each. HUNTED AND HARRIED : A Tale of the Scottish Covenanters. A COXSWAIN'S BRIDE AND THE RISING TIDE. THE GARRET AND THE GARDEN; or, Low Life High Up: and JEFF BENSON; or, The Young Coastguardsman. THE CREW OF THE WATER- WAGTAIL. THE MIDDY AND THE MOORS. LIFE IN THE RED BRIGADE: A Fiery Tale. THE PRAIRIE CHIEF: A Tale. THE ISLAND QUEEN; or, Dethroned by Fire and THE* MADMAN AND THE PIRATE. TWICE BOUGHT : A Tale of the Oregon Gold Fields. MY DOGGIE AND I. THE RED MAN'S REVENGE. PHILOSOPHER JACK : A Tale of the Southern Seas. SIX MONTHS AT THE CAPE. BATTLES WITH THE SEA; or, Heroes of the Life- boat and the Rocket. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. THE KITTEN PILGRIMS ; or, Great Battles and Grand Victories. Crown 8vo. 2s. Price 3s. Cci. each. TALES OF ADVENTURE BY FLOOD, FIELD, AND MOUNTAIN. TALES OF ADVENTURE ; or, Wild Work in Strange TALES' OF ADVENTURE ON THE COAST. ( 11 ) MR. R. M. BALLANTYNE'S MISCELLANY of ENTERTAINING and INSTRUCTIVE TALES. With Illustrations. Is. each. Also in a Handsome Cloth Case, Price 20s. The " Athenamm " says : " There is no more practical way of communicating elementary information than that which has been adopted in this series. When we see contained in 124 small pages (as in Fast in the Tee) such information as a man of fair education should possess about icebergs, northern lights, Esquimaux, musk- oxen, hears, walruses, &c., together with all the ordinary incidents of an Arctic voyage woven into a clear connected narrative, we must admit that a good work has been done, and that the author deserves the gratitude of those for whom the books are especially designed, and also of young people of all classes." i. FIGHTING THE WHALES ; or, Doings and Dangers on a Fishing Cruise. ii. AWAY IN THE WILDERNESS ; or, Life among the Bed Indians and Fur Traders of North America. in. FAST IN THE ICE; or, Adventures in the Polar Eegions. IV. CHASING THE SUN; or, Rambles in Norway. v. SUNK AT SEA; or, The Adventures of Wandering Will in the Pacific. VI. LOST IN THE FOREST; or, Wandering Will's Adven- tures in South America. ( 13 ) MR. R. M. BALLANTYNE'S MISCELLANY-eontinued. VII. OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS; or, Wandering Will in the Land of the Bed Skin. VIII. SAVED BY THE LIFEBOAT; or, A Tale of Wreck and Eescue on the Coast. IX. THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS; or, Captain Cook's Ad- ventures in the South Seas. x. HUNTING THE LIONS ; or, The Land of the Negro. XI. DIGGING FOR GOLD ; or, Adventures in California. XII. UP IN THE CLOUDS ; or, Balloon Voyages. XIII. THE BATTLE AND THE BREEZE; or, The Fights and Fancies of a British Tar. XIV. THE PIONEERS : A Tale of the Western Wilderness. XV. THE STORY OF THE ROCK. XVI. WRECKED, BUT NOT RUINED. XVII. THE THOROGOOD FAMILY. XVIII. THE LIVELY POLL. A Tale of the North Sea. ( 13 ) By Rev. J. JACKSON WRAY. BETWIXT TWO FIKES. With Illustrations. Extra Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. OLD CRUSTY'S NIECE. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. WILL IT LIFT P A Story of a London Fog. With Illus- trations. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. JACK HORNER THE SECOND. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 2s. SIMON HOLMES, THE CARPENTER OF ASPEN- DALE. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. THE SECRET OF THE MERE ; or, Under the Surface. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. GARTON KOWLEY ; or, Leaves from the Log of a Master Mariner. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. HONEST JOHN STALLIBRASS. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. THE. CHRONICLES OF CAPSTAN CABIN. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. MATTHEW MELLOWDEW. With Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. 5s. NESTLETON MAGNA. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. PETER PENGELLY. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Is. 6d. PAUL MEGGITT'S DELUSION. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3a. 6d. A MAN EVERY INCH OF HIM. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. THE "KNAPSACK" SERIES. With Frontispiece. Small Crown 8vo. Is. each. 1. THE MAN WITH THE KNAPSACK ; or, The Miller of Burnham Lee. 2. WIDOW WINPENNY'S WATCHWORD. 3. PRIMROSE GARTH. 4. "A SONG 0' SIXPENCE" FOR THE BAIRNS. 5. GEOFFREY HALLAM ; or, the Clerk of the Parish. NISBET'S JUVENILE LIBRARY. With Illustrations. 16mo. Is. 6d. each. 1. LILIES OF THE VALLEY, and other Tales. 2. HERBERT PERCY ; or, From Christmas to Easter. 3. PASSING CLOUDS ; or, Love Conquering Evil 4. WARFARE AND WORK; or, Life's Progress. 5. EVELYN GREY. 8. THE CHRISTMAS STOCKING ; or, Karl Krinken. By SUSAN WARNER. 14 SOWING IN TEARS AND REAPING IN JOY. 16. SILVER SANDS : or, Penuie's Romance. 17. THE KNOTS TOM GILLIES TIED AND UNTIED. LONDON: JAMES N1SBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET, W. ( 15 ) A 000137881 9