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JAMES II. AND THE DUKE OF BERWICK.

JAMES THE SECOND

THE DUKE OF BERWICK.

CHARLES TOWNSHEND WILSON,
Lieutenant- Colonel,

"Abroad in armes, at home in studious kynd,
Who seeks with painfull toile, shall Honor soonest fynd.
In woods, in waves, in warres she wonts to dwell,
And will be found with perill and with paine."
Spenser, Faerie Queene.

HENRY S. KING and CO., London.
1876.

CHISWICK PRESS :— PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WILKINS,
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.

CONTENTS.

REFACE .
Life and Death. 1670-85
Before Buda-Pesth. 1686
The Rout of Mohacz. 1687
In Re Militari 
" The Disciplines of the Wars "
On the Road to Ruin. 1688
Intrigues. 1688
Invasion. 1688
Flight. 1688 .
St. Germain and St. James. 1689
" Now thrive the Armourers." 1689
" The Bleeding Iphigenia "
The Curse of Cromwell and the Settlement of Charles
The "Remodelling" ....
Dromore and Cladyford. 1689
Against Derry. 1689
Berwick and the Inniskillen Men. 1689
The Siege raised. 1689 .
Newtown Butler, and KiUiecrankie. 1689
Measure for Measure. 1689
The Anglo-Gallo-Dutch in Ulster. 1689
The Griefs of Schomberg. 1689
Autumn Forays. 1689-90
Refurbishing and Replenishing. 1690
The O'Regan at Charlemont . 1690.
" Moving nigh in slow but firm battalion." 1690

Page vii I
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149156i6s
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213 220227231

vi CONTENTS.
The Battle of the Boyne. 1690
The Shannon, ho ! 1690 .
Brigadier Sarsefield. i6go
Limerick victorious. 1690
Lord Marlborough. 1690 .
Exit, the Duke of Berwick. 1690-91
The Capture of Athlone. 1691 .
Taking up Ground. 1 69 1
Aughrim. 1691
Galway capitulates. 1691 .
The Second Siege of Limerick. 169
End of the Williamite War. 1691
Berwick at Mons and Leuze. 1691
The Sea-Fight off La Hougue. 1692
The "Work of Louvois
In Battalia .
Steinkerque. 1692-93
Neerwinden. 1693 .
The Death of Luxembourg. 1694-95
The Loss of Namur. 1695
The Plot. 1696
" Le Branle de la Paix." 1697
The Princess, the Duke, and the Cardinal. 1698-99
The Spanish Succession. 1700
The Duke of Berwick and Clement XI. 1701
" Le Petit Abbd" and " Pfere la Pensde." 1701
" Nunc Dimittis." 1701 

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PREFACE.
'jOUR les esprits supdrieurs, mais pour ces esprits
seulement, la guerre est une excellente dcole, on
y apprend a commander, a se decider, et surtout
k administrer." The education, under fire, of the
Duke of Berwick bears striking witness to the truth of M.
Thiers' opinion. James Fitz- James was born to a high military
position. As far as rank and pay went, a royal road lay
before him ; but so vigorous were his natural parts, so sound
was his common sense, so keen his determination to be a
soldier in fact, as well as in name, that every opportunity of
gaining professional knowledge was turned to account, and
by the force of merit, it may be fairly said, he rose to be a
Marshal of France.
His exploits in that office are beyond the scope of this
volume. It simply treats of the campaigns which made the
young Englishman worthy of the ddton. The fame of his
later time fills an amjjle space in his Memoirs, and in the
French annals, but so briefly do history and his own modest
pen notice Berwick's earlier career, that I have attempted to
string together some waifs and strays of information about
his opening trials and growing aptitude for command.
It is impossible to glance at the intrigues which preceded,
and the conflict which followed, the Revolution of 1688, with
out being confronted by the unhappy King, whose faults and
illusions destroyed the Stuart dynasty. His errors may be
kept in view without suppressing the good qualities he cer
tainly possessed. And, in respect of the Williamite War in

*
viii PREFA CE.
Ireland, whilst we admire the disciplined advance of the
Anglo-Dutch battalions, we should not forget that the Ja
cobite kerne and gallow-glass fought hardily, " though almost
naked, without harneys or armure."
The hostilities of the seventeenth century may appear in
significant to many who rejoice over the vast hosts, the stu
pendous artillery, the complex administration of the present
epoch ; still, the strategy of Turenne and Montecuculi, the
works of Vauban, the battles of Luxembourg are full of in
struction. When on the track of these brilliant generals, we
cannot fail to observe the changes which the progress of
science and the increase of wealth have wrought in military
things. Mechanical contrivance is now proclaimed to be the
prime guarantee of victory ; the genius of the chief, the spirit
of the officers, the pith of the rank and file, were believed of
old to constitute the essence of an army. Our ancestors
looked mainly to the Leader and his Veterans ; to-day the
popular mind confides rather in elaborate gunnery and drilled
multitudes. Whether or no the seeming degradation of morale from the
first to the second rank portend a decline in the art of war, is
a question which the curious may examine, but which the
future alone can decide.
C. T. \N.
Apj-il, 1876.

JAMES II. AND THE DUKE OF BERWICK.

LIFE AND DEATH.
1670-1685.
JAMES FITZJAMES, the eldest son of James,
Duke of York, and of Arabella Churchill, was
born on the 21st of August, 1670, at Moulins in
the Bourbonnais, where, too, his brilliant com
rade the Mar6chal de Villars first saw the
light. His mother was a daughter of Sir Winston Churchill,
a decayed cavalier, sharp-set place-hunter, and dreary com
mentator " upon the lives of all the kings of this isle, from the
year of the world 2855 until the year of grace 1660." But, if
the " Divi Britannici " were ill served by his pen, he plied to
good purpose the courtier's oily tongue : the Duchess of York
was induced to make Arabella one of her maids of honour ;
and he laid the first stone of his son John Churchill's fortune
by obtaining for him the appointment of page to the Duke of
York. How Miss Churchill captivated the susceptible prince is
racily told by Count Anthony Hamilton. A wan, lean thing,
he says, one might think her unlikely to excite the jealousy
of Ann Hyde ; but in love victory is not always to bright eyes
and rosy cheeks. One day the Duke and Duchess were
riding about the breezy heaths of Tunbridge Wells. James
trotted beside Arabella, not to flirt, but to embolden, for she
B

2 LIFE AND DEATH.
was timid in the saddle. Her palfrey being fresh that memo
rable morning, fear had so increased the maid's natural pallor
that she looked downright ugly. The Duke was growing
disgusted ; when, on a sudden, her horse broke into a gallop.
The more Mistress Churchill tugged at the rein, the madder
the pace. A scream, a frantic clutch at the mane, and
Arabella lies rumpled by the wayside ! ' No hurt, however;
nay, the reverse of hurt, for the accident revealed what an
unfair index of her charms were those sallow features. James
dismounted to succour the damsel, who, stunned by the fall,
could not arrange her somewhat disordered apparel ; and so
the cavaliers gathering around marvelled to behold most
shapely ankles associated with the unattractive face.'
Some tirtie afterwards, Mistress Churchill went to drink
the waters of Bourbon I'Archambault, and, when returning
home, added to the fame of Moulins and to the family of
York. Thus it chanced that, to the restiveness of an ill-
handled hack, the Stuarts owed a noble scion and France a
great commander.
At the age of seven, the little James and his brother Henry
proceeded, under the care of Father Gough, a priest of the
Oratory, to Juilly, a college of the order in France. At this
celebrated school the Duke of Monmouth commenced his
training. Here too Napoleon's brothers, Louis and Jerome,
finished their education, and the late M. Berryer, " lion of the
tribune," began and ended his studies.
On the death of " ce bon homme" (as the Duke of Berwick
affectionately calls F. Gough), the boys left Juilly, and
entered the college of Plessis, where they remained till 1684,
when they spent a holiday in England. The Duke of York
now presented them to Charles II., who received them very
kindly and offered to ennoble James ; but the favour was
declined by his father, out of respect, perhaps, to the feelings
of Mary of Modena, who warmly objected even to the semi-
royal surname of Fitzjames. Returning to France, the lads.

" Mdmoires de Grammont.''

JAMES OF MONMOUTH. 3
by the advice of Father Petre, matriculated at the Jesuit
College of La Fl^che.'
At noon on Friday, the 6th of February, 1685, Charles II.
died, bewailed " with sobs and groans by the people." Such
is the sway of unaff'ected urbanity over the human heart.
There are few of us, verily, who prefer not the airy rake to the
sour elect !
"With every imaginable token of peace and joy throughout
the whole kingdom,"* James, Duke of York, ascended the
throne. Nevertheless, trouble impended. The English and
Scottish Whigs, who had taken refuge in Holland after the
detection of the Rye House Plot, thinking the time propitious
for a Protestant rising, called on the Duke of Monmouth and
the Earl of Argyll to direct it.
The news of his father's death reached Monmouth at the
Hague, where he was explaining to the austere William the
art of Court revelry, and encouraging the buxom Mary to
skating tours deforce. His uncle's accession suggested caution.
After a secret consultation with the inevitable Bentinck, the
Duke retired to Brussels, and in the boudoir of Henrietta,
Lady Wentworth, seemed to slight the fascination of re
bellion.' In a little while, however, he joined the conspirators
at Rotterdam, ambition and Puritanism once more aglow
within him.
A large sum of money having already been obtained, chiefly,
it is said, from a rich and sensitive Dutch widow, Argyll no
sooner heard of the King's death than he bought arms, ammu
nition, and a ship at Amsterdam. But, " quot homines tot sen-
tentics,'' neither Duke nor Earl would stoop to a secondary part.
There must, therefore, be two expeditions ; Monmouth with the
English refugees would sail for England, while MacCallum-
More lighted the croes-tara (fiery cross) on his native hills.*

' Founded in 1603 by Henry IV., whose heart is preserved in the
church. It was converted into a military school by Napoleon I.
" " Reresby's Memoirs."
' She was only daughter and heiress of the Earl of Cleveland.
* Lingard, " History of England."

4 LIFE AND DEATH.
The Dutch authorities winking hard — notwithstanding the
remonstrances of Skelton, the English ambassador — about
three hundred Scots put to sea on the 2nd of May, and, four
days after, made the Orkneys. 'But the British Government
was awake ; regulars on the march, militia falling in. The
disaff'ected hesitated. Easily hunted down, "unfortunate
Argyll " went a hero to the block on the 30th of June, with his
last breath forgiving his enemies, and denouncing Popery,
Prelacy, and Erastianism.
Monmouth's enterprise was a far graver affair. AccomT
panied by nearly lOO men, more or less familiar with arms, he
landed on the lith of June at Lyme in Dorsetshire. The
gentry stood aloof; but the tirades of Ferguson, " the Christian
minister " at his Grace's elbow, being attuned to the Round
head tastes and moody Puritanism of the western populace,
mechanics and peasants enlisted freely, foot became abundant,
and some uncouth horse joined from Somersetshire.
The King was busy. The Duke of Albemarle sped to
Devonshire to muster the train-bands ; Brigadier Lord
Churchill marched for the west with Life Guards and " stand
ing foot ;" the Scotch brigade was recalled from Holland ;
the English army ordered to be increased to 15,000 men ; new
regiments were to be raised. Preferring action to words.
Parliament voted ^^ 400,000 towards the expenses, attainted
the Duke of Monmouth, and off"ered ;^S,ooo "to any one who
would secure him dead or alive."
Despite noisy rejoicing, events were inauspicious at Lyme ;
Fletcher of Saltoun, the best .officer among the adventurers,
having shot a provincial agitator in a scuffle, the multitude
became so excited that the Duke was compelled to dismiss
the clever Scot from his service. A few days afterwards. Lord
Grey of Wark, who commanded the rebel cavalry, endeavour
ing to seize Bridport, was disgracefully beaten by some Dorset
shire militiamen.
At Taunton, where Monmouth arrived on the i8th,a proud
reception awaited him, " the rabblement hooted and clapt their
chopt hands," flowers strewed his path, gratuitous beef and
unstinted beer sustained the enthusiasm of the recruits. Espe-

FERGUSON ADVISES. 5
ciallj^ acceptable to so gallant "a champion of the public
good," twenty pretty Puritan maidens presented him with a
Bible and a sword. " I come to defend the truths contained
in this book," he cried, "or to seal them, if need be, with my
blood :— " " Religion and redress of grievances.
Two names that always cheat and always please."
But the influential and well-to-do still frigid, Ferguson
advised his pupil to assume his " rightful " title of king ; the
country folk surely longed to crown their dainty edifice of
cards, and could the Whig gentry resist the witchery of liberal
ism in royal guise ?—
" How long wilt thou the gen'ral joy detain,
Starve and defraud the people of thy reign ?"
The counsel of the " arch-botite-feti " (thus does the gentle
Evelyn describe the lank Boanerges) prevailed, albeit not a
squire answered to " boot and saddle."
The day after this absurd bid for popular favour, the Duke
entered Bridgwater, the militia retiring before him, for Albe
marle had orders to risk nothing till the regulars were in sup
port. " King Monmouth," no longer all smiles and confidence,
now organized his infantry, some 6000 strong, in six regiments ;
the cavalry numbered about 1000 troopers of equivocal mettle.
Men indeed turned up plentifully, but arms were scarce ; a
strong demand arose for scythes and pick-axes, and likely
lads, not a few, had to be rejected for want of weapons where
withal to smite.
If there was a rebel officer light of heart, his experience of
war must have been slight. The royal troops were gathering
thick. Oxford students had exchanged Latinity for the pike-
manual. Albemarle's train-bands were ahead. Worse than
all, by the time the insurgents quitted Bridgwater, Churchill's
red-coats were within reach of them, and no doubt tormented
their flanks in a fashion that might have disturbed the march
of veterans, much more the painful plodding of dejected
counter-skippers and colliers.^
' Macaulay, " History of England."

6 LIFE AND DEATH.
To seize Bristol, then the second city of England, was Mon
mouth's desire, but the vigour of the Duke of Beaufort, who
assured the burghers he would burn the town if they showed
their teeth, foiled the project. Hence wild counsels; strategic
suggestions often without rhyme or reason. Some one pro
posed to make for Gloucester ; whence a dash into Shropshire
and Cheshire, where the comely and genial bastard had for
merly made friends. But Churchill's activity, added to un
trained Hodge's defective quick-step, forbade the. venture. At
length the Duke wheeled to his left on Bath. Alas ! not only
did Bath reject him, but the townsmen slew the herald who
summoned them to surrender.'
Here the rebels commenced their retreat, an operation de
moralizing to disciplined troops and fatal to raw levies. Still,
when little expected, a ray of success shot across their path.
Hearing that the main body of the king's forces, under the
Eari of Feversham, was nigh Philip's Norton, Monmouth
lined the hedges of the road leading to it with musketeers, and
kept his horse in hand. The royal advanced guard, consisting
of Life Guards and the grenadiers ofthe ist Foot Guards, led
by the Duke of Grafton (Monmouth's half-brother), plunged
into the ambush. A cross fire blazed from the hedges. The
amazed red-coats struggled onward till they reached a barri
cade at the entrance into the village. There a volley blazed
full in their faces. Thus beset they fled in disorder, the volun
teer cavalry clumsily spurring at their heels. " The best part
of a troop of horse " were either laid low or made prisoners,
and the headlong Grafton narrowly escaped capture. The
afi'air seems to have been a petty Balaclava.
The retreat continued. At Frome, the fate of Argyll and
the torpor of the " Solymean rout " of London were reported.
In despair, " Absalom, ambitious of a crown," ran about seek
ing advice from mouth to mouth ; and but for the expostula
tions of Lord Grey, a peer bold in debate if backward in the
charge, he would have slunk away by night from his beguiled
subjects. He pined for Brussels, where the blandishments of
' Sir John Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain," &c.

THE EARL OF FEVERSHAM. ^
an impassioned mistress might easily assuage the sorrows of a
heart like his.^
Boding and undecided the Duke re-entered Bridg^vater on
the 2nd of July. Should he intrench the town, and await
attack behind earth-works .? Should he revert to the scheme
of a rush at the Welsh marches } He pondered thus, and
many adherents, with the prescience of rats, deserted the
Puritan colours.
A blow quick and desperate was now the only chance left.
A reconnaissance kindled a little hope. Without a spark of
his uncle's splendid genius, Feversham was a gallant gentle
man and a smart colonel,- but, after the manner of common
place commanders, despising his enemy,' he had disseminated
the troops more widely than was prudent. His head-quarters
were with the cavalry (700 sabres) at Weston. The sixteen
field-guns, guarded by dragoons, closed the road from that
place to Bridgwater. The infantry, about 1,800 strong, lay
at some distance off" on the open moor. A broad ditch (un
known to Monmouth, it is said) covered their front. The
Wilts Militia were in the rear at Middlezoy. Being detach
ments of Life Guards, Horse Grenadiers, Oxford's Horse, and
Royal Dragoons, Foot Guards, Dumbarton's, Kirke's, and
Trelawny's regiments, the regulars were of the stanchest sort.
Monmouth's plan was hazardous, as adventures in the dark
must always be. To avoid patrols, he would march by a cir
cuitous byway, on the night of the 5 th, against the infantry
camped on Sedgmoor, and, falling upon them unawares, rout
them ere cavalry and cannon could come up. From ale-house

' Macaulay, " History of England."
' Louis de Duras was son of the Due de Duras, and of a sister of the
great Turenne. Shortly after the accession of Charles II. he came to
England, where he "was naturalized, and created successively Baron
Duras and Earl of Feversham, the title of his father-in-law.
' " On ne doit jamais mdpriser son ennemi, et se relicher dans le ser
vice par le croyance qu'il est peu entreprenant, et qu'il n'a pas telle ou
telle habitude. Ce qui n'a pas €x.€ dans un temps pent I'etre dans un
autre. II suffit d'un homme intelligent et brave pour changer les mceurs
d'une armde."— Le Marechal Bugeaud.

8 LIFE AND DEATH.
gossip he expected to find the Foot Guards dead drunk, and
the gentlemen of the Life Guards snoring in bed.»
On that very Sunday morning, a young woman eager in
the royal cause entered the lines to communicate the Mon-
mouthite project, which seems to have been no secret in Bridg
water; but, being taken to "a chief officer," she was brutally
ill-treated, and in a transport of rage, terror and shame, went
her way without uttering the warning. No thought, then, of
danger. " Most of the officers " caroused, and the duties were
carelessly performed.*
About one o'clock on Monday morning the insurgent column,
preceded by Grey's unsteady squadrons and three iron guns,
reached the waste. Thanks to guides, it managed to pass two
of the broad ditches intervening between Bridgwater and the
royal troops. But the report of a pistol (treacherously fired,
it is said, by one Captain Hucker) roused a vedette of the
Blues ; and immediately the main-guard of the camp, com
posed of loo of Dumbarton's Scots, stood to the front, calling
lustily to arms.
Fully occupied in dressing his tangled files, Monmouth
ordered Grey to rush in among the tents and cut down the
disjointed soldiery. But the ditch protecting the men of Belial
brought " the marsh mares and colts " to a stand. The guide
was either not forthcoming or bewildered by the mist which
was dense. The rebel horsemen fumbled for a causeway.
"Whom are you for.?" cried Sir Francis Compton ofthe
Blues. Somebody answered, "King Monmouth." Where
upon Dumbarton's fired a volley, and to the winds went Grey's
yeomanry. And now the Duke urged forward his six battalions, their
point of direction in the darkness being the lighted matches
of the Royal Scots.^ Again the ditch stopped the way. But,
' Echard, " History of England."
^ " Account of a brave Officer of the Horse Guards," quoted by Kennet.
^ King James's account of Sedgemoor, in " Hardwick's State Papers."
(Dumbarton's was the only battalion of the King's forces using matchlocks,
the rest of the infantry being armed with snap-hance muskets of the latest
pattern.

DESERTION UNDER FIRE. 9
unlike their mounted comrades, the fanatic foot stood firm,
" with vast shoutings and firings." The soldiers replied with
workmanlike deliberation. Well pointed by a Dutch gunner,
the Monmouth pieces did no mean execution amongst the
Scots and ist Foot Guards.' The fight was lively.
Meanwhile the King's infantry were deploying, Feversham
was up with the cavalry, and the cannon, tugged by the Bishop
of Winchester's coach-horses, drew near. Parties -of Life
Guards and Horse Grenadiers were ordered to cross the ditch
and threaten the rebel right. At the same time, heavy horse
and dragoons formed on the right of Dumbarton's. And
whose is the voice sharp and clear above the dini* Churchill's :
his calm judgment worth a grenadier battalion.
The dullest ensign could see the game was up. How, then,
might Monmouth save what to such men is dearer' than all
things — life .'' Only by leaving his dupes in the lurch before
day dawned. In the congenial company of Lord Grey and a
German adventurer he deserted ; the fog, the clash of arms,
and active horses abetting the infamy.
Of sturdier breed the unhappy peasants. With the first
streak of light, the guns, handled " by the fighting bishop "
(who either from loyalty, or horror of dissent had turned
bombadier) opened fire.* And the Foot Guards passed the
ditch. But the rustics held together ; crying aloud, " ammu
nition ! ammunition ! for the Lord's sake, ammunition ! " they
faced the grenadiers with pike and flail, and gashed the
dragoons cruelly with their scythes. Such their valour,
whetted by despair, that once even the fiery Oglethorpe and
his Life Guardsmen were beaten back ; and Captain Sarsefield
(of whom we shall soon hear much), dashed out of the saddle
with the butt-end of a musket, lay for dead.
But courage in the rough must eventually yield to skill and

' King James's account of Sedgemoor, in " Hardwick's State Papers."
"^ Archdeacon Echard says, " The Bishop of Winchester performed
singular service in managing the big guns." (" History of England.")
And Ralph describes the ill-placed prelate as " a fighting bishop who
acted as general of the ordnance (" History of England ").

10 LIFE AND DEATH.
discipline. Charged over and over again by " veterans trained
to arms and bloody wars," the poor fellows broke at last.
Then in the midst of the mob, the dragoons slashed con amore;
in awful contact the hellish impulse to destroy life, and the
horrified instinct to preserve it. In the turmoil were slain
1,000 (Ralph declares 2,000) rebels, " most of them," Evelyn
thinks, " Mendip miners who' did great execution with their
tools, and sold their lives very deariy while their leaders were
flying." " Great execurion," in truth, for we are told 300 regu
lars were either killed or grievously mauled by those grimly
wielded implements.'
After the runaway leaders the chase was hot. First, Grey
was taken ; then the German ; lastly, one Parker discovered
James of Monmouth cowering in a ditch near Ringwood in
Hampshire. He delivered the famishing wretch to the
soldiers. At the request of the Queen Dowager, the King consented
to see him. Sobbing like a girl, the culprit entered Chiffinch's
room at Whitehall, and threw himself on his knees before
James. He reviled "the bloody villain Ferguson" and his
other associates. He would become a Catholic. No humilia
tion was too great for him provided his life were spared. It
does not appear, however, that he disclosed anything of the
momentous character suggested in the abject letter which he
had previously written to the King.^

' One hundred and forty years before, the peasantry of the west rose
against the Government of Edward "VI. Of them, " Lord Grey, who had
led the charge on the Scottish infantry at Musselburg, said that ' such was
the valour and stoutness of the men that, in all the wars he had been in, he
never did know the like.' It is remarkable that in 1545 the western coun
trymen fought thus heroically in defence of the Catholic religion, the
German and Italian mercenaries, by whom they were mainly put down,
being in the pay of the Reformers. Never before had English rulers used
the arms of strangers against English subjects." — Froude, History of
England. ^ " There is good reason to believe that the secret to which he alluded
was the correspondence which Sunderland held with the Prince of
Orange, and that he had himself been encouraged by Sunderland to his
fatal enterprise."— Dalrymple, Memoirs of Great Britain.

ON TOWER-HILL. ii
James was obdurate : his heart was not tender ; and public
opinion regarded the axe as the logical consequence of un
successful rebellion. In those days professed philanthropists
were rare. To forbearance, indeed, the poor Duke had small
claim. He had twice plotted against his uncle ; he had
inflamed the wrong with personal calumnies. Consanguinity,
which is popularly supposed to inspire aff"ection, availed not
here, for the King repudiated any tie of blood between himself
and Monmouth. He spoke of him as the son, not of his
brother Charles and Lucy Barlow alias Walters, but of Colonel
Robert Sidney' and that " browne, beautiful, bold, and insipid
creature " (the virtuous Evelyn loquitur).
His conduct in the Tower must have been as wormwood to
his pious friends. Coldly did he receive his wife, "a virtuous
and excellent lady," the heiress of the bold BuccleucH, who
had borne him several children. He protested to the Anglican
bishops, insisting on the necessity of repentance, that (the
ology, law, and Duchess notwithstanding) the Lady Went
worth alone was the wife of his heart.- On the scaffold he
behaved manfully, reiterated his passionate devotion to the
enchantress, and was horridly mangled by Ketch.
Thus perished, at the age of thirty-six, James, Duke of
Monmouth, a gentleman notable for good looks and graceful
manners. Such varnish could hardly fail to procure for the
son of a king the favour of women and the hurrahs of the
mob. Vain to excess, " made drunk with honour and de
bauched with praise," the warlike Absalom fell an easy prey
to "crafty knaves" hailing him devout Christian, skilful
captain, and sagacious politician. Of a flimsy nature, he
quailed at the first sight of the dangers he had recklessly pro
voked. In spite of his lax principles and immoral life, the
Puritans regarded him almost as a saint, and some writers
have considered him a martyr. Ckacun a son goilt. No doubt

' Lingard, " History of England."
° " James behaved with fondness to the children, and delivered to the
Duchess a grant of her husband's estate, which had fallen to the Crown by
attainder." — Dalrymple, Memoirs of Great Britain.

12 LIFE AND DEATH.
he was a very pretty fellow, personally brave and socially
pleasant, well cut out for a place at Court or a colonelcy in
the Guards. If he could only have rested content with his
Garter, his Chancellorship of Cambridge, " his accumulations
without end," what a happy spark ! Dalliance with demo
cratic emotions destroyed him.
Enough of the flashy, good-natured sinner. The digression
concerning him will at least present a foil to what we have to
relate about his cousin, " le simple Brochet," valiant soldier and
loyal subject.
After the defeat of the sixth of July, the odious barbarities,
often the lot of quelled insurrection, had infernal swing.
In order that the rebels should be punished according to
the forms of law, a special commission, consisting of Lord
Chief Justice Jeffreys, the Chief Baron and three puisne
Judges, was issued ; and, strangely as it sounds, by a second
commission, Jeffreys was singly appointed commander-in-
chief of the troops quartered within the limits of the western
circuit. The character of the campaign is indicated in the
old song: —
" The pris'ners to plead to his lordship did cry :
But still he made answer, and thus did reply ¦
' We'll hang you up first, and then after we'll try.'
Sing, Hey brave Chancellor, O fine Chancellor,
Delicate Chancellor, O !"
At least two rulings of this truculent Judge do not appear
to have been distasteful to our forefathers. When one Hucker
pleaded in extenuation, that, although a 'listed Monmouthite,
he had sent important information to Feversham, the " Justice
General " thundered, "Why, you deserve a double death ; one
for rebellion against your sovereign, the other for betraying
your friends." A mean and despicable fellow, the informer ;
we virtuously loathe him, but in troublous times is there a
minister who does not tempt and employ him .?
Again, on arriving at Bristol, the chief justice discovered
that the mayor and alderman had been accustomed to sell,
for their own profit, to the planters of Barbadoes not only

JUDGE JEFFREYS AND '' HIS WORSHIP." 13
prisoners charged with felony, but even simple vagabonds.
Roger North relates that, after violently haranguing the
grand jury on such an enormity, Jeff"reys turned to the mayor
accoutred with his scarlet and furs, and gave him all the ill
names that scolding eloquence could supply, and never left off"
till he made him quit the bench, and go down to the criminal's
post at the bar, and there he pleaded for himself as a common
rogue or thief must have done, and "when the mayor hesitated
a little, or slackened his pace, he bawled at him, and stamping
called for his guard, for he was still general by commission.
Thus, the citizens saw their chief magistrate at the bar to
their infinite terror and amazement.'
A laudable chastisement of "respectable " iniquity. At least,
one act of equity, rough but wholesome, in the terrible cam
paign of George Lord Jeff'reys of Wem. " Et Barbouc con-
clout qu'il y avait souvent de tres bonnes choses dans les abus."
' " Life of Guildford."

II.
BEFORE BUDA-PESTH.
1686.
O part of biography is so apocryphal as that which
records the "wise saws and modern instances"
of heroes in the chrysalis state of petticoats or
knickerbockers. " Nurse — May not one speak ?
Capulei — Peace, you mumbling fool !
Utter your gravity o'er a gossip's bowl,
For here we need it not."
Besides, youthful precocity by no means betokens powerful
manhood ; the morning sun may shine too brightly. Sainte-
Beuve is right, " Les plus beaux lauriers sont souvent les plus
tardifs." At any rate, we know little authentic of the " puerilites" ' of
James Fitz-James beyond this, that he was a grave boy,
religiously inclined and very methodical in all his ways.
It is likely that the love of order which marked his public
career was early implanted within him. at Juilly, a college no
less noted for the discipline maintained there than for the
practical scope of its curriculum. Peace being re-established
throughout Great Britain, James Fitz-James, now fifteen years
of age, quitted La Fleche, and, returning to England, paid
a visit to his sister Henrietta, recently married to Sir Henry

' Marechal de Saxe calls his early days, " pue'riHtds que je ne toucherai
qu'en general."

UNDER ORDERS. 15
Waldegrave.' Soon afterwards, the King sent him and his
brother Henry to Paris, that they might acquire from the best
masters the art of fortification, as well as fencing, riding and
other acomplishments essential to a gentleman of the seven
teenth century. They entered the famous academy of
Monsieur de Vaudeuil, "lieutenant of the garde du corps,
a man of great merit and high in favour at court."* Having
followed his pupils to Ireland, he fell at the Boyne.
Just before the lads started for Paris, Lady Waldegrave
received the following letter from the King her father : —
"Windsor, Saturday Morning.
"I was sorry to heare this morning of the accident which
happened to your brother Harry, and send the foottman on
purpose to you, to have an account from you how he do.
They tell me his face will not be marked with it. Pray let me
know the truth out, and how soon they thinkd he may be well
enough to go. Remember me to your brother James, and tell
him I am sorry his journey should be stopped for some days,
especially by such an accident, and tell Harry I hope he will
be carefuller for the time to come ; and now that he do what
the chirurgeons will have him, which is all I shall say now,
but to assure you of the continuance of my kindness. " J. R."^
Fitz-James remained at work in Paris till the spring, when
the King despatched him to Hungary, that he might see service

' Created Lord Waldegrave of Chewton, 2nd January, 1686.
' " Memoires de Dumont de Bostaquet." These academies were kept
by persons of quality as weU as education. " Pluvinel ^cuyer de la grande
dcurie de Henri IV., et qui apprit k Louis XW. k monter k cheval, est
(dcrivait Lauval en 1670) le premier qui ait tenu un manage k Paris, et mis
k cheval les gentilhommes. Avant lui, il falloit que la noblesse allit en
Italie, pour apprendre k monter k cheval, II obtint du roi le dessous de
la grande du Louvre vis-k-vis le pont des Tuileries, et prit chez lui des
maitres pour apprendre k ses dcoliers k voltiger, k faire des armes, k
manier la pique, k danser, k jouer du luth, k dessiner, et de plus les mathd-
matiques, et beaucoup d'autres choses bien sdantes k des personnes de
quality." — Histoire des Antigtiith de la ville de Paris.
= Ellis, « Original Letters."

1 6 BEFORE BUDA-PESTH.
under the renowned Duke of Lorraine, then commanding the
troops of Austria, Poland, and Venice, against the Turks,
still a formidable and aggressive power.
Although two hundred years ago, " our special correspond
ents" were unseen in the rear of contending armies, cam
paigns were not conducted in the dark. War intelligence, if
slow to hand, seldom lacked. At the first blast of the trumpet
young gentlemen of all nations, many of them easy of wit and
ready of pen, hastened to the camp, eager to gain professional
knowledge, not by simpering in the wake of "a brilliant staff"
but by galloping in the headlong charge, or mingling in the
swarm up the " imminent deadly breach :" —
" Rages the war, fell slaughter stalks around.
And stretches thousands breathless on the ground ;
Down sinks Lothario, sent by one dire blow,
A well-dressed hero, to the shades below."
When Fitz-James reached Charles of Lorraine's head
quarters, he found himself amid a grim host of Croats, Hun
garians, Poles, Saxons, Bavarians, and even Catalans, graced
with a cosmopolitan jeunesse dore'e of sedate Spanish grandees,
lively French marquis, ponderous German princes, and certain
bluff" English gentlemen, of whom was the valiant "Jack
Cutts," soon to be dubbed the " Salamander."
Count Taaffe (brother of the Earl of Carlington), lieutenant-
general of cavalry in the Austrian service, was the officer
selected by James II. to take charge of the recruit. This
Irish nobleman, an intimate friend of the Duke of Lorraine
and a favourite of the Emperor, was, according to the Duke of
Berwick, one of the most agreeable men in Europe, very well
read and excellent at the desk, but of less repute in the field.
It would appear, therefore, that the promising boy was for
tunate in his governor.'
The second siege of Buda-Pesth having been decided upon
in the Aulic Council of War, an army of nearly 90,000 men,
under the Duke of Lorraine and the Elector of Bavaria,
' On the death of his brother, slain at the Boyne, the count became
Earl of Carlingford.

THE TRENCHES OPENED. 17
invested the city on the 18th of June, the former general
appearing before Buda, the latter in front of Pesth, which
places are separated by the Danube. After a sortie on the
Bavarians, the Turks, breaking down the bridge behind them,
evacuated Pesth, and rerired into Buda.
Two bridges having been thrown across the river^ one above,
the other below the town, the Elector passed the Danube, and
occupied a strong position to the south of Buda ; while the
Duke of Lorraine, with 3,000 horse, 9,000 foot, 16 guns, 12
mortars, prepared to attack the northern front.'
At the commencement of the siege, the charming island of
St. Marguerite, just south of Buda-Pesth, was seized by 400
hussars, for the nonce relinquishing their horses and taking
to boats. Thus did the harem of the Governor, so pleasantly
established there, fall into Christian arms. It consisted of
ninety women and many children, the fairest of whom were
sold for slaves in the polyglot camp ; we are not told what
became of the old and ugly. Besides beauty, a vast booty of
gold and silver and gorgeous trappings were seized. " O quel
plaisir d'etre soldat ! "
In Buda were shut up about 7,000 troops of all arms, com
manded by Abdourraman Pasha, aga of the Janissaries, a
grey-beard of seventy, nevertheless of a valour as bright as
when, thirty years before, he fought against Candia.
Towards the end of June the trenches were opened and the
batteries placed. In front of the Duke of Lorraine's corps
was a double enceinte separated by a wide ditch, the two
lines of rampart being flanked by bastions ; outside these,
neither ditch nor ravelin. After much mining and firing,* a
breach appearing in the outer ramparts, an assault was de
livered on the 15th of July. Attempted languidly, and with
' "A Journal of the Siege of Buda, by Jacob Richards, one of H.M.
Engineers, 1687."
' Of the mining Mr. Richards speaks thus : " Everything in good order
by break of day, and the mine sprung, which, like the rest, had no other
effect than the killing our own men, with which the Duke of Lorraine was
greatly displeased, saying aloud, ' 'Twas well field battels depended not on
miners.' "Siege of Buda. C

1 8 BEFORE BUDA-PESTH.
too few troops, it failed. The loss, however, was inconsider
able, except among the noble volunteers : the Spanish Duke
di Vijar, Captains Rupert and Talbot were killed. Lord Savile,
Colonel Forbes, Captains St. George and Bellasis wounded.
The Duke of Berwick says that camp gossip attributed this
severe check to the lukewarmness or misconduct of Count
Staremberg, who commanded the attack ; the Count being
suspected owing to his intimacy with Prince Herman of
Baden, who, hating Charles of Lorraine, delighted — so the
soldiers declared — to thwart his enterprizes. Be this as it
may, Staremberg was wounded a few days afterwards, and
quitted the army, to the satisfaction, no doubt, of the
general-in-chief ; lieutenants with " capital interest " at home
being occasionally thorns in the flesh of authority before the
enemy. The besiegers' artillery was directed by a Spanish " fire-
master," one Antonio Gonzales, brought from Flanders for the
purpose, his coadjutor in the business being, oddly enough,
a Franciscan monk, Pierre Gabriel, who had employed the
time he could spare from his breviary in studying military
chemistry. Bishop Mee, chastizing the Sedgemoor fanatics
with grape, and Father Gabriel consuming the Infidel with
artificial fire at Ofen, are certainly glorious expounders of
muscular Christianity. There was also " a little man who had
lost both his hands by the charging of a cannon which was not
well spunged, esteemed very knowing in shooting of bombs
and other artificial bodies." '
The batteries, strengthened with several 24-pounders and
mortars, were now advanced, and kept up a damaging fire
upon the place ; still, it was not before the 27th of July that

' From the following it would seem that, in our days of enlightened
piety, the episcopal bench has not quite relinquished its ancient sympathy
with hard knocks. " No event occurred during the past session which was
so much discussed by bishops and archbishops, statesmen and people,
both at home and abroad, as the fight between Tom Sayers and Heenan.
Nothing could have better established the reputation of Englishmen for
pluck and endurance the most remarkable." — Mr. Walter, M.P., to the
Berkshire Farmers. {Times, Oct. iSth, i860.)

CHARIES OF lORRAINE. rg
a breach was deemed practicable. Then Charles of Lorraine
(unlike mere "promoted by favour" commanders, whom ex
perience cannot teach), warned by the failure of the first
attempt, detailed 10,000 men for the delivery of two simul
taneous assaults ; 6,000 veterans, under his immediate com
mand, would operate on the side of the Vienna gate, 4,000
Bavarians, led by their Elector, striking at the castle. After
the manner of Turenne, the Duke took post in the advanced
trench, that he might see with his own eyes how the fight
went, and be ready, if need be, to restore it in person.' But
the Turks were not napping ; observing troops filing into the
trenches, they girded up their loins for resistance.
At noon the stormers burst from covert, and for six mortal
hours the battle raged, both Christian and Moslem, according
to the Duke of Berwick, displaying a valour not to be sur
passed. Grenades, arrows, stink-pots, and round-shot smash
ing in their midst, mines exploding under their feet, the Im
perialists sped over the intervening ground, and mounted the
breach. But the Ottomans, e-^er obstinate within walls, stood
firm, and after a fierce conflict beat them back in dismay.
The critical moment in war, paralyzing to the ordinary officer
exalted above his capacity, braces the nerves and clears the
vision of true commanders. The instant disaster threatened,
the Prince of Lorraine leapt, sword in hand, from the trench"
— Fitzjames, and many a volunteer at his back — threw him
self among the scared Brandenburghers, and, rallying them
with voice and example, again brought them up to their
work. This time, so inspiring is the presence of " a fighting
general," the Janissaries flinched. Thus, not only did the
Imperialists remain masters of the breach, but also effected
a lodgment in one of the flanking towers of the enceinte.
Further they could not go, for the enemy had thrown up
' " It was his (Turenne's) constant motto, during a siege, to go into the
trenches both morning and evening. In the morning to see if the work
was well performed, and at evening to resolve what would be the work
that night, having in his company the lieutenant-general and sorne of the
chief officers, who that night were to command in the trenches, to instruct
them himself i>A\a.X. he expected to be done." — Clarke, Life of James //.

20 BEFORE BUDA-PESTH.
an intrenchment ugly with palisades, right across their path.
While the struggle ebbed and flowed in the north, severe
fighting was going on south of the town. There the Bavarian
Elector and Prince Eugene of Savoy— the grand mottarque
erred grossly when, with a sneer at a delicate constitution and
a feeble frame, he refused a regiment of dragoons to le petit
^33/1— assailed the castle. After rough combat they occu
pied one of the towers ; but the Osmanli held the rest of the
work till the close of the siege, in spite of all efforts to cast
them out. The Christian success cost 1,500 killed and a
great many wounded. The Duke of Lorraine's aide-de
camp fell dead by his side in the breach, and there, too, the
volunteers bled freely. The Turkish loss was less heavy.
The Pasha, now summoned to surrender, refused, declaring
that a third assault would be repulsed, like previous ones, by
the miraculous intervention of the Prophet. But, however im
plicit the governor's trust in the good intentions of Mohamed,
it is probable that a knowledge of the Grand Vizier's approach
with 80,000 Osmanli contributed somewhat to his confidence.
Verily, no comfort to the beleaguered like the succouring ad
vance of les gros bataillons.
Early in August, the Vizier stood on the heights over
looking the Christian camp. Cautiously he began to man
oeuvre for the purpose of reinforcing the straightened gar
rison ; but, as the few Turks whom he contrived to slip
within the walls were virtually useless, he soon felt the neces
sity of risking bolder operations. On the morning of the
loth, the Ottoman army descended into the plain dividing
the hostile camps. The Imperialists marched gaily out of
their lines to meet the foe. What a glorious parade under the
summer sun 1 On a sudden, it was reported that a corps of
' Frangois Eugfene de Savoie, the youngest son of Eugfene Maurice,
Prince de Savoie-Carignan, Comte de Soissons, and Olympia Mancini,
niece of Cardinal Mazarin, was born at Paris, Oct. i8th, 1663, and died at
"Vienna April 21st, 1736. Like the Duke of Berwick, Eugene commenced
his career under the Duke of Lorraine, his first essay in arms being at the
siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683 ; Berwick's was (as we see) three
years later, in front of Buda.

THE TURKS OF OLD. 21
Janissaries and Spahis', gliding rapidly among the bends and
thickets of broken ground on the Christian left, were on the
point of seizing a hill dominating the Imperialist camp, now
nearly . empty. Immediately, the Austrian chief, never be
wildered in emergency, sent Generals Dunewald and Taaffe
with seven regiments of horse to the rescue. An anxious
moment ; just in time to prevent mischief, the allied cavalry
gained the hill ; like lightning the Spahis charged, but,
after bloody mSl^e, were repulsed. Then Taaffe — "Mr. Fitz-
James and the English volunteers being in the first rank "* —
dashed at the Janissary foot, which he dispersed with much
slaughter. During the combat, the two armies stood at ease,
awaiting the issue. Learning Dunewald's success, Charles of
Lorraine prepared to move en masse against the Vizier ; but
that functionary, his flank demonstration foiled, declined
further battle, and retired slowly towards Alba Regalis ; and
the Austrians also withdrew to camp without attempting to
harass the enemy. The Duke of Berwick sees prudence, not
lack of enterprise here. Under the circumstances, he believes
it would have been dangerous to pursue the unbeaten Moslem,
inasmuch as, on any confusion occurring in the Christian
ranks (and in chase there is always more or less confusion),
the Osmanli, according to their custom, would have faced
about upon the foe "with a fury apt to stagger veterans blown
and in disarray. Berwick's opinion bears witness to the spirit
and discipline of Turkish armies two centuries ago, and doubt
less the physical qualities of Ottoman soldiers remain ex
cellent. Their present' inferiority proceeds from degenerate
morale, not from relaxed muscle ; men have not deteriorated,
the MAN is wanting : " un bras vaut cent mille bras, cent mille
bras ne valent pas un bras." Here is a glimpse of ancient
Turkish military administration. The Pasha in command
informed the Grand Vizier of the defeat of the flank move
ment in these words — " They charged us like lions, but were
received by devils." In reply, the Vizier spat in his face, and
ordered him to be strangled, " pour encourager les autres."
' Turkish cavalry. " Jacob Richards, " Siege of Buda."

2 2 BEFORE BUDA-PESTH
The Turkish generalissimo did not despair as yet. A few
days after, he introduced 600 Janissaries into the place.
Cannon saluted their advent, and, if waste of gunpowder testi
fied to the truth, the besieged were hopeful indeed; but
intercepted letters told a different tale, Buda languished.
The Vizier now offered twenty ducats to every soldier who
joined the garrison. The golden bait whetted the courage of
the more daring, and some hundreds of hardy fellows endea
voured to enter the place, by way .of the Imperial baths. But
three regiments of dragoons, under Baron Mercy, surrounded
these Janissaries as they were preparing a final rush. Refusing
to surrender, they were cut to pieces, but not before one of
them, bleeding from two wounds, had turned the edge of his
scimitar on Mercy's skull, and gashed other officers besides.
This Mercy, nephew of the distinguished general of the same
name slain at Nordlingen, died of his hurt six weeks after
wards, regretted by the army, and mourned by the Duke of
Lorraine,"^ who loved him as a friend and respected him as
a soldier, Reinforcements arriving from Hungary, the Imperialists
pushed their attacks with refreshed vigour. To breach the
second line of defence, batteries were mounted upon the
bastions flanking the exterior enceinte, as well as upon the
curtain, and as soon as it was believed that they had produced
3, proper effect two successive assaults were launched. These
were repulsed, however ; and all Father Gabriel's efforts to set
on fire the palisades in front of the great breach likewise
failed, the Turks constantly replacing the beams which the
holy man's " burning composition " had ignited.
For the last time, the Governor, obedient to orders from
^tamboul, scouted a summons to capitulate. Heavy guns
were now mounted on the curtain, to the right of the Duke of
Lorraine's attack. The interior rampart being weak in that
quarter, a great gap speedily yawned. To hinder the Moslem
throwing up fre§h works in rear, a general assault was fixed for
the 2nd of September, the covering corps to be commanded by
Prince Eugene ; at twenty-three years of age, then, the fragile
youth, derided by Louis XIV., was appointed by Charles of
Lorraine to hold in check the Vizier's mighty host !

ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH! 23
At six o'clock A.M. three rounds from six cannon pro
claimed the awful moment. With the last boom the stormers,
headed by the Due de Croy, sprang from the trenches. For
a while stubborn conflict : the Hungarian Colonel Petnehazy,
first on the walls, falling into the hands of the foe, was just
saved from the ready bow-string by a timely rush of com
rades. Many of the volunteers perished. Too great, how
ever, the odds against the Mussulman. Abdi Pasha, the
governor, after doing nobly for Islam, fell gloriously in the
breach, and as a torrent swollen with winter rains the Chris
tians surged into the town. Further resistance being hopeless,
the brave old aga, who up to this had held the castle with
admirable skill against the Elector, surrendered at discre
tion with 500 Janissaries, worn-out remnant of the terrible
soldiery with whom he had begun the defence.
Thus Buda fell, after a splendid defence of seventy-seven
days. A remarkable victory, abominably stained. Through
out the night the Christian warriors raged as demons astray
from hell — pillaging, burning, murdering, violating, without
pity either for age or sex.' At last, the Duke of Lorraine
succeeded in putting a stop to the horrors and saving from
butchery some 1,000 Moslem. Such the deeds which hailed
the return of Buda to her Christian allegiance after forty-five
years of travail under the Mussulman yoke.
The doom no sooner manifest, than the Vizier, who had not
fired a shot or moved a company during the last struggle for
" the Key of Islam," broke up his camp and retired by way of
Esseck, burning and devastating as he went, to retard the
Imperialist advance. Having garrisoned Buda, the Duke of
Lorraine started in pursuit, but with all his diligence could
not come up with the Turk, who finally halted under the guns
' " To the credit of civilization, however, there was at least one man
greedy for a noble prey. A certain Marsigli of Bologna, a passionate
lover of books, disregarding silver, and gold, and female attraction, busied
him in hunting for literary treasure. From burning mosques he rescued
many a precious volume, and, groping in the palace vaults, laid reverent
hands on divers inestimable MSS. His acquisitions are preserved in the
public library of his native town, Bologna." — VON Hammer, Empire
Ottoman.

24 BEFORE BUDA-PESTH.
of Belgrade. Disappointed of battle en rase campagne, the
Imperial general, after seizing some minor posts, obtained
possession of Szegedin, a fortress of some importance, and
there was an end of blows for a season, but not of blood-
shedding ; General Caraffa set up " the Slaughter-house of
Epiries," and the hereditary right of the house of Hapsburg
was zealously proclaimed by the hangman.'
And Fitz-James returned to England. We may readily
imagine the warmth with which the young soldier was wel
comed by the lords and ladies of Whitehall. Had his merits
been less conspicuous, the royal blood in his veins, and the
evident affection of the King, would have ensured him plenty
of eager friends. Prosperity is the mother of love. James
made haste to appoint him Colonel of the Princess Anne of
Denmark's regiment (now 8th Foot), and doubtless the hero
enjoyed himself at the by no means straight-laced court with
all the gusto of lusty seventeen. On the 19th of March, 1687,
he was elevated to the peerage with the title of the Duke of
Berwick,^ and, accompanied by his accomplished French tutor,
De Vaudreuil, whom James knighted on the occasion, soon
afterwards quitted England to rejoin the army in Hungary.
On the subject of the peerage Bishop Burnet speaks as
follows : " She (the Queen) had a mortification when Fitz-
James, the King's son, was made Duke of Berwick. He was a
soft and harmless young man, and was much beloved by the
King ; but the Queen's dislike kept him from making any
great figure. He made two campaigns in Hungary that were
little to his honour ; for, as his governor diverted the allow
ance that was given for keeping a table, and sent him always
to eat at other tables, so, though in the siege of Buda there
were many occasions given him to have distinguished himself,
yet he had appeared in none of them. There was more care
taken of his person than became his age and condition."^

' Menzil, " History of Germany."
"^ Baron Bosworth, co. Leicester, Earl of Teinmouth, co. Northumber
land, and Duke of Berwick.
^ " History of his own Times."

SUGGESTIO FALSI 25
This is a most malignant passage : the Bishop describes the
embittered feelings of a high-tempered, an injured, but heroic
woman ; he insults Count Taaffe, and finishes off by insinu
ating something like cowardice against "the soft and harm
less young man." In preceding pages it has been shown how
Fitz-James and his volunteer comrades acquitted themselves
before Buda, and engineer Richards, an eye-witness, relating
the battle with the Grand Vizier, says, " Mr. Fitz-James was in
all this action with Count Taaffe, behaving himself with re
markable gallantry." Perhaps Lord Dartmouth is pretty cor
rect in this opinion : " I wrote in the first volume of this book
that I did not believe the bishop designedly published anything
he believed to be false ; therefore I think myself obliged to
write in this, that I am fully satisfied that he published many
things that he knew to be so." ' The lie direct could hardly
be better given to the Right Reverend Father in God.
' " History of his own Times." (" D " note.)

III.
THE ROUT OF MOHACZ.
1687.
] N arrival at Vienna, the Duke of Berwick was cor
dially received by the Emperor Leopold, who
conferred upon him the brevet of colonel, and the
command of the regiment of cuirassiers belong
ing to his governor. Count Taaffe. In the Austrian capital
the Duke met Prince Eugene, the Marquis de Cr6qui, and
other distinguished comrades ofthe late campaign. Festivities,
of course, were the order of the day. When they get the
chance, officers and privates prepare themselves for service
with much drinking, dining, dancing, and worse — diversions
for which Vienna has always been celebrated. Many of the
young volunteers were probably as loose about town as they
were steady under arms, but, although a Stuart, Berwick was
not of these. Too manly to be insensible to pleasure, he
never became a d6bauch6. And men marvelled, as well they
might, to see in him such moderation.'
The army being assembled, the Duke of Lorraine marched
at the head of 60,000 men and a powerful artillery towards
the Drave, which the Aulic Council had instructed him to
' Prince Eugene appears to have been of a kindred temper. " Bien des
courtisanes et des dames mSme de la premiere condition mirent en usage
tout ce que I'art et la nature pouvoient leur fournir de charmes pour le rendre
amoureux, mais c'dtait en vain. Ce n'est pas que ses yeux ne vissent avec
plaisir une belle femme. Mais le desir de s'immortaliser par la voie des
armes occupoit pour lors trop son 4me, pour que les passions tumultu-
euses de I'amour et de la jalousie pussent y trouver place." — Mabillon,
Histoire du Prince Eui^hie.

PAINFUL PROGRESS. 27
cross, in order to attack the Turks now intrenched under the
walls of Esseck. According to Berwick, Charles of Lorraine
had protested against the plan, and clearly pointed out the
danger to which the adoption of it exposed the army. But
the council, with the obstinate conceit of bureaucratic general
ship, held to their whim. Hence, notwithstanding rumour
attributed the project to an intrigue to destroy the military
reputation of the general-in-chief, that loyal soldier resolved
to obey orders, hoping perhaps, by skill in the field, to com
pensate for folly at the Horse Guards.
After brushing hostile detachments out of their way, and
struggling painfully through the marshes bordering its banks,
the Christians reached the Drave, and proceeded to throw a
bridge of boats over the stream. This effected, they crossed
without serious opposition, the enemy nowhere showing in
force. Before gaining Esseck, the Imperial army had to scramble
through twelve or fifteen miles of forest. Those who, in 1854,
trudged the flank march from the Belbec to the Bridge of
Traktir can appreciate the difficulty of such a movement,
even when unmolested. The march, necessarily slow, was
carefully superintended by Charles of Lorraine in person.
While it lasted he rode alone, followed at a few paces' dis
tance by Caprara, Taaffe, and two or three other superior
officers ; for the Duke (the Mar&hal de Villars tells us), mis
trusting mere aides-de-camp in grave conjunctures, used to
keep within hail a few experienced generals, who might not
only bear his orders to leaders of divisions, but, into the bar
gain, see them executed. The arrangement seemed so sensible
a one to the Marshal, that when in command of French armies
he adopted it.'
After a day and part of a night in the woods, the Imperial
ists debouched, and, lo ! right ahead appeared the Mussulmans
intrenched upon the crest of a height, their right resting on
the Drave, their left on the Danube, the town of Esseck in
rear of the centre. Immediately, some 2,000 Spahis came
' " Mdmoires du Mardchal de Villars."

28 THE ROUT OF MOHACZ.
forth to skirmish with the Christian horse, perhaps design
ing to entice the foe within easier range of their guns. But
the Imperial generals, suspecting a ruse, kept a tight hand on
their squadrons.
Calmly and with an eye to most contingencies, the Duke of
Lorraine formed his Hne, the infantry covering themselves
with chevaux-de-frise,' the cavalry supporting the deploying
battalions, and artillery taking post on the flank of divisions.
The while the Turkish cannon grievously annoyed the
Faithful. A reconnaissance showed the Duke that the Grand Vizier,
contrary to the custom of his nation, had protected his 70,000
men with a double intrenchment, armed with eighty guns
and fourteen mortars.* Hoping that the OsmanH might be
tempted into the open, the Christians also intrenched them
selves ; but Soleiman Pasha, knowing his vantage-ground, con
tented himself with blazing unceasingly upon their lines. The
Vienna authorities had certainly managed to put their general
into an awkward predicament ; in his front lay solidly in
trenched an army more numerous than his own ; a broad river,
edged either with scrub or bog, flowed in his rear ; his artillery
seemed inferior to that of the Infidel ; provisions were run
ning short. Had a mere pipe-clay prince, or even a " respect
able officer " been in command, the Austrian war department
might have rued their presumptuous ignorance, but Lorraine
was one of those rare men whose spirit and resources rise in
the ratio of the perils besetting them. He perceived that the
Tiirkish position was too strong to be assailed with a fair
chance of success.^ He knew that, in such cases, hesitation is

' " Every foot soldier carried a stake of four feet and a half in length,
headed with a sharp forked iron head and a sharp iron foot, to stick in the
ground, for their defence against cavalry. These stakes were sometimes
called ' swzer feathers,' or ' foot palisades.' " — Grose, Military Antiqui
ties. They also served as rests for heavy musketry.
' Von Hammer, " Histoire du Prince Eugene."
' " M. le due de Luxembourg pensait qu'une arm^e qui peut se garnir
partout de bons retranchements 'n'est pas susceptible d'etre forcd.' " —
General Bounod.

RECULER POUR MIEUX SAUTER. 29
ruin. " Les tatonnements, les mezzotermine perdent tout a la
guerre."' And so he decided to recross the Drave and take
up a position on the Danube.
After facing for thirty-six uncomfortable hours the Mussul
man cannonade, the Christians retired in three corps ; the
Duke of Lorraine led the advanced guard in person, then came
the mass of the infantry, the rear being brought up by a
strong body of horse, some light batteries, and twenty bat
talions of foot, under the Elector of Bavaria and Prince Louis
of Baden. Here rode the crack dragoons of Eugene and the
ponderous cuirassiers of Fitz-James.
The retreat no sooner obvious, than the Infidel artillery
thundered a feu de joie, and Osmanli horse went galloping in
chase. The success ajitendihg the withdrawal must be attributed
mainly to the confidence which the retiring troops reposed in
the valour and capacity of their chief In a different mood,
indeed, is the soldier when he looks the enemy in the face and
when he is compelled to turn his back upon him : " Dans
le premier eas," says Marechal Marmont, "il ne voit que ce
qui existe, dans le second son imagination grandit le danger"*
Ay, panic then mutters in every breath of wind. Even the
grisly grenadier discovers he has a heart. But, commanded as
it was, no serious mishap overtook the motley Christian array.
Hungering and foot-sore, but yet a disciplined force well up to
fighting, it reached the Danube.
At a council of war held in the Ottoman camp on the 4th
of August, the majority considered it would be imprudent to
follow en masse the retiring Imperialists, but the elated
Seraskier Grand Vizier overruled all objections, and the
Turks passed the Drave by the magnificent bridge, which
not only spanned the stream but also the morass bordering
thereon. To defend the passage of the Upper Drave, the Croats,
hussars, and the irregulars called Nationals (whom the mili
tary authorities held about as cheaply as did Lord Raglan
' Napoleon I. ' " Esprit des Institutions Militaires."

30 THE ROUT OF MOHACZ.
the Bashi-bayuks) had been sent thither ; thus were the inde
fatigable Spahis in a posture to vex the Imperial army ; its
foragers were constantly cut off, and to push outposts to any
distance from the main body was unsafe. For duty of this
kind, the Marechal de Villars declares, the activity and hardi
hood of their horses gave the Mussulmans an immense advan
tage over the slow-paced Austrian troopers.
But the arrogance of the Vizier and the impatience of his
troops turned the scale against themselves. Formed in the
woody ground, stretching from the tete-de-pont of Esseck to
within a mile of Mount Hersans nothing of the Ottoman
army showed outside the bush except squadrons of light
horse which scoured the plain, spreading from the Drave
towards Siclos and Cinq Eglises. The Faithful lay in the
neighbourhood of Mohacz, their left resting on a brook near
Baranyavar, their right being thrown back in the direction of
Siclos. The Duke of Lorraine had no other intention, than
that of occupying Cinq Eglises, where he expected to find
provisions, of which his men stood sorely in need.
On the morning of the I2th of August, the left wing, com
manded by the Elector, had just quitted their camp on the
brook side, in order to follow the right, which, under Charles
of Lorraine, was already en route, when cavalry were seen
pouring from the forest into the plain. At once the Elector
despatched the Marquis de Villars to Mount Hersans to
watch the enemy's movements ; but, ere he was half way
thither, Villars perceived the Spahis drawn up, supported by
dense corps of Janissaries, field batteries in the intervals of
brigades. Not merely did battle impend, but, as it seemed,
the Ottoman right were well on their way to the rear of
the Imperialist left. With this intelligence Villars galloped
back to his chief. On the way meeting General Piccolomini,
who commanded the second line of cavalry, he advised him to
move to the foot of Mount Hersans, so as to strengthen the
menaced flank. Piccolomini assented, and Villars spurred
on to report to the Elector that there was only time to form •
they would certainly be attacked in force
The horse and foot ranging en bataille, and reinforcements

THE CHRISTIANS ADVANCE. 31
coming up from the Duke, Prince Louis of Baden, with a
strong division of cavalry, proceeded to Mount Hersans. The
critical point was there. The surmise of Villars proved correct ;
the circling Spahis were now face to face with Piccolomini en
potence in that quarter.
Perceiving the advance of Prince Louis, the Moslem halted ;
the Prince was therefore encouraged to proceed further than
he had at first intended, but cautiously and at a foot's pace,
the enemy at the same time giving way slowly before him.
Thus it happened that almost insensibly the Christian left
reoccupied the ground from which it had lately broken up.
Meanwhile, the skirmishers, already in the Imperialist rear,
had been driven off, and, the Duke of Lorraine having counter
marched, the Catholic fronted the Infidel.
Villars, who had served under Turenne, and had seen " le
grand Cond6 6p^e k la main," remarks that this Turkish
manoeuvre of pushing 8,000 horse into an enemy's rear was
never practised by European generals ; but, had it been vigo
rously executed on this occasion, he thinks it might have suc
ceeded, its singularity alone would have told in its favour.'
To continue. The Imperial army now advanced. The
Mussulmans recoiled. It seldom happens that retrogression
in front of well-led troops continues without disorder. Some
what pressed by the Christian cavalry, the Spahis suddenly
broke, deserted the Janissaries, and hied for camp. In pursuit
went the squadrons to which Eugene, de Commercy, Berwick,
Villars, Cr^qui, and the volunteers were attached. In their
furious gallop, the cavaliers passed an infantry column retiring
with admirable steadiness : conducted by a general of skill
and enterprise, its sang-froid might peradventure have restored
the fight, under cover of the neighbouring forest ; but no such
captain marched with those valiant Janissaries.
Now leaping their horses over the breast-work which had
been thrown -up along the edge of the wood, the dragoons
burst into the Ottoman camp. The guards rushed to meet
them. For a few minutes there was wild fighting. Bravely
' " Mdmoires de Villars."

32 THE ROUT OF MOHACZ.
but without avail, the Osmanli resisted; they were soon
sabred or ridden down.
While the volunteers fleshed their swords the Duke of Lor
raine charged 'the rear of the Janissaries, still retreating in
excellent order. Flower of Mussulman troops, this intrepid
infantry faced about and fought fiercely ; but some Austrian
guns opening at short range on their right flank, and being
destitute of a leader worthy of the occasion, the Turkish veterans
were quickly crunched into a crowd. Then despairing flight.
The lately exhilarated Grand Vizier foremost of the runaways.
Cannon abandoned. Arms thrown aside. Christians merci
lessly smiting hip and thigh up to the very banks of the Drave.
Without counting the wretches drowned in attempting to
cross the river, 10,000 Infidel were cut down and about the
same number of prisoners taken. The Imperialist loss did
not exceed 2,000 killed and wounded. The carnage, including
the casualties of the preliminary skirmishing, occupied, we are
told, only two hours !
An immense booty : artillery, baggage, the military chest,
the Vizier's palatial marque with its precious furniture of all
sorts, horses, camels, even elephants, rewarded the conquerors.
The "privates," too, made much profit out of the rout,
Eugene's dragoons, the first amongst the tents, filling their
haversacks with ducats and lading their horses with rich bro
cades. So heavily indeed did the troopers line their pockets,
that, although wine was a crown a bottle in the lines, drunken
ness ruled the roost for many a day. This great victory of
Mohacz was won on the same ground on which, 166 years-
before. King Louis Jagellon and Hungarian independence fell
prostrate beneath the scimitar of Solyman II. A bloody score
wiped out at last.
Owing to the poor condition to which forced marches and
scant forage had reduced the Imperial horse, the Duke of
Lorraine could not pursue the broken Mussulmans beyond
the Drave ; and so the victors reposed a while on the field of
battle ; the soldiers drinking hard, as Christians seldom fail
to do, whenever they get a chance ; and the generals attend
ing a course of sermons which the famous Capuchin F. Aviano

A VALIANT AND MOST EXPERT GENTLEMAN. 33
preached -in the gorgeous green pavilion of the fugitive
Seraskier.' Like their betters, soldiers love gossip, and after a battle the
merits and demerits of their officers are keenly discussed. On
the present occasion there was much mirth around the camp
fires at the expense of that " gallant volunteer," the Duke of
Mantua. It would appear that, at the first distant flash of
scimitars, he inquired of General Caprara whence he might get
a good view of the coming fight. The general pointed out a
ruined village near the summit of Mount Hersans, whither
baggage had been sent for safety. There Ferdinand Charles
betook himself, and in covert he abided as long as blood
flowed. Nevertheless, the person of " his Serene Highness "
might have fared ill ; for a party of Tartar irregulars, scenting
plunder afar off, were already half way up the hill in quest of
it, when a troop of dragoons, catching sight of the scurvy
rascals, laid hands upon them, and preserved " the inquisitive "
amateur. Just the thing this to divert the " rank and file."
And so it came to pass that the mount was re-christened " La
Miroir de la valeur Mantouane," and the name stuck to it for
long. "J'aime les sobriquets qu'un corps-de-garde impose : iis
conviennent toujours." Exactly after the manner of soldiers,
cries Falstaff, " A plague of all cowards and a vengeance too !
marry and amen. Give me a cup of sack, boy. Ere I leave
this life long, I'll sew nether socks, and mend them and foot
them too. A plague of all cowards ! Give me a cup of sack,
rogue ! Is there no virtue extant .¦•" But, if the circumspec
tion of the Italian warrior elicited jokes more pointed than
mannerly, the daring of the Prince de Commerci was as
loudly extolled. Informed that a cornet of the regiment
Commerci had lost his colours, that noble gentleman obtained
the Duke of Lorraine's permission to seek a substitute among
the foe. Presently he perceived a Turkish ensign energetically
waving his flag. With cocked pistol the Christian paladin
faced the infidel. Alas 1 a flash in the pan. Throwing away
the false weapon, Commerci wielded his sword. But, dexterous
' " Histoire de Prince Eugene."
D

34 THE ROUT OF MOHACZ.
in fight, " the turbaned and malignant " ensign drew the first
blood by thrusting his spear-headed flag-staff into the princely
hip ; however, ere he could draw it from the wound, Com
merci had seized it with his left hand, at the same time
dealing the unbeliever a slash that well-nigh hewed his skull
asunder. The enemy disposed of, the prince extracted the
spear, and bore the banner dripping with his blood to his
kinsman of Lorraine. The unlucky cornet, being summoned
before his general, was thus addressed by the fainting Com
merci : " Monsieur, I confide this standard to your keeping "
(here he handed over the Ottoman flag). "It might have
cost me dear ; you will be good enough, therefore, to guard it
more efficiently than you did its predecessor." This sarcastic
reproof was relished in camp, and the Emperor, hearing of the
exploit, gave orders that the trophy, a pennon of red silk, with
the crescent embroidered in gold in the centre, should be hung
up in the cathedral at Vienna, the Empress presenting the
colonel's company of the regiment de Commerci with a
new guidon, the work of her own august fingers. Charles
Fran9ois de Lorraine, Prince de Commerci, rose to be general
of cavalry in the Austrian service, and fell bravely at Luzzara
in 1702.
At Mohacz, the volunteers distinguished themselves. Where-
ever swords clashed, they were foremost; Villars, Cr^qui,
Commerci, Berwick, were names in every mouth. Colonel
the Marquis de Villars, to whom more fitly perhaps than
to Saint Arnaud is applicable Sainte Beuve's description,
" Militaire fran^ais, esprit fran5ais,saillie frangaise," was remark
able when a mere boy for the eagerness with which he sought
military knowledge. At the siege of Maestricht, the indefati
gable cornet of chevau-l^gers attracted the notice of Louis
XIV, who said of him, "II semble des que l'on tire en quelque
endroit, que le petit gar^on sorte de terre pour s'y
trouver." When Villars served in the cavalry, he studied
skirmishing ; when present at a siege, he set about learning
the . duties of an infantry officer ; for he was determined to
master the art of handling troops of all arms on the field
of battle. To obtain promotion was not enough for such

A PUPIL OF TURENNE AND CONDE. 35
a man. Hungry indeed, after the good things of this world,
and by no means insensible to the advantages of court favour,
his chief ambition, throughout a long career, was to lead
French soldiers as they deserve to be led. He succeeded.
In the precious little essay on great wars which Napoleon left
for our instruction, Villars obtains one line, but that line is
worth a volume : " Le marechal de Villars sauva la France k
Denain." Could more be said .'
The gallant pupil of Turenne and Cond^ having been
selected by Louis XIV. to carry a letter of condolence to
Leopold I. on the death of his Imperial mother, was passing
the time at Vienna pleasantly to himself, and advantageously
to his country, flirting with the ladies, and labouring to attach
the Elector of Bavaria to the French interest, when the cam
paign of Mohacz opened. Relinquishing the dainty duties of
diplomacy, the marquis hastened to the field, and before the
unbeliever the Kaiser had no more faithful adherent than the
chivalrous Frenchman, as Leopold himself acknowledged in
an afternoon speech. Princes not being much given to post
prandial effusion in those days, it is possible that the Imperial
encomium had a dash of sincerity.
The Turks no sooner discomforted, than discord broke out
amongst the illustrious personages in command of the Imperial
troops. Louis of Baden, being refused a separate command,
quitted the army without taking leave of his general-in-chief ;
the Elector, similarly disappointed, hurried in dudgeon to
Vienna. Disembarrassed of his princely coadjutors — generally
an incumbrance, and sometimes a peril — Charles of Lorraine,
after detaching Count Dunewald against Esseck (which
speedily surrendered), crossed the Danube, and made himself
master of Transylvania. Here the campaign ended. Had
he been better supplied with battering guns, the Duke might
have reaped more profit from the rout of Mohacz, for fortresses
beyond the reach of coups-de-main still defied him.
The troops settled in winter quarters, the volunteers re
turned to Vienna, where, no doubt, they found compensation
for the dangers so cheerily encountered. How warmly appre
ciated is the soldier fresh from war's alarms! But let him

36 THE ROUT OF MOHACZ.
make the most of his opportunities, for the enthusiasm will
die out as quickly as it caught fire. The Duke of Berwick, of
course, was one of the heroes of the hour, and received from
the Emperor's own hand a commission of " Sergent-g^neral
de bataille," a rank equivalent to our major-general.
In bidding farewell to the Duke of Lorraine, Berwick draws
a capital sketch of that great and good man. " He was a
prince remarkable for prudence, piety and valour. In com
mand of armies skilful as well as experienced. Not puffed
up by prosperity, never cast down by adversity. Ever just,
generous, and affable. Quick of temper, indeed, but un-
tinged with malice, his wrath was as a gust of wind. His
disinterestedness and honesty shine forth in the fact that,
careless of personal advantages, he opposed the war which in
1688 the Emperor meditated against France. Although by
arms alone he might hope to recover his hereditary states, he
nobly avowed that he preferred the general good of Chris
tianity to the gratification of private animosity, and he under
took, if Leopold would put forth his full strength in Hungary,
to expel the Mussulman from Europe in a few campaigns ;
disregarded, his advice was not the less meritorious. He
married the widow of Michael, King of Poland, and sister of
Leopold I. By her he had a numerous family. In the be
ginning of 1690 he died, aged only forty-eight."
Tall, well shaped, and of noble mien, Charles was of a
stamp to win the admiration of soldiers, seldom insensible to
the personal advantages of their officers. It is curious that,
like his pupil, Prince Eugene, he was intended by his family
for the Church. Such the hero whose early death Madame
de Sevign6 described as " the end of one of the most beauti
ful of lives " — such the virtuous foe to whose memory Louis
XIV. paid a graceful tribute : " I have lost the greatest, the
wisest, the most generous of my enemies."'
After spending a few days at Vienna, Berwick started for
England. At Brussels he was welcomed with marked polite
ness by the Marquis de Castanaga, Governor of the Spanish
' " Histoire de la reunion de la Lorraine k la France." — De Haussonville.

A SENSIBLE HEIRESS. 37
Low Countries, a well-favoured and pleasant gentleman, who
lived more sumptuously than did many kings. During the
fortnight the young officer remained his guest, Brussels dis
played an amazing proficiency in the art of giving balls and
banquets. Fitzjames was no sooner in London than the King, naturally
proud of his son, conferred upon him the governorship of
Portsmouth, of which the Earl of Gainsborough had just been
deprived. In his eighteenth year, the Duke could not com
plain of paternal disregard. More, too, was in store for him ;
the fruit of royal loins, it is not extraordinary that he should
obtain honours, the singularity consists in his deserving them.'
In the court of Venus, however, the youthful warrior failed.
The King thought Lady Margaret Cavendish, co-heiress of
the Duke of Newcastle, would be just the match for him. His
Grace thought likewise. Not so the duchess and the fair
Margaret; this objecting to Fitzjames as a " papist," that, as a
" bastard." And so bitterly was the house divided against
itself that father and mother refused to be reconciled, till Ber
wick, retiring from the field, left it open to an older soldier,
even Lord Feversham, whom both parents deemed a desirable
suitor. Again the daughter demurred, " the general," she
alleged, " being worn out with years and the fatigues of war."
At length, coaxed by her parents, she submitted, "upon
articles that Feversham be made a duke."* The marriage,
however, never came off; the sensible little Protestant ulti
mately bestowing her riches and eventual dukedom of New
castle on the Earl of Clare.
' According to a vague report there was no honour, however high, to
which Fitzjames might not aspire. Leland says : " Before they (the Irish
Catholics) were indulged with any hopes of the queen's pregnancy, they
had disposed of the succession agreeably to their own wishes and ignorant
conceptions. They declared that Fitzjames, the king's natural son, should
be legitimated by the Pope, and thus become inheritor of the crown." —
History of Ireland, iii. 509. Lord Clarendon also refers to the rumour,
which seems, however, to have rested on mere gossip. See " Letters of
Henry, Earl of Clarendon," ii. 139.
'' " Ellis Correspondence."

IV.
IN RE MILITARL
SKETCH of the military institutions of England,
as they existed at the close of the seventeenth
and beginning of the eighteenth centuries, must
now be attempted.
Under the feudal system all tenants of land held from the
Crown (" knights' fee ¦') were bound to serve the King in war,
mounted, armed, and attended by their vassals. The term of
service was forty days, beyond that period the Crown tenants
could not be kept under arms except by their own consent
and at the cost of the sovereign. But the English kings
being frequently at war with France, forty days were, of course,
insufficient for so serious a business ; in order, therefore, to
secure an effective force for prolonged operations, the Plan-
tagenet princes resorted to scutages (or commutation of
knights' service into money payments), to the hire of foreign
mercenaries,' and to contracts with powerful nobles for the
supply of homebred soldiers. These stipendiary troops were
very highly paid,* the English portion of them being probably
' Strange as it may sound to admirers of Bismarck, German mercena
ries appear to have been held very cheap. Horace "Walpole tells us,
"Edward III., who experienced the inutility and inconvenience of Ger
man auxiliaries, ordered a record to be entered, ' Subsidia Germanorum
in pace onerosa, in bello inutilia.' " — Memoirs of George IL, ii. 129.
' For instance, "in the reign of Edward III. a mounted archer received
(id., foot archer },d., "Welshman ^d., and artificers from 3^/. to lid. a day."
— Grose, Military Antiquities. To put these sums on a level with the
present value of money, they should, according to Hallam, be multiplied
by 24. Fancy a private of the Rifles receiving 6j. a day.

THE STANDING ARMY. 39
enlisted from a most respectable class ; as archers they formed:
the sinew of the English armies, and to their peculiar skill the;
victories of Cressy and Poitiers were unquestionably due.'
Still, no sign of a standing army ; however raised, the soldiers
being disbanded at the conclusion of hostilities.
Not before the Tudors do we find even the germ of a per
manent force. In 1485, solely for his personal protection,
Henry VII. established the Yeomen of the Guard — "the
King's beef," as they were irreverently called — a company at
first fifty and never above 200 strong. At the same time, a
few troops trained to the working of artillery, kept garrison in
the Tower, at Portsmouth, Dover and Berwick.'
But besides the troops which, under the feudal system, could
be employed abroad, there was \S\e posse comitatus, consisting
of every free male between the ages of fifteen and sixty
capable of bearing arms. These men were obliged to keep
armour in proportion to the value of their lands or goods.
This local militia acted under the sheriffs of counties, and
was chiefly used to suppress internal tumult, but it might be
summoned to resist invasion. As time wore on and the power
of the commons increased, disputes arose between the Crown
and the legislature respecting the extent of the royal authority
over the local force. In 1642 these disputes culminated in a
bill for "Regulating the Militia," and, on the refusal of
Charles I. to pass that bill (deeming it an infringement of his
prerogative), the Civil War speedily ensued.*
During the great contest the royal army mainly consisted
of troops raised by noblemen and squires from amongst their
own tenantry — the expiring throe of feudalism. The militia
and the trainbands of London generally sided with the Par
liament — the dawning liberalism of the great towns.
On the restoration of Charles II. in 1660, the republican
army was disbanded, with the single exception of the regiment
of General Monk, which had been raised about ten years
before. Out of compliment, perhaps, to that wily convert, it
was taken into the royal pay and became the bud of the
' Hallam, " Constitutional History of England." ' Ibid.

40 IN RE MILITARI
standing army of Great Britain. Since renowned as the Cold
stream Guards, it was certainly the first regiment of house
hold troops established in England.' " Nulli secundus^" then,
is no mere convivial expression. The Grenadier Guards derive
from the Royal Regiment of Guards, first on the roll of the
six regiments (one English, one Scotch, and four Irish) formed
in 1657 by the Duke of York for the Spanish service. In 1660
Charles II. appointed Lord Wentworth colonel. of the corps,
then quartered at Dunkerque. On the death of this nobleman
in 1665, it was incorporated with the King's regiment, which
had been raised in 1661. The Grenadiers, it maybe presumed,
owe their precedence over the Coldstream in the Army List
to their having been originally organized by a prince of the
blood instead of by a dexterous adventurer.
But the most ancient regiment in the service is doubtless
the Royal Scots (" Pontius Pilate's Guards," in mess-room
wit). It proceeded to France from Scotland in the reign of
James VI. (I. of England), under the command of Sir James
Hepburn, and fought with glory for Henry IV. In 1661 it
took post in the English standing army as Royal Scots (ist of
the line).* No sooner settled at Whitehall, than Charles
ordered over from Dunkerque the troop of Life Guard.s, com
posed of Cavalier gentlemen who had followed the fortunes of
the house of Stuart. It was forthwith augmented to 500
troopers, and divided into three distinct troops : i. His
' " Monk's regiment, originally formed out of drafts taken from Hesil-
rig's and Fenwick's regiments in 1650, took its royal title from the follow
ing circumstance" — (Mackinnon, "History ofthe Coldstream Guards") —
" The town of Coldstream," says Dr. Gamble, chaplain to General Monk,
" because the general did it the honour to make it the place of his residence
for some time, hath given title to a small body of men whom God made
the instruments of great things (and though poor, yet honest as ever cor
rupt nature produced into the world) by the no dishonourable name of
Coldstreamers, that is, such as when all other English and Irish officers
continued obstinate to perpetuate the tyranny of their country, these men
hazarded to blood, for to lose their dominions and commands, for to
restore their country to their prince and his lawful authority." — Life ofthe
Duke of Albemarle.
' Grose, " Military Antiquities."

RECRUITING. 41
Majesty's Own; 2, The Duke of York's; 3, The Duke of
Albemarle's. Most of the privates had been commissioned
officers in the royal army ; for instance, Colonel Corbet was a
sub-corporal of Life Guards.^
In the following year the new standing army amounted to
about 5,000 men, and consisted of the three troops of Life
Guards, the blue regiment of horse (Earl of Oxford's), the ist
Foot Guards, the Coldstream, the Royal Scots, and the 2nd
Queen's (Tangier) regiment. The annual cost of this force
(including companies in garrison in England, Jersey, and the
plantations) is computed by Dr. Chamberlain at ;^200,ooo.''
To induce the nation to regard the regulars without disgust,
"the very militia," says Ralph, "was sedulously talked, writ,
and managed into contempt, as a worthless, useless, burden
some, ridiculous thing, and as if there was no motive to make
men brave and serviceable, but pay, preferment, and punish
ment." However, the arts of the Court made little impres
sion ; the militia continued to hold its ground in popular
estimation ; and civilians looked askant at " the very glorious "
guards ; consequently, though now and again increased tem
porarily — as in 1678, when, on pretence of war with France,
20,000 stood in the ranks — the standing army was not greatly
augmented during the remainder of Charles's reign ; but the
enterprise of the Duke of Monmouth making clear as day the
inefficiency of the trainbands, James IL, despite " some
umbrage," raised the regular force from 5,000 to 15,000 rank
and file.
Against the grain of constitutional doctrine, pressing men
. for the land service has been resorted to at different periods
of our history : —
" Falstaff. Gentlemen, have you provided me here half-a-dozen of suffi
cient men ?
Shallow. Marry, have we, sir."
During the war in 1 704 an Act was passed for empowering
justices of the peace to sfeize "such idle persons as have no
' " Historical Records of the Life Guards."
» Ralph, " History of England."

42 IN RE MILITARL
callings nor means of subsistence, and to deliver them to the
officers, on paying them the levy money that is allowed for
the making recruits." Indeed, Bishop Burnet informs us that
the old incentives to " listing, to wit, drinking and other bad
practices," had become so odious, and were so well understood
by the yokels " that they were no more of any effect, so that'
the army could not be recruited, but by the help of this Act. "
And no wonder.' Even so late as 1757 mendicant Mouldys
and vagabond Bullcalves were unceremoniously forced into
the ranks ; but in the reigns of Charles, James, and William
enlistment was (as the saying is) voluntary, and for periods
varying according to the exigencies of the hour. In the time
of Queen Anne the term of service was occasionally only three
years,^ a symptom of dearth in the man market which our
Crimean experiences enable us to understand. Two hundred
years ago, when the army required a considerable addition to
its numbers, the Government used to issue commissions to
persons of standing and authority who busied themselves to
procure recruits. To insure success much depended on the
personal popularity of the well-born Kites, " all ribands and
lies," 3 who, the crimping done, usually developed into full
blown colonels and captains.
The plan was, of course, fraught with abuse. To advance
private interests under colour of serving- the state is shame
ful ; but as the arrangement put a large amount of patronage
at the disposal of the authorities, it had, of course, a long life.
' " If your worship," says Sergeant Kite, " pleases to cast up the whole
sum, viz., canting, lying, impudence, pimping, bullying, swearing, whoring,
drinking, and a halbert, you will find the sum total amount to a recruiting
sergeant." — Farquhar, Recruiting Officer.
' Hallam, " Constitutional History of England."
= " Fears having greatly increased that King James was actually in
Ireland, and that Scotland would not fail to take his part, therefore com
missions were given out by both houses of parliament for the raising of
10,000 foot, and 20J. advance allowed to each man; but notwithstanding
this encouragement, and though the colonels were most of them men of
quality and great interest, it was much apprehended that the intended
troops would not be easily collected together." — Sir John Reresby's Me
moirs.

PURCHASE AND SALE. 43
Nor can the practice be absolutely reported dead yet, as the
following extract from the " Report of the Select Committee
on Military Organization " (xii.) shows :— " The recruiting of
the army, which involves the expenditure of public money,
has always been controlled by either the Secretary at War or
by the Secretary of State. In 1857 three battalions of
infantry were raised by one brevet lieutenant-colonel, who
was brought back to full pay, by a lieutenant-colonel who had
sold out, and by a major who had also sold out ; and by a
Return presented to the House of Commons it appears that
each man in those three battalions was raised at a cost of
more than £\o per man, when the rate of bounty and kit in
the open market was not more than £6, and the whole trans
action appears to your Committee to have been irregular."
" Irregular " certainly. Might not a far stronger epithet have
been employed with propriety .¦• Five distinguished members
of the Committee thought so, and urged the addition of the
words, " and objectionable ; " but, to call a spade a spade
sounded shocking to the politer majority.
The first Mutiny Act (passed in April 1689, only to remain
in force for six months) charges captains with the ordinary
recruiting of their companies, and a subsequent warrant allows
them two non-effectives to cover the expenses thus laid upon
them.' With the institution of a standing force began the purchase
and sale of commissions ; not only officers of the Guards, but
the privates of the household cavalry (all gentlemen by birth
and sometimes officers of rank) were permitted to sell their
appointments to persons who had been previously approved
by the King. In 168 1 Charles II. himself patronized the
market : he bought the colonelcy of the ist Foot Guards from
Colonel Russell for the benefit of his son, the Duke of Grafton,
who at eighteen years of age commenced the study of the
" goose step " at the head of a corps d'dite. But the purchase
of civil offices under Government being then openly recog
nized — a Secretaryship of State often costing an eminent
' See Fonblanque's " Administration of the British Army."

44 IN RE MILITARI
statesman ;£'s,ooo — the traffic in military commands cannot
be wondered at'
A warrant, dated 7th of March, 1683-4, sets forth that officers
" of our land forces," buying and selling commissions, must
severally pay \2d. in the pound on their bargains in aid of
" the building and finishing of Chelsea Hospital ;" it is evident,
therefore, that the practice had by that time spread through
the army.
In 1694 William III. endeavoured to eradicate the evil (as
he deemed). By the Mutiny Act of that year every officer
was compelled " to take oath that he had not given or pro
mised money or reward for his commission ;" " but," as Sir
Charles Trevelyan remarks, " the influences concerned in the
purchase system were too strong for William ; his regulations,
though not actually abolished, were gradually frittered away."
In 1701 the inconvenient oath slipped out of the Act. In
the reign of Queen Anne a modification of purchase was
attempted, but unsuccessfully, as the character of the epoch
might lead us to expect ; and, under the auspices of George I.,
the trade was moulded into its ultimate shape ; a board of
general officers settling " the regulation price " of commis
sions ; which " regulation price," however, was as gross a sham
then as on the day of Mr. Gladstone's coup d'^tat!^ It is worth
remarking that the "purchase" system never invaded the
scientific corps of Artillery and Engineers.
As Sophocles sang, 2,500 years ago, —
" 'Tis money, money makes us friends,
'Tis money works out all our ends."
The very word " soldier " smacks of lucre {solidus, a piece of
money, the pay of a soldier). Greek and Roman veterans
served for pay, and Cssar was an excellent paymaster ; but

' " Report ofthe Purchase Commission of 1857," xix.
" In 1717 we find Captain Lord Forbes, R.N., bargaining with Lord
Dundonald for the purchase of the fourth troop of Horse Guards. " But
the affair did not come off, owing to the opposition of John, Duke of
Argyle, who wished Lord Forbes to devote himself entirely to the sea ser
vice. Lord Forbes was to have given 10,000 guineas for the troo-p."— Me
moirs of the Earls of Granard.

PAY. 45
not before the reign of Queen Mary, apparently, were the
rates of daily pay distinctly laid down for the different ranks
of English officers and soldiers.
Under Cromwell the army was not only blessed with an
improved discipline, but — as that great commander, distrust
ful of "ragged louts, runaway apprentices, thievish valets,"
desired to enlist none but " honest. God-fearing men " —
all ranks claimed a higher wage than that fixed by Mary.
Still, it must be remembered that this liberal pay was in part,
at least, always in arrear. An ordinance provided that
"officers whose pay amounted to los. a day or upwards should
regularly receive only half such pay, the other half to be
respited till the troubles were over. All officers whose daily
pay was less than lo^-. to receive only two-thirds thereof."
On three months' " respited pay " becoming due, the officers
obtained certificates for the amount. Officers serving in
Ireland were to have their "respited pay made good to them
out of the rebel lands, after the finishing of the war." ' Poor
Ireland ! The House of Commons also resolved " that coats
and knapsacks shall be provided over and above their pay for
the foot soldiers who are to go to Ireland, for their better
encouragement." Hence we learn that, as the troopers had
to maintain their horses out of their pay, so had the foot to
provide themselves with certain articles of clothing. Captains
of companies were responsible for the condition of the arms
and clothing of their men.
From a pay-list dated 27th of February, 1659, we find that
£ s. d.
A colonel of horse (including his pay as captain and
allowance for two horses) received per diem . i 6 o
Lieutenant (including allowance for two horses) . o 10 o
Private trooper  023
Life-guardsman  036
Colonel of foot . . . . . . . 0120
Captain of foot  080
Preacher  068
Ensign  030
Sergeant  016
Private  009
• Grose, " Military Antiquities.''

46 IN RE MILITARL
Even taking into account the respited portion, this is excel
lent pay. Oliver's "plain russet-coated captain" knew his
value. A hundred years, too, had raised the price of ensign-
dom 200 per cent. The " preacher " cost six times as much
as Mary's Catholic chaplain ! drums remained stationary ";
private, \d. a day more.
During the reigns of Charles II. and James II. certain re
ductions were made in the pays of all ranks.
Revolution is always costly. William of Orange found it
expedient to conciliate the officers ; he therefore reverted, so
far as concerned them, to the Cromwellian standard of re
muneration. Under his rule we observe that the private of
heavy cavalry received (including keep of horse) 2S. 6d. a day,
a rise of ^d. over his cropped-eared prototype. All hands of
the lately introduced " dragoons" were paid considerably less
than the corresponding ranks of "heavies;" for instance, a
private dragoon (for self and horse) had only is. 6d. a day.
The common foot-soldier lost his republican id., his pay fall
ing to id. The " preacher" retained 6s. 8d., the surgeon
getting but 4J". If conscientious, the " preacher" had pro
bably enough to do for his money, the morals of the Williamite
soldiery being of the laxest description.
In addition to their regular daily pay officers of all ranks
drew "allowance" for servants, varying from 15^. per servant
in the "horse" to ^d. per servant in the dragoons, and 4d. per
servant in the foot. A colonel drew for six servants, a captain
for three, and so on in proportion throughout all grades.
By warrant dated i6th March, 1697-8, William established
" half pay," which gradually swelled into the present huge
dead weight. The scale, very liberally framed, includes
" servants' allowance," and furnishes further evidence of the
vital necessity of keeping officers in good humour with the
Revolution. Although military pay 200 years ago was relatively much
higher than at present, it is, nevertheless, certain that officers
and soldiers were often greatly distressed through irregularity
of payment at the close of the reign of Janies IL, during that
of William IIL, and even so late as the rule of George I. The

« stoppages:' 47
following is an example of the military creditor's audacity.
In 1694 a number of officers and soldiers of the Inniskillen
Dragoons, having long sought in vain for pay, waylaid the
coach of the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland as he was going to
church, swearing that, if they did not get their due speedily,
they would proceed to force. His astonished Excellency threw
his purse amongst the ruffled red-coats, with a promise of
redress. But a trooper contemptuously flung back the thirty
guineas to my lord. A report of the scandal having been
sent to Queen Mary (then acting as Regent), she ordered
;^i,ooo to be paid to the Inniskilliners out of her privy purse,
declaring at the same time that the remainder of their claims
should shortly be settled.' Thus it would appear that British
soldiers can, when unpaid or ill-treated, display the truculence
popularly imagined to be the speciality of starving Spaniards
and " other unfortunate foreigners."
" Stoppages" are vexatious enough to the rank and file
nowadays, but at the period under consideration they must
have been an odious hardship. Besides deductions for cloth
ing (a custom as old as the reign of Henry VI.) and provi
sions, the soldier was subject to "poundage," a charge for
" agency," and weekly fees to doctor and paymaster, these
extras amounting to a subtraction from his wages of lO per
cent.2 It is certain that pretty pickings were made out of the
lower ranks by men having authority, who, when found out,
coolly pleaded " the custom of the service." Even royalty is
stated to have winked at " financing" of this sort. It having
been proved that Lord Tyrawley, of the 7th Foot, had applied
to his own uses a portion of four years' arrears of pay owing to
his regiment, that high-minded colonel boldly asserted he
had done so with the knowledge of George I. Generals and
officers " of quality" must have had a fine time of it under so
gracious a sovereign.
By means of " false musters " the tax-payers were scandal-

' Grose, " Military Antiquities.''
" Fonblanque, " Administration of the British Army."

48 IN RE MILITARI.
ously defrauded. In a royal instruction to Lord Berkeley,
Viceroy of Ireland in 1669-70, the practice is thus noticed -.-^
" For the preventing the abuses wee have reason to believe
are frequent in matters of false musters, our pleasure is that,
as soon as conveniently may be, you cause them (officers) to
remove their quarters and garrisons, and from time to time to
change their stations and provinces, as you shall see cause for
ye better preventing ye great abuses of officers in mustering
servants, tenants, townsmen and other uncertain persons
thereby to compleat ye number of their companies and
troops." "Plume. Kite, is the child a boy or a girl ?
X'ite. A chopping boy.
Plume. Then set down the mother in your list, and the boy in mine.
Enter him a grenadier by the name of Francis Kite, absent on furlow —
I'll allow you a man's pay for his subsistence." '
' Farquhar, " Recruiting Officer."

V.
"THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS."
I RMY tailoring is of comparatively modern growth.
In the earlier periods of our military history we
find nothing about "uniform'' as the word is at
present understood. Soldiers were then simply
distinguished by particular badges, like those worn by water
men, or by scarves of the colour pertaining to the prince or
noble under whom they served. In the reign of Henry VIII.
there was a step towards uniformity of apparel. An order of
the Duke of Norfolk respecting the clothing of the army
raised in 1 546 is quoted by Grose. It sets forth : " Every
sowdyer is to have a cote of blew clothe, after such fashion as
all fotemen's cotes be made here at London, to serve his
Majesty in this jorney, and that the same be guarded with
redde clothe — and the best sene (best looking) men to be
trymmed after such sorte as shall please the captayne to
devise." The ordinance goes on to prohibit the customary
badge ; " a redde cross sewed upon the uppermost garment"
being substituted. The Duke also decides that every man
shall have " a payer of hose, the right hose to be all redde,
and the left to be blew with one stripe of three fingers' brode
of redde upon the outside of his legge from the stock down
wards." In conclusion, his Grace commands " every man to
have a cap to put his senile in, after the fashion I have
devised, which William Tayler, capper within Ludgate, doth
make for me, where ye may have as many of them as ye
lyst for 8d. the pece.'" Notwithstanding this elaborate regii-
' Grose, " Military Antiquities."
E

so "THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS!'
lation, soldiers were, at the time, usually clad in white
jerkins ; but, under Elizabeth, infantry raised for service in
Ireland wore "some motley or other sad greene coller or
russet." During the Civil War, neither side appears to have adopted
a distinct uniform. At first, scarves (white for the King, yellow
for the Parliament) indicated friend or foe, as the case might
be ; and in both camps lay indiscriminately blue, green, grey,
black and red regiments. The King's friends often indulged
in splendid gear, every cavalier of birth and fortune arraying
himself after his own fancy. That the costume of the period
was beautiful, Vandyke's canvas, assures us ; but, alas ! the
velvet lace and plumes sported by the gallants must have run
up tailors' bills often difficult to defray. The " horse " gene
rally wore steel caps (or " pots "), breast and back pieces, and
huge boots, after the fashion of French postilions ; the foot
being similarly protected mimis the impossible boots. Officers
often donned doublets of " sturdy buff," sometimes with, some
times without the corselet ; the buffalo hide being capable of
resisting heavy " handiblows." Gradually, however, the red
tunic became general throughout the army of the Common
wealth.' After all, then, our " uniform " colour bears the
Republican stamp. Scarcely a shade of nationality or royalty
may boast the scarlet.
Under Charles II. and James II. the regulars, both horse
and foot, were generally clad in red tunics, " turned up " as at
present with various facings, or " livery," as the saying was.
There were exceptions, however : for example, " the Admiral's
regiment (raised for sea service by Charles II. and incorpo
rated with 2nd Foot Guards by William III.) sported a yellow
uniform, and a contract for the clothing of an infantry regi
ment in 1693, discovered by Grose among the Harleian MSS.
(6844), induced that indefatigable investigator to conclude
that the habitual dress was then " grey " for rank and file, and
" purple " for drummers. It is probable, however, that this
contract related to the clothing of one of the Dutch or French
' Macaulay, quoted in Stanhope's " Miscellanies."

UNIFORM OF HORSE AND FOOT. 51
Huguenot corps, which naturally enough William delighted to
employ. An energetic and economical administrator surely, James
II. took great pains with the army. Having served with credit
under one of the greatest soldiers of modern times, Marechal
de Turenne, he understood military details, and so well or
ganized his young soldiers, that in 1686 his army was con
sidered "the best paid, the best appointed, and the most
sightly troops in Europe." ' By his direction the uniform was
simplified, and must have showed bravely both singly and in
mass. Passing by the apparel of the Life Guards (of course
exceptionally smart), the Queen's regiment of horse (ist
Dragoon Guards) may convey an idea of cavalry outward
man. In 1686, these troopers wore scarlet tunics faced and
lined with yellow, breast and back pieces pistol proof, buff
gauntlets and shoulder belts, felt hats turned up on one side
and ornamented with yellow ribands (plumes for the officers).
Within the crown of the hat were set iron skull caps or pots.
Lastly, immense jack boots. Yellow ribands also bedizened
the manes and tails of the horses. Kettle-drummers and
trumpeters were gorgeously arrayed, each suit costing
£¦^6 i2s. 2d., and each troop had a distinct standard worth
;^40 6s. Sd. The dragoons were similarly accoutred, but
donned no armour. The Duke of Berwick's regiment (now
8th Foot) may illustrate infantry outfit ; the soldiers wore
red coats lined and turned up with yellow, white neckcloths,
yellow waistcoats and breeches, white stockings, and broad-
brimmed felt hats, cocked on one side and gay with yellow
ribands.* John Evelyn thus describes a visit he paid to the camp at
Hounslow in 1678 : " His Majesty and a world of company
were in the field, and the whole army in battalia, a very
glorious sight. Now were brought into service a new sort of
soldiers called "grenadiers," who were dexterous in flinging
hand grenades, every man having a pouch full ; they had

Lingard, " History of England."
" Historical Record of the British Army."

52 "THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS."
furred caps with coped crowns like janizaries, and some had
long hoods hanging down behind, as we picture fools, their
clothing being piebald yellow and red."' Grenadiers, it should
be noted, were not exclusively foot at that period, sixty-four
grenadiers being attached to each troop of Life Guards ; and
the "yellow facing'' was more general than any other, owing
probably to its being " the livery" of the Duke of York and
Albany, the active spirit of the military administration.
Such the costume which, modified here and there, lasted
through the reigns of William and Anne, easy to the soldier
but not .slovenly, for Pepys relates how " mighty glorious " it
seemed to the bystander. With the House of Hanover came
starched innovation, sore to the eye and grievous to the
wearer, to wit, stock, pigtail, pipeclay, and other irksome
fooleries. " An order went out
To the foot-guards so stout,
To wear tails in high taste.
Twelve inches at least."
On the conclusion, in 1609, of the war of liberation waged
by the Netherlands against Spain, radical changes in the
tactics and arms of cavalry and infantry took place. Cavalry
was divided into cuirassiers and light horse. The lance {la
reinedes armes pour la cavalerie, says Montecuculi) was discon
tinued. The history of arms is a history of " reconstruction."
In 1686 the weapons of heavy horse consisted in a long cut-
and-thrust sword and a pair of pistols ; a carabine (2 feet
7 inches in the barrel) was afterwards added. The Duke of
Marlborough, however, was so determined his cavalry should
rely altogether on the strength of their right arms and the
temper of their steel, that " he would not allow the horse but
three charges of powder and ball to each man for a campaign,
and that only for guarding their horses when at grass, and not
to be made use of in action."*
The dragoon was drilled to fight both on foot and mounted.
In addition to the sword, he had a snaphance musket (i.e., "with
' " Diary." = Kane's " Campaigns of King "William III."

DRAGOON AND GRENADIER. 53
the new flint and steel lock), bayonet, grenade pouch, and
hammer hatchet. Now, the dragoon was shorter and slighter
than his scornful comrade of the heavies or cuirassiers, his
" nag" was of far inferior value ; heavily weighted, then, for
light work, both man and beast, and yet they managed to
perform most excellent service. Lord Orrery describes the
dragoons as " infantry with horses to make more rapid move
ments ; they were thrown forward to feel the way, skirmishing
behind ditches as they advanced, or covering a retreat in the
same fashion ; one man held ten horses in the rear while his
comrades, their riders, fought. Their carabines were called
dragons, from the cock being made in that shape."
The cavalry were generally stated in squadrons, not in
regiments as at present, each squadron containing three
troops of fifty men to each troop.
The grenadiers, like the dragoons of French invention, were,
as we know, introduced into our service in 1678. Soon after
wards every infantry regiment boasted its company of grena
diers — picked men, originally intended for leading assaults,
and siege fighting ofthe murderous sort.' These "tall fellows"
were armed with grenades, musketsj bayonets, and swords.
They carried hatchets, too, with which they might break open
doors or cut away palisades.
In 1678 each "battalion" company of foot consisted of thirty
pikemen (pike 15 ft. long) sixty musketeers (or matchlock
men), and ten men armed with light firelocks. Early in James's
reign the matchlock gave place to the snaphance musket, and
the use of the plug bayonet (or dagger inserted in the muzzle
of the piece) became by degrees general in the infantry.
Under William, every company consisted of fourteen pikemen
and forty-six musketeers. Captains carried half-pikes ; lieu
tenants, partisans ; and sergeants, halberds. In the reign of
Anne, pikes were laid aside, and every foot soldier shouldered
a musket, socket bayonet (z. e., bayonet fitting round instead
of in the muzzle of the musket), and sword. The grenadiers
now ceased to fling grenades. This reform, effected within a
' Prince Eugene's orders for the generals during the siege of LiUe.

54 " THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS."
period of about twenty-five years, was of vast importance. By
sweeping away the complicated pike movements, it simplified
and animated infantry tactics ; by diminishing his load it ren
dered the soldier nimbler on his legs ; by giving him a better
weapon it made him more deadly in fight. In a word, infantry
was restored to the position it occupied in the Roman armies.
Again : A la guerre I'infanterie est instrument de la force et de
dur6e." As the foot rose in value, the horse lost the martial
pre-eminence which it had enjoyed under the feudal system,
when chivalry, indeed, was a bright and glorious thing, but
when the art of war might, perhaps, be comprised in the in
struction, " Gird thee with thy sword upon thy thigh, ride on,
and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things."
In these days of "a-colonelling " on parade and in the press,
there are critics who announce that, thanks to arms of pre
cision, cavalry must cease to be available on the field of battle.
This is probably a mistake, unless the mania for prodigious
armies and infernal machines degrade the morale of war.'
The tremendous growth of artillery has been slow. The
English, it is said, used cannon at the Battle of Cressy in 1346 ;
but for long after that " the crakys of war" were rather noisy
than deadly. About the year 1489 Charles VIII. reformed
the French artillery : for the first time guns were placed upon
carriages strong enough to bear the recoil on firing; his
cannon, too, was restricted to' six calibres, and a proper com
plement of horses was given to each gun. " L'artillerie du Roy
marchait toute charg6e." Francis I. further improved the
arm. The French had now the best artillery in Europe. They
first manoeuvred with efficient field guns. In the seventeenth
century Gustavus Adolphus effected further improvements :
he had guns cast lighter than heretofore ; and by the introduc
tion of cartridges, with shot attached, these pieces might be
discharged eight times before the musket could be fired six.*
' " On a cru pouvoir rdparer par la quantity le d^faut de la quahtd, et
l'on s'est trompd, disait le comte de Saint Germain, M. de Turenne ne
voulait que de petites armies, mais elles (^taient bonnes, bien aguerri^s,
et conduites par de bons g^ndraux, et de bons officiers." — Le Comte DE
GiSORS (1758).
^ Chesney, " Observations on Fire-arms."

VAUBAN ON CANNON. 55
In the early history of artillery we read of battering ord
nance of enormous calibre ; Mahomet IL, for example, strove
against Constantinople in 1453 with bombards throwing
stone-shot 1,200 lbs. in weight. But, as the science of gunnery
was unfolded to our ancestors, the smaller became the guns.
William III. and Marlborough fought battles and besieged
towns with artillery ranging from 2 to 24-pounders. In those
days mechanical contrivance was comparatively in the rough,
but there were mighty captains who achieved great ends with
small means. In our time it is the converse of all this —
amazing scientific progress, and generals scarcely up to the
handling of their tools. Bigness overwhelms them.
At the close of the seventeenth century there was no
ordnance corps ; the guns were worked by foot soldiers (drawn
for the occasion from their regiments), under the eye of master
gunners, often foreigners ; indeed, in the wars of William III.
and Queen Anne, the Dutch furnished all the artillery and
artillerymen for sieges.' The cannon were dragged by cart
horses pressed for the purpose ; when these could not be
obtained, oxen supplied the want. Of course, "galloper"
guns were not thought of as yet ; artillery acted solely in
combination with the infantry. By the middle of the seven
teenth century artillery had become a terrible power, as the
following saying of Vauban pithily indicates : " II n'y a point
de juge plus Equitable que les cannons ; ceux-la vont au bout,
et ne sont pas corruptibles ; faites que le roi"" les prenne pour
arbitres, s'il veut avoir bonne et brieve justice de ses justes
pretentions."^ James II. raised a regiment expressly to guard the artillery.
Armed with the recently introduced fusils and accoutred as
grenadiers, it was entitled " the Royal Fusiliers " (7th of the
line). The various trains of artillery were first embodied into
a distinct and permanent corps by royal warrant in 1705.
Our engineer corps is of still more recent formation. An old
writer, expatiating on the duties of an infantry captain, re-

Clode, " Military Forces of the Crown."
Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."

56 " THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS."
marks : " Hee must be a good ingineer, to know how to raise
all kinds of works and trenches, and to place his men on the
flanks to scour the bulwarks by the lyne of level." In fact,
siege operations were mainly carried on by selected officers of
the foot. In this way Vauban, once a sous-lieutenant of the
regiment Conde, commenced his splendid scientific career.
Artificers were hired at high wages to turn out the finer sorts
of sappings and minings, the inevitable foot soldier accom
plishing the rest. Narrating the siege of Musson, at which he
served when Duke of York, James II. shows how such things
were managed under the command of Turenne : " M. de
Turenne made use of his own judgment where he thought it
most prudent to break ground, and which way to run the
trenches ; when night came on, he himself was present at the
opening of them, and continued there almost till the break of
day. The commander-in-chief is not only thus diligent, but .
all the inferior officers are obliged to be as careful in their
several stations ; in all the time of the present siege, on our
side of the attack we had not so much as a single ingineer,
nor did I ever observe them to be made use of at any other
place, but only as overseers of the work, most of the officers
understanding very well how to carry on a trench and to make
a lodgment. As for the mines, they have a captain of mines
who has a care of carrying them on when the general has
resolved where they shall be." ' *
Wonderful to those who remember the earher acts of the
siege of Sebastopol is this conduct of Turenne ; and who shall
proclaim that military education was at a lower pitch under
the illustrious Mar&hal than under the brave old Ragflan .?
As for tactics, great attention was paid to the instruction of
the cavalry in equitation. The horses were trained to " stand
fire," and the troopers taught "to march and wheelwith a
grace, and to handle their swords well." The Thirty Years'
War revolutionized the movements and formation of infantry.
Gustavus, renouncing the dense columns of preceding generals,
drew up his foot six deep. His adversaries, Tilly and Wallen-

' Clarke, "Life of James II."

THE BATTALION. 57
stein, formed their infantry in masses thirty deep, which proved
unable to cope with the wider spread of the Swedes. Satisfied
on this point, Gustavus marshalled his cavalry in three ranks,
to contend with the Imperialists massed eight deep. "A
reconstruction " with a vengeance. " L' ordre d^ploy^," says
Marechal Bugeaud, " est le veritable ordre de combat." Coming
down to the period immediately before us, we find the bat
talion (pikes being in use) formed in three grand divisions :
viz., one of pikes in the centre, with a division of musketeers
on the right and on the left. But, pikes being cast, the bat
talion, composed of from 800 to 1,000 men, was drawn up
three deep : " the bayonets fixed on the muzzles, the grena
diers divided on the flanks, and the colonel, or, in his absence,
the lieutenant-colonel, on foot, with his sword drawn, about
eight or ten paces opposite the centre, with an expert drum
by him. And — very judiciously counsels Brigadier Kane — he
should appear with a cheerful countenance, never in a hurry
or by any means ruffled, and deliver his orders with great
calmness and presence of mind."'
The firing of a battalion was kept up by alternate. platoons
or sections of the two rear ranks, the fire of the front rank
(kneeling) being held in reserve. To avoid being shot by his
own men (which sometimes happened then as it does now)
the colonel and drum were to step nimbly aside, when it
came to the turn of the two centre platoons to fire. In this
epoch of long range, imagine a poor colonel " cheerful " in
such alto-relievo 1
Square being formed, the grenadiers drew up within it, so
that the colonel might have a reserve with which to strengthen
any point particularly pressed. These choice soldiers were
also ready to sally forth upon attacking horse, feebly led or
in confusion.
The soldiers appear to have been teased with complicated
" exercises," and sorely " puzzled with evolutions useless in
action." But, with certain modern manoeuvres before our eyes,
it would be unfair to come down hard on the camp at Hounslow.
f ' " Campaigns of King "William III."

58 "THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS."
No more masterly war administration than the Roman
has the world beheld. In it the most eminent citizens sought
employment. It was as quaestor in Spain that Caesar learned
,how to preserve the health and efficiency of soldiers in the
field. But in the darkness that covered military science during
the Middle Ages, administration (as we understand the term)
was rough-cast. Human hfe was held cheap as dirt. The
common soldier hved, as best he could, by rapine ; if danger
ously gashed in battle, he usually bled to death unheeded —
fortunate, peradventure, to escape the frightful attentions of
the barber-surgeon at a^d. a-day.
Improvement came, but, as customary with us, slowly —
Spaniards and French far ahead of John Bull. In the reign
of Elizabeth it was decided that "surgeons be men of sobriete
of good conscience, able to heal all sores and wounds, specially
to take out a pellet of the same." And so 4</. a day grew to
be 4J. About the same time we hear of the Treasurer of
War, the Proviant Master, whose " charge was to provide vic
tuals, corn, wine, flesh, bread, and beer," and the Carriage or
Waggon Master, who directed the transport of the army, and
had the task of "ordering" the women who followed the
drum. Unhappy official ! The ladies were divided into three
classes ; ist, the generals' wives, mostly jolting along in
coaches ; 2nd, the light women on horseback, " these must ride
in no other place than where the baggage of the corps they
belong to marcheth." But the queans, it seems, "are very,
extravagant, gadding here and there, and therefore in some
places they are put in companies, and have one or more to
command or oversee them, called in Germany kureweiber," i.e.
rulers or marshals of the lorettes. 3rd, those who trudge
a-foot, even the soldiers' wives ; such must keep beside the
baggage of the regiment to which they belong. Grose gives a
comical account of a regimenting of the military dani-monde,
which the Duke of Alva accomplished in the Netherlands.'
In the three great functionaries mentioned above "we

' Military Antiquities."

COMMISSARIAT. 59
have," says Mr. De Fonblanque, "the three branches of the
commissariat as now existing, represented by responsible
officers, and it is worthy of notice that the Treasurer at War
was, even in those times, placed in a sufficiently independent
position to enable him to control the military authorities in
matters of expenditure." '
In the beginning of the eighteenth century the troops in the
United Kingdom or serving abroad were supplied with food
and money by contracts made in England. To see that the
contracts were honestly fulfilled was the duty of commissa
ries but those " servants of the public " were seldom hard
to please; and no wonder, when such a man as the Duke of
Marlborough condescended to pocket a per-centage from the
lucky gentlemen who rationed and clothed his troops. And
so it came about that, while the Mammon of commercial un
righteousness waxed fat and aspired to the peerage, soldiers
lay in rotten tents, and cursed the contract beef of Old Eng
land. Nevertheless, the army marched, fought, conquered.
Mishaps here and there indeed, but no Crimean breakdown.
In our day, vast departments, hosts of clerks, an expenditure
of money the old world never dreamt of, an amount of self-
sufficient talk unparalleled. Still, forsooth, we are every now
and then informed "the army cannot move." And whose
fault } John Bull's own — the free-born Briton'.s, than whom,
says Dr. Arbuthnot, " no man alive is more careless in looking
into his accounts." *
By command of our famous Plantagenet kings, mihtary
discipline was extremely severe. In the orders issued by
Richard Coeur de Lion " for the government of those going
by sea to the Holy Land," it is laid down : " He that kills a
man on shipboard shall be bound to the dead man, and
thrown into the sea." Again (not quite so uncivilized that
age as some imagine) : " He that shall reproach, abuse, or
curse his companion, shall for every time he is convicted there
of give him so many ounces of silver." Certainly a salutarj'
' " Administration of British Army.''
" "History of John Bull."

6o " THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS."
rule, but one which could only have had a temporary effect;
for did not Joan of Arc style the English invaders " God-
dams.?" Did not our army " swear horribly in Flanders.'"
and in this age of " culture " do not oaths often burst from the
lips of excited military authority .''
But time relaxed the Draconian stringency of the Plantage
net code ; and the " Rules of Warr," drawn up by the Earl of
Essex in 1648, are models of clearness and good sense.' How
characteristic of the period the first of these Articles : " Let
no man presume to blaspheme the holy and blessed Trinity,
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, nor
any of the known articles of the Christian Faith, upon pain to
have his tongue bored through with a red-hot iron." The
general, too, directs that " every private man or souldier who
keeps not silence in the ranks when the army is to take
lodging, or when marching, or in battalia, shall be liable to
imprisonment." Against those flinching from the shock of
arms there is a remarkable article : " A regiment, or company
of horse or foot, that chargeth the enemy and retreats before
they come to hand strokes, shall answer for it before a council
of war, and, if the fault is found with the officers, they shall be
banished the camp, or if in the souldiers, then shall every
tenth man be punished at discretion, and the rest serve for
pioneers and scavengers till a worthy exploit take off that
blot." Bravo ! " "What's more honourable than scars.
Or skin to tatters rent in wars !"
And no indulgence for exhilarated officers. " What officer
soever shall come drunk to his guard, or quarrel in the
quarter, or commit any disturbance, shall be cashiered with
out mercy." What! " dining out" an inadmissible plea.?
The Rules and Articles of Charles II. (a.d. 1673) are, in
fact. Lord Essex's ordinances, modified here and there. Art.

1 "1

'Rules and Ordinances of "Warr, estabhshed for the better conduct of
the Army, by the Earl of Essex, lord general of the forces raised by the
authority of the Parliament for the defence of the King (?) and Kingdom,"
preserved in the "War Office.

"RULES OF WAR." 6i
49 sets forth, " No officer is to be cashiered but by order from
his Majesty or a general court-martial. But non-commis
sioned officers and souldiers may be dismissed by their captains
with the approbation of their colonels." This is an instance
among many of how much more highly esteemed was the
office of captain formerly than it is at present.' Even within
the last twenty years the captain has lost regimental weight.
The flood of promotion produced by the Russian war may
perhaps explain to some extent the decline of the puisne
bashaw ; very young men seldom acquire the confidence of
grisly non-commissioned officers and privates. It may be
that too much stress is laid on the advantages of rapid pre
ferment, for to enjoy youth and to boast experience at one
and the same time is seldom the lot of any officer ; James
Crichtons and Philip Sydneys are so rare as to be well-nigh
apocryphal. Art. 56 is admirable ; but, if all tales be true, it was fre
quently set at nought with impunity : " No commissary or
victualler shall bring or furnish into the camp any unsound or
unsavoury victuals of what kind soever whereby sickness may
grow in the army or the service be hindered," under penalty
of trial by general court martial.
The Rules of War (sixty-four in number) published by
James II. approach nearly in spirit to those now in force.
Most of the parliamentary harshness has been toned down ;
the last article proclaims, " No punishment amounting to loss
of life or limb be inflicted on any offenders in time of peace,
although the same be allotted for the said offence by these
articles and the laws and customs of war." But, " running
away from the colours" becoming prevalent, it became neces
sary to revert to shooting to death for desertion.*
Councils of war or courts martial were conducted much as
they are now, but no subaltern officers were allowed to sit.

' " Sir Charles Napier used to say that he considered the captain of
a company to be the most important rank in the army." — General
McMURDO. '' Luttrel, " Brief Relation of State Affairs."

62 "THE DISCIPLINES OF THE WARS."
unless there was an insufficiency of captains to form a court,
which could never consist of fewer than seven members.
Shortly after the Revolution the mutiny of the Scots Greys
and Dumbarton's regiment (Royal Scots) led parliament to
fuse the military code into a Mutiny Act to be voted annually.
" Thus," says Hallam, " it is strictly true that, if the king were
not to summon a parliament every year, his army would
cease to have a legal existence, and the refusal of either house
to concur in the Mutiny Bill would at once wrest the sword
out of his grasp."'
To conclude, as generosity and gout are supposed to be
hereditary in ancient families, so it would appear are special
virtues and weaknesses abiding in great nations.
British infantry has been constantly famous. In the Middle
Ages the skill of the English archer was matchless. In the
sixteenth century the Duke of Alva, a great captain com
manding the best organized troops in Europe, " confessed that
the English soldiers were hardy and wanted not courage, but
that in discipline and furniture of war they were far to seek."*
In our day a very able and experienced French general, the
Mardchal Bugeaud, with a chivalrous candour some of our
own writers would do well to imitate, has expressed this
opinion : " L'infantrie Anglaise est la plus redoutable de
I'Europe, heureusement il n'y en a pas beaucoup."
On the other hand, the British horse, ardent and of a
splendid mien, has not been so universally appreciated.
Having quoted Bugeaud's conception of our foot, it is fair to
remark that the Duke of Wellington set a very high value on
French cavalry.
One word more. We find Brigadier Kane, who served
under WiUiam and Marlborough, complaining : " There have
always been too many indolent sparks in the army thinking
themselves above learning their duty. I have not known,
among all the nations I have served with, any officers so remiss
on duty as the generality of our countrymen, who in other
' " Constitutional History."
° Froude, " History of England."

BLUNT AND HONEST. 63
respects not only equal, but in a great measure excel. And
why should this supine negligence blast other heroic qualifica
tions.''"' This old-fashioned plain speaking has a more
wholesome smack than the rhodomontade of after-dinner
thanksgivings. ' " Campaigns of King "William III."

VI.
ON THE ROAD TO RUIN.
1688.
JMONG the many good qualities of James II. , a
sound judgment in emergencies had no place. He
was a capable administrator, as the improvements
effected in naval and military concerns, mainly
through his influence, denote. He encouraged trade and
was economical. Although a firm friend, few men loved
him. Far more honest than his brother, Charles, he lacked
the nice tact and radiant good humour which rendered the
merry reprobate charming to the nation while in the flesh,
and gathered it in tears around his grave.
Besides his natural deficiencies, James was burdened with
serious disadvantages of time and circumstance. He pro
fessed the Catholic faith, which the mass of the people hated.
He had suffered persecution on account of his conversion, and
the bent of his character drove him full into the snare of
converts — over zeal. The very directness of his temper urged
him into courses which worse but shrewder men would have
avoided. • " II a bien du courage, mais un esprit commun," as
Madame de S6vigne well said of him.
Machiavelli pronounces that " the test of a prince's ability
should be sought amongst the men he chooses for his com
panions : when they are clever and faithful, we may account
him wise, inasmuch as he had wit enough to discover their
sufficiency, and to keep them attached. But when they
prove otherwise we must distrust his parts : an ill selection of

THE TRAITOR AND THE ZEALOT 65
friends indicating a shallow understanding." 1 The soundness
of this opinion is illustrated in the career of King James.
What more conducive to his fall than advisers like the supple
traitor, Sunderland, and the blind zealot. Father Petre .' The
first, " Of easy shape and pliant ev'ry way,''
was in office when James succeeded, and, notwithstanding he
had supported the Exclusion Bill, made himself so agreeable
to the rising sun, that he continued to hold his place. The
other evil genius the King appointed a privy councillor, con
trary, he tells us, to his own judgment and the Queen's re
monstrance — " for, as soon as the Queen heard what was
designed, she earnestly begged of the King not to do it, that
it would give great scandal, not only to Protestants but to
thinking Catholics, and even to the society (of Jesus) itself,
as being against their rule, in spite of which his Majesty
was so bewitched by my Lord Sunderland and Father Petre
as to let himself be prevailed upon to doe so indiscreet a
thing."* "I frati e preti hanno guastato tutto qui (London) e
il zelo loro troppo inopportuno ha attizzato un odio implacabile
contro I'innocente Regina."*
In the usual course of events, the effectual crushing of Mon
mouth's rebellion should have augmented the royal power.
Not so, however, in this instance. The inefficiency of the
militia, so glaringly displayed, and the slight confidence
' which, it was plain, could be placed in the loyalty of the
officers belonging to the regiments just recalled from Holland,
brought the King into conflict with a seemingly plastic par
liament ; members objected to an increase of the regulars,
and took fright at James's declaration that, in favour of the
Catholic officers, he had dispensed with the law requiring the
test to be taken by public functionaries.
No impolicy like that of interference with a national reli
gion : a truth which the British people strenuously uphold in
their own case, and have sometimes forgotten in the case of
' " II Principe." ' Clarke, " Life of James II."
' L'Abbd Rizzini au Due de Alod^ne.
F

66 ON THE ROAD TO RUIN.
others. His intention to dispense with the tests stirred the
smouldering embers of "No. Popery" agitation. Sermons and
pamphlets blew the reddening coals ; and, then, as oil to feed
the flame, came the revocati(Mi of the Edict of Nantes, which
expelled from France half a million of worthy souls, and
enriched England with some 50,000 admirable artists and in
genious craftsmen, hardy seamen and exasperated soldier.s.'
In vain James blamed the heinous bigotry of his cousin ;
in vain he protected and relieved the unhappy Huguenots :
in such a conjuncture, men who had swallowed with gusto the
abominable romances of Titus Oates were scarcely likely t:o
consider the conduct of a Cathohc prince with judicial impar
tiality. Naturally arbitrary and mentally short-sighted, the King
either saw not, or disdained to heed, the ugly signs blurring
the political horizon. But there was yet time, so gradually
the storm brewed, to make all safe. Alas ! the unwary pilot,
instead of taking in sail, began shaking out fresh reefs. The
heart of Pharaoh was hardened. More and more he relied
upon prerogative as the solvent for difficulties. Inscrutable
attribute of British royalty, prerogative — who shall define its
limits .'' Men loudly sing its praises when it chimes with their
passions, and as lustily condemn it when it rubs the sore of
their prejudices.
Adversity and intercourse with men had not taught the
King to distrust pompous professions. Sincere himself, he
reckoned upon the doctrine of Non-Resistance which the
Church of England taught with sonorous reiteration. When
he had found out his mistake he thus pungently described the
tactics of the Anglican clergy : " They had preached preroga
tive and the sovereign power to the highest pitch while it was
favourable to them, but when they apprehended the least

' " Nous devons rappeler qu'elles furent, au point de vue militaire, les
consequences de la revocation de I'Edit de Nantes ; elle fit passer k I'ennemi
8 ou 9,000 de nosmeilleurs matelots, 5 ou 6,000 bons officiers, 19 ou 20,000
de nos soldats les plus aguerris." — Le duc D'Aumale, Les Institutions
Militaires de la France.

THE TEST AND PENAL STATUTES. 67
danger from it {sic) they cried out as soon as the shoe pinched,
tho' it was of their own putting on."'
The people generally sided with the Establishment in her
change of front. For the most part belonging to her com
munion, and being, in their way, as bigoted as James was in
his, they comprehended not the justice and denied the ex
pediency of indulging the religious opinions of a minority of
their countrymen.
To fill up the measure of his infatuation the King dismissed
from office several great functionaries, who declined to assist
his scheme for the repeal of the Test and Penal Statutes. In a
little while, then, he contrived to alienate what is called the
religious portion of the public, and to drive into rancorous
hostility powerful placemen, whose theological fervour, under
prudent management, would have been in little danger of
boiling over.
Although it has been often stated that James had resolved
to restore Catholicism to supremacy, there is no proof of any
such determination. Nay, from first to last, he asserted that
he only meant to procure " toleration and equality of privi
leges " for his Catholic subjects. But equality, however
admirable as a religious theory, no more squared with the
age than the royal mode of promoting it accorded with free
government. It is remarkable that those who most bitterly
assail James II. for, as they hold, endeavouring to bring about
the predominance of a Catholic minority in England, should be
the very persons who clamorously advocate the ascendency of
a small Protestant minority in Ireland — "L'int^ret seul fit
parler tout le monde !"
In truth, James was an " odd compound " (but who is not .-').
Ready to sacrifice everything for his religion, he seems now
and then to have preferred the Calvinistic notion of justifica
tion by faith alone, to the Catholic doctrine of salvation
through works. The Stuart temper was rebellious within
him. Blessed with a wife young, lovely, and loving, the
elderly gallant continued susceptible to the fascination of the
' Clarke, " Life of James II."

68 ON THE ROAD TO RUIN.
sex. Tiring of Arabella Churchill (and so adding another
implacable foe to an already heavy batch) he had lately
transferred his illicit affections to Catherine Sedley, daughter
of the debauched Sir Charies Sedley, and a maid of honour
to the Queen.' Like the forsaken Arabella, no beauty,
Catherine's conversation and manners were charming — far
more potent spells than mere regularity of feature or delicacy
of tint. The amour grieved Mary of Modena, and so shocked
the Catholics, that they remonstrated with the royal back-
shder, and at last induced him to order his Protestant mistress
over to Ireland, where he had provided her with an estate.
Speedily, however, the bold fair one returned to London,
resumed her sway over the amorous Prince, and was created
by him Countess of Dorchester. Howbeit, James took care
to love less ostentatiously than of yore, and the Queen wisely
resolved to weep in secret.* Lady Dorchester subsequently
married the Earl of Portmore, and Lord Dartmouth states
that, when Mary of Orange turned her back on the Countess
after the Revolution, the affronted wit exclaimed, " I beg
your Majesty to remember that, if I broke one of the com
mandments with your father, you broke another against him."
A repartee agt and cutting^
It seldom rains, but it pours. Honours and commands
still showered on James Fitz-James. Already colonel of " our
dearest daughter, the Princess Anne of Denmark's regiment,"
Governor of Portsmouth, Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, and
Master of the Horse, he was appointed early in 1688 to the
colonelcy of the Horse Guards, vice Aubrey de Vere, Earl of

' Arabella Churchill enjoyed a pension on the Irish establishment, and
shortly after the Revolution married Colonel Charles Godfrey, one of the
first to desert the King. Through the influence of John, Duke of Marl
borough, he was appointed Master of the Jewel Office. By him Arabella
had two daughters.
= Here is evidence how carefully my lady's spiritual (as well as material)
welfare was looked to. " The Countess of Dorchester will speedily move
hitherward, for her house is furnishing very fine in St. James's Square, and
a seat taken for her in the new consecrated St. Anne's church."— Ellis,
Correspondence.

ACQUITTAL OF THE BISHOPS. 69
Oxford, removed for refusing to support the royal wishes re
specting the Test and the Penal Laws. Although colonel of
the Blues, the Duke remained at the head of the 8th Foot.
Now came sickness nearly unto death. Just as he was about
to start for Hungary, again to fight the Turk, small-pox — the
pest of that age — struck him down. For a while in March
seriously ill, a strong con.stitution triumphed over the disease
in spite of the doctors, and the young soldier arose from his
bed with unusually few scars.
In the early summer about 4,000 men were encamped on
Hounslow Heath, under the command of Lord Feversham.
Berwick, completely recovered, sometimes directed the
manceuvres, and, out of compliment to his services, the Siege
of Buda was mimicked, much to the delight of his admiring
father. Occasionally accompanied by the Queen, James used
to visit the camp twice a week. After a minute inspection of
the ranks or an active participation in the movements, he
would dine in the tent of one of the brigadiers.
But no matter his application to business and knowledge of
drill, the King's religious zeal and political short-sightedness
were hurrying him to ruin. On the 25th of April he issued a
mandate to the Bishops, which directed that his proclamation
of liberty of conscience should be read by the clergy in their
respective churches. The Archbishop of Canterbury and six
prelates refused compliance. They were sent to the Tower,
tried by a full bench of judges, and acquitted by the jury,
" whereupon," says Lord Clarendon, " there was a most
wonderful shout, that one would have thought the hall had
cracked." '
The cheering ran from street to street, from suburb to farm
house, till it reached the Hounslow camp, where the King
chanced to be dining with Lord Feversham. Many of the
soldiers caught the infection. Feversham rushed from the
tent to ascertain the meaning of the hurrahs. On his return
he told James, " It was nothing but the joy of the soldiers for
the discharge of the bishops." " Nothing," replied the King,
' " Diary of Henry, Earl of Clarendon."

70 ON THE ROAD TO RUIN.
" do you call that nothing ? So much the worse for them "
(the bishops .?) ' Hastening back to London, he found it alive
with excited crowds, heaping up bonfires, and evidently bent
on mischief Immediately, assemblages in the streets were
forbidden ; but disorder was rampant throughout the evening.
Many rioters were arrested, only to be released by sym
pathetic juries.
A few days before the acquittal of the prelates, the Queen
lay in of a son. In spite of the peculiar publicity attending
the event, lies of all sorts filled the town : the most absurd
went most readily down. The birth was a juggle ; nay, the
" very fireworks in celebration of the occasion were intended
to bombard the city in revenge for the rejoicings over th^de-
liverance of the bishops." The Princess Anne suggested foul
play with a coarseness of expression a fish-wife might envy.*
On this disgraceful subject the Duke of Berwick speaks with
manly indignation, " Malgrd mon respect et mon devouement
pour le Roi, je n'aurais jamais pu donner les mains a une
action si detestable que celle de vouloir supposer un enfant
pour oter la couronne aux v^ritables hdritiers ; et apres la
mort du Roi je n'aurais pas continue a soutenir les int6rets
d'un imposteur ; I'honneur et la conscience ne me I'aurait pas
permis." ^
' Dalrymple's " Memoirs of Great Britain."
° Dalrymple gives a curious extract from the Oterz/afor of August 23rd,
1682, showing "that the supposititious birth was an old party falsehood,
intended to have been made use of six years before if King James's Queen
had then been brought to bed of a son."
' " Mdmoires du Mardchal le duc de Berwick.'' "

VII.

INTRIGUES. 1688.
:|OWEVER beneficial the results of the Revolution,
it^ would be_ difficult to_ conceive anything viler
thari thejneansjjy which it was accomplished.
The many circumstances combining against
James served the turn of his astute son-in-law to a hair. The
birth of a prince (apparently destroying his wife's chance of
succeeding to the throne) admonished William that the hour
for action was near; and the imprisonment of the bishops,
inflaming popular feehng to fever heat, rendered the time
favourable for a show of hand.
Soon after the birth. Count Zulestein, an artful intriguer,
arrived at London from the Hague, ostensibly to congratulate
the royal parents on " so auspicious an event," but really to
c6ncert with William's English friends the invasion of their
country. While Zulestein worked underhand, the Queen
replied to the Prince of Orange's felicitation in this wise : —
"St. James's, July 24, 1688.
" The compliments Mr. Zulestein made me from you and
the letters he brought are so obliging, that I know not which
way to begin to give you thanks for it. I hope he will
help me to assure you that I am very sensible of it, and that
I esteem and desire nothing more than the continuance of
your friendship, which, I am sure, shall always deserve one
way mine, by being with all sincerity imaginable truly yours,
"M. R."'

Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."

72 INTRIGUES,
The "obliging" letter to this poor mother seems to indicate
that the Stadtholder approved the doctrine, that the purpose
of words is to conceal the thoughts.
A week afterwards, Zulestein's manoeuvres en tapinois cul
minated in an address, inviting the Prince of Orange "to
land " in England. It was signed in cipher by the Earls of
Shrewsbury, Devonshire and Danby, the Bishop of London,
the Lord Lumley, Admiral Russell, and Sydney, afterwards
Eari of Romney. The " seven " open with expressing their
"great satisfaction" to find by thirty- five (Admiral Russeh),
and afterwards by Mons. Zulestein, that " your Highness is so
ready and willing to give us such assistance as they have
related to us." They then proceed to furnish information
concerning the "discontent" prevailing among naval and
military officers ; and they " presume to inform your Highness
that your compliment upon the birth of the child (which not
one in a thousand here believes to be the Queen's) hath done
you some injury; the false imposing of which upon the
Princess and the nation being not only an infinite exas
peration of the people's minds here, but certainly one of the
chief causes upon which the declaration of your entering the
kingdom must be founded on your part, although many
other reasons are to be given on ours." This is to the point.
It shows how immensely effective, as an agent of the Revolu
tion, was the suggestio falsi respecting the origin of the little
Prince. The document concludes with the usual request for
" ammunition, artillery, mortar pieces, spare arms," and the
hope, "you will bring some good engineers with you."' Prac
tical liberals, those "immortal seven."
Nor were foreign politics adverse to the designs of the
Dutchman. In r6:86, chiefly at the instigation of William, the
Emperor, the Kings of Spain and Sweden, the Elector of
Bavaria, and several minor princes, had subscribed the league
of Augsbourg, under colour of upholding the treaties of
Westphalia and Nimeguen, but, in reality, for the purpose
of curbing the power of France. Next year a bitter quarrel,
' Dalrymple, " Memoirs."

LOUIS XIV. AND INNOCENT XI 73
between Louis XIV. and Pope Innocent XL, on a question of
ambassadorial privilege, complicated the situation.' Resort
ing to the arm of flesh, the King prevailed ; nevertheless,
he was soon to discover how unwise it is to humiliate an
opponent whom there is neither the ability nor the will to
destroy.* Fuming at Louis, the Pontiff lent an ear to the
diplomatic advances of William. And thus came before the
world the edifying spectacle, of the Holy Father and two
of the great Catholic powers joining the Protestant champion
against the eldest Son of the Church ! the straight-laced ^
Orangemen of to-day toasting "the glorious, pious, and
immortal memory," and consigning the Pope to torments,
must find an awkwardness in explaining the alacrity with
which their hero ingratiated himself with Catholic potentates,
and employed Catholic officers and soldiers, whenever his
interests required the countenance of the former or the blood
of the latter.
The crisis approached. The house of Fiirstenberg was
devoted to France. Of its two chiefs, one, Prince William,
minister of the Elector of Cologne, had bound his master to
the French policy ; the other, Egon, Bishop of Strasbourg,
had laboured to compass the re-union of Strasbourg with
France. Egon dying in 1682, William entered the Church;
upon which Louis procured for him the bishopric of Stras
bourg and a cardinal's hat ; further designing him to succeed
the Elector of Cologne, whose death seemed imminent.
In the beginning of 1688 the Chapter of Cologne chose
Fiirstenberg coadjutor of the Archbishop Elector — and forth
with alarm throughout the empire. But the Pope quashed
the election. Meanwhile, on the 3rd of June, the Elector
died. Immediately, contention between French louis-d'or and
¦ The representatives of the Catholic powers at Rome claimed the right
of forbidding the action of the pontifical police in the streets adjacent to
their palaces. This abuse, called t\i& franchise, had the effect of placing
the lives and property of honest people in nearly half of Rome at the
mercy of robbers and assassins. "With the exception of Louis, all the
Catholic princes had consented to forego their monstrous privilege.
^ Henri Martin, " Histoire de France."

74 INTRIGUES.
Dutch bills of exchange. Le grand Monarque made a last
futile attempt to propitiate Innocent in favour of Furstenberg,
and the League of Augsbourg put forward a rival candidate in
the shape of young Prince Clement of Bavaria. Furstenberg
obtained the majority of votes, but as the excess did not reach
the requisite two-thirds of the chapter, his Holiness claimed
the right of choice. Knowing that Innocent was resolved to
pronounce for Prince Clement, Louis no longer restrained
himself. On the 6th of September he accused the Pontiff, in
an angry manifesto, of exciting a general European war, and
of encouraging the Prince of Orange to assail the King of
England in his own dominions. He would afford, he declared,
to the Cardinal de Furstenberg and the Cologne chapter all,
the aid they might require ; and, if the Holy See did not at
once carry out the Treaty of Pisa to the satisfaction of the
Duke of Parma, Avignon would be seized, and French troops
enter Italy.
Innocent replied by pronouncing Clement of Bavaria,
Archbishop Elector of Cologne : " Precipati il mondo, Dio
giusto punir^ che h colpevole."
Every turn of these events felt Dutch manipulation.
Behind the scenes, William was concocting military opera
tions with petty German princes, bargaining for Swedish
warriors, inveigling the chafing Pope into the notion that his
ambition simply soared to the honour of commanding on
the Rhine against the French. And so it happened that,
either from want of political acumen or from personal re
sentment, his Holiness exerted his influence and spent his
money on the side of the anti-Catholic revolution preparing
in England. A mot of the day capitally describes these angry
topsy-turvy politics — " Pour le repos de I'Europe il faudrait
que le Roi d'Angleterre se fit Protestant, et le Saint-P^re
Catholique." Of course, the means essential to the furtherance of Wil
liam's projects came chiefly from the United Provinces. For
the easy acquisition of those means, the Prince owed much to
the French Government. In 1687 they reimposed on Dutch
merchandise the tariff of 1667. Dutch commerce suffered :

THE GREAT HYPOCRISY. 75
hence the obstacles which material interests often oppose to
religious passions fell to the ground. Holland answered the
beck of the Stadtholder. On the pretext of punishing the
Algerine pirates, he ordered the arming of twenty ships of war.
He secretly arranged with certain German princes that they
should send troops to Holland, whenever he desired to use his
own elsewhere; and when, in March, James recalled the six
English regiments in Dutch pay, difficulties were raised, nomi
nally by the States, but actually by the Stadtholder. Time
was gained ; and the British soldiers remained in their foreign
quarters. In short, while setting everybody by the ears, in 1687, on
the Continent, the Prince of Orange was receiving friendly
letters from his unsuspecting uncle, and keeping up a corre
spondence with divers great personages in England, Lady
Sunderland among the number.' Dykevelt and Zulestein
were diligently intriguing there. The din of warlike prepara
tion resounded through Holland. Next summer the birth of
the Prince of Wales, Zulestein's pleasant intelligence, the
invitation of "the seven," the persuasions of Admiral Herbert,
in conjunction with the peculiar bearing of European politics,
brought matters to a head. Still under a mask, but with
greater confidence, William pressed the recruiting. Under
pretence of securing Cologne from the French, a large camp
was formed at Nimeguen, artillery collected, arms and rations
made ready, the fleet augmented ; and, last but not least, the
able cosmopolite soldier, Marechal de Schomberg, arrived in
September to assist in conducting an enterprise long medi
tated, warily matured, and now fit for launching.*

' The Princess Anne gives the following character of this lady in a letter
to the Princess of Orange (March 20th, 1687-88). " She runs from church
to church after the famousest preachers, and keeps such a clatter with her
devotions; that it really turns one's stomach. Sure there never was such a
couple so well matched as she and her good husband, for, as she is in all
her actiohs the greatest jade that ever was, so is he the subtilest working
villain that is on the face of the earth." — Dalrymple, Memoirs of Great
Britain. ' Louis XIV. said to the Duc de Villeroy (17th Oct. 1688), " Ne trouvez

76 INTRIGUES.
But, during the growth of the conspiracy, what of the British
Sovereign t In the spring, Louis, whom the vigilant D'Avaux
kept well informed concerning Dutch affairs, offered to add a
squadron to the fleet which the English government intended
to fit out. Solely desirous of preserving neutrality between
the League and France, James declined the offer. Don Pedro
Ronquillo, Spanish Ambassador at St. James's, pointed out to
the King the danger which especially threatened his interests,
at the same time assuring him that, if he joined the league,
he had nothing to fear ; all efforts would then be combined
against France. James refused, telling the Spaniard that he
meant to be at peace with all the world, and that he could not
honourably break with a friend and relation from whom he
had received nothing but kindness. On Ronquillo pressing
him more closely, he declared he would rather lose his crown
than do an unjust thing.'
Lest, peradventure, suspicion might penetrate the fool's
paradise, ever on the watch was Sunderland — " subtillest "
Sunderland — who at the supreme moment avowed himself a
Catholic, the easier to betray. Of what avail warnings from
the other side of the Channel "i Entirely possessed by this
evil one, the King would not see. The Marquis of Albeville,
British Minister at the Hague, reported that the Prince of
Orange would sail for England, not strike at France ; and
Albeville got contempt for his pains. In September, Skelton,
the ambassador at Paris, sure of the jeopardy in which his
master stood, permitted D'Avaux to acquaint the States
General that Louis would resent, as an act of personal hos-

vous pas bien extraordinaire que M. de Schomberg, qui est n^ AUemand,
se soit fait naturaliser HoUandais, Anglais, Frangais, et Portugais ?" — Jour
nal du Marquis de Dangeau. Armand Frederic de Schomberg was one
of the eight generals created Marshals of France on the death of Turenne.
Of this creation Madame de S^vignd wittily said, " Le Roi a changd un
louis-d'or en pieces de quatre sous." Hence Madame Cornuel's mot that
the eight marshals were " la monnaie de M. de Turenne." On the revo
cation of the Edict of Nantes, Schomberg quitted the French service, and
obtained command in the Dutch army.
' " Mdmoires du duc de Berwick."

THE FRENCH DECLARE WAR. 11
tility, any aggression upon the King of England ; but James
took umbrage, denied the existence of an alliance between his
cousin and himself, blurted out he was no Cardinal of Fiirs
tenberg to need a defender. To recompense his unauthorized
zeal, not only was Skelton recalled, but shut up bodily in the
Tower. Truly might James exclaim —
" Ch& com' io odo quinci, e non intendo,
Cos! qui veggio e niente affliguro ! "
Determined neither to help himself nor to allow others to
help him, the British King must take his chance with fate.
On the other hand, -intent on the League of Augsbourg,
Louis resolved to disconcert its manoeuvres with a blow. But
how.' Should the French fleet put to sea and a French army
march upon Maestricht — as D'Avaux and Seignelai advised .?
Or, seeing that the Emperor must get the free use of all his
forces if the Turks were thoroughly beaten, would it not be
wise to revive the sinking courage of the Porte by a stroke at
the heart of Germany .' So argued Louvois.
The first plan might have saved James's crown : for, with
the French at their gates, not a company would the Hollanders
have allowed to stir from home. But the influence of Louvois
prevailed. On the 24th of September, Louis declared war
against the Emperor and the Elector Palatine. Next morning
the Dauphin left Versailles to take command of the army
about to besiege Philipsbourg. His august father had com
mitted a huge blunder. The heart of his implacable cousin
of Orange rejoiced, and Dutch securities went up ten per cent.'

' St. Simon attributes the war of 1688 to a tiff between Louis XIV. and
Louvois (who had succeeded Colbert as superintendent of royal buildings)
about a window in the Petit Trianon. The King pronounced it ill con
structed. The minister, on the contrary, maintained that "lacroisde
dtait bien." The King rejoined there was no putting up with the minister's
obstinacy, and they parted in dudgeon. But, on M. le Marquis recovering
his temper, it occurred to him that he had endangered his favour with
Louis. Hence he remarked to some friends : " C'en est fait, je suis perdu
avec le roi, k la fagon dont il vient de me traiter pour une fenetre. Je n'ai
de ressource qu'une guerre qui le detourne de ses batiments, et qui me

78 INTRIGUES.
The religious acrimony, the contempt for the Irish, and the
sort of discipline prevalent at this period are illustrated by an
incident which happened in September. The Duke of Ber
wick had given orders that forty Irish recruits (supernumerary
of McEllicot's newly raised regiment) should be admitted into
his own corps (8th), lying at Portsmouth. But the lieutenant-
colonel, Beaumont, and five captains, refused to receive a man
of them, affirming " it was a dishonour to the subjects of
England to have recourse to foreigners to fill their companies."
For the insubordination and "for behaving disrespectfully
both in writing and otherwise towards his Grace," these gen
tlemen were tried by court-martial, cashiered, and glorified as
Protestant martyrs. In this instance the King cannot be
accused of harshness, for the stiff-necked officers were " offered
forgiveness if they would accept the men, but they all refused
it."' Would the modern Horse Guards evince an equally for
bearing spirit towards barrack-square theologians of such dic
tatorial temper .'' A curious phase of the affair shall be told
in James's own words : " It was observed and wondered at
afterwards, when people's intentions came to light, that
amongst those officers who sat upon them (Beaumont and the
rest) some, who soon afterwards appeared in the same interest
with those they condemned, were nevertheless by much the
most severe against them ; particularly, my Lord Churchill
moved to have them suffer death for their disobedience, fore
seeing that such a piece of severity would reflect upon the
King and influence the people, who still cry out against the
Prince for all the ills which ofttimes by the malice, avarice or
treachery of his ministers, are done quite contrary to his in
tention."* If the royal interpretation of Lord Churchill's

rende n^cessaire, et par  il I'aura." — Memoires du Duc de St. Sitnon.
The anecdote is rather too good to be true. The causes of the war were
certainly more serious. M. Henri Martin thinks that Louvois advised the
king to attack Germany instead of Holland out of jealousy to Seignelai,
Minister of the Marine, who, as we know, recommended another line of
action. ' Reresby's " Memoirs." ° Clarke, " Life of James II."

" OMNIA BENE." 79
opinion be at all correct, we have evidence how craftily James
was hoaxed by his own familiar friends.
Deluded by the prophets of smooth things, the King had
slighted repeated handwritings on the wall, but the march
upon Philipsbourg was a fact not to be twisted. The jeopardy
was revealed. Straightway Albeville was instructed to assure
the States that no secret treaty bound England to France,
nay, that considering, as he did, the siege of Philipsbourg a
violation of the twenty years' truce, the King would be ready
to draw the sword by the side of Spain and Holland. Several
days elapsed before the States vouchsafed an answer, and,
when it came, its ambiguous wording suggested that the Stadt
holder had complete control over the Dutch deputies.
Now, positive that "the Dutch were coming in good
earnest," James attempted to win back the powerful interests
he had estranged at home. His eager endeavour to conciliate
came too late. He "very graciously " sought advice in the
emergency from the bishops he had persecuted. He reinstated
the recently removed deputy lieutenants and magistrates.
He returned to the City its ancient charter, and to the
boroughs their old privileges. He dissolved the Ecclesiastical
Commission — " put back Magdalen College into the Bishop
of Winchester's hands. He would restore all." '
While the King laboured to appease discontented public
men, he omitted not to honour a worthy son : on the 28th of
September, a chapter of the Order of the Garter for the pur
pose of presenting blue ribands to the young Dukes of Ormond
and Berwick. Afterwards, an interview with several bishops.
As the holy men left the presence chamber, the gossips, loung
ing in the ante-rooms, asked — " How things went .' " And the
Bishop of Winton (poor man) answered, "Omnia bene."*
For revolution, omnia bene indeed ! And yet, on the sur
face, all well for the Stuarts. Lip service never ijiore unctuous.
Knees most flexible. Their right reverend lordships (three of
them being deeply engaged to the Prince of Orange) very
busy composing of prayers against invasion !
' Clarendon, " Diary." » Ibid.

So INTRIGUES.
Besides this mollification, James strove with much of his
old activity to put things in fighting trim. The navy was
increased to sixty-one ships, thirty-eight of them being ofthe
line. By the levy of new regiments and the withdrawal of
troops from Ireland and Scotland, the army numbered about
37,000 men.' Important places were strongly garrisoned.
The bulk of the forces converged toward London ; Lord Fever
sham and his brother-in-law, Comte de Roye, an able officer
who had lately taken up his abode in England, received the
command.* In the meantime William of Orange published a declara
tion which was circulated diligently throughout England.
Obliquely accusing King James of all manner of evil doing, it
did not assail him personally. It affected only to condemn
his ministers. In conclusion, the Prince protested he had
undertaken the expedition purely and simply " to get a free
Parliament assembled which might remedy grievances, inquire
into the birth of the Prince oi Wales, and secure national
religion and liberty under a just and legal government for the
future." ^
But, while the manifesto sped, most of the offensive acts
therein recounted had been annulled. The contretemps, how
ever, was got over by a postscript which warned the people
that " a recall of a part of the late measures was a confession
of the violations complained of It arose only from the con
sciousness of guilt, and from present danger."
Also were sown, broadcast, a virulent tract, pretending to

' According to the returns, the establishment on the ist Nov. 1688 stood
thus : cavalry, 9,545 ; infantry, 27,673 =; 37,218. Several regiments, how
ever, being incomplete, the effective was doubtless considerably lower.
Luttrel tells us, "The horse have ^20 a-piece to buy horses, and the
hackney coachmen of London provide his majestie with 200 horse for his
service." — Signs of Pressure.
^ Comte de Roye was of the Huguenot branch of the La Rochefoucauld
Roye family. At the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the count, then a
lieutenant-general, retired to Denmark, and received a command in the
Danish army. He was created Earl of Lifford by James II.
" Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."

WILLIAM "ASSURES" THE EMPEROR. 8i
be a memorial from English Protestants to the States-General,
but really the work of Dr. Burnet, a letter from the Dutch
Prince to the British army setting forth .the propriety of their
breaking faith with their sovereign, and an epistle of kindred
sentiments addressed by Admiral Herbert to British seamen.
To the Emperor, William made this explicit averment : " I
assure your Imperial Majesty by this letter that, whatsoever
reports may have been spread, and notwithstanding those
which may be spread for ifhe future, I have not the least inten
tion to do any hurt to his Britannic Majesty, or to those who
have a right t'o pretend to the succession of his kingdoms, and
still less to make an attempt upon the crown, or to desire to
appropriate it to myself" Again : " I ought to entreat your
Majesty to be assured that I will employ all my credit to pro
vide that the Roman Catholics of that country (England) may
enjoy liberty of conscience, and to be put out of fear on
account of their religion."'
To the ambassadors resident at the Hague, the States-
General handed a circular despatch, announcing that the
Prince of Orange having satisfied them he had no intention of
deposing the King of England, but only desired to assist the
English nation to recover its violated laws and to preserve its
rehgion and liberty, they had agreed to support him in so
praiseworthy a design with a few ships and some auxiliary
troops.* " Dans un incendie souvent les matieres les plus infectes
allument le bflcher." ' Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."
' H. Martin, " L'Histoire de France."

¦^f

VIII.
INVASION. 1688.

^^,HE army, which had been collecting at Nimeguen,
dropped by river, road, and canal to the mouths of
the Meuse and the Zuider-Zee. On the 17th of
October the Hague was fasting and on its knees,
among the congregation at the Great Church being the
Princess Mary, who is said to have prayed for the success of
the expedition "with a calm countenance." In her case we
will hope it was "impossible to find the mind's construction in
the face." On the 19th, 4,500 horse, 11,000 foot, a goodly
artillery, vast quantities of arms and ammunition stored on
board 700 transports, with 50 men-of-war commanded by
Admiral Herbert, for their escort, set sail from Helvoetsluys for
England. Marshal Schomberg, under William, directed the
mongrel but formidable force. Divers English nobles were
there ; numbers of expatriated Huguenot gentlemen had
eagerly joined the blue and red regiments of de I'Estange and
the French infantry of Melonniere. Good pay had entfced
veteran Swiss, Germans, Danes, Swedes to shoulder muskets
in the cause.
The sea joyous with spreading canvas, the air clamorous
with the fanfares of the cavalry, — men, women, and children
crowded to see the sight. But in the night, the wind chopping
to the west, a storm arose. The fleet was dispersed, a few
ships foundered, many horses perished, much baggage had to
be thrown overboard, and half the troops lay helpless through
payment of horrid tribute to the waves. And so, bit by bit.

THE DUTCH AT SEA. 83
must the armada return whence it had gone so gallantly, so
merrily, a few hours before.
A week afterwards James heard of the disaster. The
breathing time thus afforded he spent not in seizing suspected
persons (according to rough-and-ready old English custom),'
but in inspecting regiments, publishing depositions concerning
the birth of his son, endeavouring to elicit from the bishops
" some declaration expressing their dislike of the Prince's
coming in this manner."* But with one accord their lordships
began to make excuses.
In a letter to Archbishop Sancroft, the Bishop of London
relates how he dealt with inconvenient questions : — " When I
waited upon the King by his command on the ist of
November, he told me he had sent for me when he had
nothing but the declaration of the States of Holland, but that
the declaration of the Prince of Orange had come to his hands,
out of which he read to me the short paragraph of the lords
temporal and spiritual inviting his Highness over. Upon
which I told him I was confident the rest of the bishops would
answer as readily in the negative as myself, and his Majesty
was pleased to say he did believe us all innocent."^ Oh!
my lord, " As you the matter state, --
Not only Jesuits can equivocate."
This diplomatic prelate had actually signed the invitation
to the foreign Prince !
Meanwhile, the damage done to the Dutch ships was being
repaired. On the ist of November William again put to sea,
with a fresh easterly wind. Soon, the immense fleet, well-
nigh filling the Channel, was gazed on by French and English
thronging the cliffs on either side. Had a squadron, headed
by one of the vieux loups de mer of the period, swooped out
of Dunkerque or H&vre upon the huge disjointed flotilla,
the venture might have failed : but no such attempt ;
' "In the following year "William III. caused persons to be arrested
'upon treasonable suspicions.' " — Dalrymple.
"^ Clarendon, " Diary." ' Ibid.App.

84 INVASION.
Louis XIV. had seen his best days, his health was broken, his
luck gone ; and as for Dartmouth, who commanded the
British fleet, " the Protestant wind," favouring the Dutchman,
kept him idle in the Downs. Certain courtiers imputed
treachery to Dartmouth, but James, writing to his admiral
(Nov. 9, 1688), disposed nobly of such insinuations : — " I am
fully satisfied you did all you could, and that nobody could
work otherwise than you did. I am sure all knowing seamen
must be of the same mind, and therefore be at ease as to
yourself." '
Harshness to old servants was not one of James's many
faults, as Pepys abundantly testifies.
On the 5th of November the foreign fleet made Torbay, in
Devonshire. The weather fine, the bay a very duck-pond,
William went ashore, accompanied by his regiment of guards,
which, gaily mounting the cliffs, camped on the plain beyond.
And now, with utmost regularity, proceeded the disem
barkation, for the officers were full of expedients. The horses
seem to have caused the chief anxiety. Owing to the rocks
it was necessary to sling them overboard, leaving them free to
swim ashore ; the work being carefully done, and the water
smooth, few of the poor brutes came to harm.
Nevertheless, Captain Dumont de Bostaquet, of the red
French horse, shrewdly says : — " Ce fut une grande joie pour
nous de se voir a terre sans avoir k.ti inquietes a la descente, ou
deux mille hommes nous auroient donnd beaucoup de peine."*
Those who have taken part in a hostile landing will agree
with the worthy Huguenot.
.The same eye-witness gives a funny trait of west country
manners. "The habits of these islanders," he writes, "much
amused us, and we marvelled to observe how all of them 
men, women, even children — were given to tobacco. It made
us laugh to see our young and rather pretty hostess suck
ling her infant and smoking a pipe at the same time. When
the little one had had enough of the breast, she gave him her

' Dalrymple, "Memoirs of Great Britain," App.
" " Mdmoires de Dumbnt de Bostaquet."

THE ROYAL TROOPS MARCH. 85
pipe, which straightway putting into his mouth, the gamin
did his best to blow a cloud. We remarked that nearly all
the western folk do the like." This beats our immature
smokers hollow.
On the following day, hearing that the Dutch were landing,
James ordered twenty battalions and thirty squadrons to
march upon Salisbury. Six squadrons and as many battalions
were destined to keep the peace of the metropolis. This
arrangement accorded with the opinion of Louis XIV., but
was contrary to the advice of Feversham and Roye, who,
distrusting the capacity no less than the loyalty of the officers
in general, preferred a defensive position nearer London.
The Prince of Orange advanced to Exeter, and was coldly
received. Bishop and dean had fled. Squires held back.
Dr. Burnet read the declaration to a cathedral void of clergy.
The foolish knave, Ferguson, again in his element, could only
enter the meeting-house by breaking open the door.' What
wonder, then, if the Stadtholder be troubled, and even threaten
to leave the fickle English to a cruel fate.'
But the plot which had been hatching at Hounslow gave
sign of life : a lieutenant of Life Guards deserted — Lord
Colchester, of Dover's troop, and more of the sort was coming.
During the last three months the Duke of Berwick had been
doing duty as Governor of Portsmouth, a station which, in
those days, seems to have been of bad sanitary repute. We
find Lord Tyrconnel writing (from Dublin probably) to King
James, on the 1 3th of October, as follows : — " Would to God
your soun wear hear in safety ; remember, sir, that Portsmouth
is the worst ayre in the world."* Now, at any rate, the young
governor was to enjoy fresher air ; the King appointed him
to the command of the first brigade which should reach
Salisbury. Through the treachery, however, of Blathwayt,
Secretary of War, the order being delayed, Lord Cornbury,
son of Henry, Earl of Clarendon, nephew of the late Queen,
and Colonel of the Royal Dragoons, became by right of
' Ralph, " History of England."
' Cavelli, " Les derniers Stuarts k Saint-Germain.''

86 INVASION.
seniority Commandant of the Horse Guards, Royals, and
St. Alban's regiment, which had just arrived at the point fixed
for concentration. " Detestables flatteurs, present le plus funeste,
Que puisse faire aux rois la colore celeste."
Of such was Cornbury. The mere creature of Churchill, it is
supposed, he would do his best to carry the three regiments
over to the foreigner. To this end, in concert with Colonel
Langston, of St. Alban's, he pretended to have received
instructions to reconnoitre the enemy in force. On the I2th,
he set out, marching day and night, with very short halts, for
he feared the arrival of Berwick. On the afternoon of the
1 3th, the British horse reached Axminster. Here it was given
out that a plan of the enemy's to " beat up their quarters had
been discovered ;" to frustrate which it was expedient to strike
beforehand at the Dutchman. Accordingly, the English
dragoons moved towards Honiton, where lay a strong
Williamite detachment. But the extraordinary hurry of this
night march aroused suspicion. On a sudden, some officers
required Cornbury to show his orders. A refusal led to loud
talk and menace, which so alarmed my lord and his accom
plices that, watching their opportunity, they spurred to the
front, and were timely received by a cavalry corps which
(previously advised by Cornbury) William had sent to
meet them. Finding themselves betrayed, the bulk of the
British wheeled about and galloped in panic to the rear.
Major Clifford and the loyal officers strove in vain to re-form
them. Meanwhile, Berwick had reached Salisbury. Finding
his troops gone, he started in pursuit, and was at Beaminster
on the night of the desertion. About midnight, cries of " The
enemy ! the enemy ! " awoke him. From his window he saw
a disorderly body of troopers rush down the street. In the
saddle as quickly as might be, he followed them, and, outside
the town, succeeded in rallying the three regiments, which he
conducted back to SaHsbury. Twelve officers and 150
dragoons were thus lost to the King's service. However,
several of St. Alban's rejoined their colours a few days after-

THE GRIEF OF CLARENDON. 87
wards, " though in a most plundered condition, having refused
the large pay and encouragements which were offered them ;
but it {sic) would not weigh against their allegiance."' Good
and faithful soldiers.
The moral effect of this insignificant loss of men was very
damaging to the Stuart cause. The rumour of disaffection in
the service was confirmed. Henceforth neither officer nor
soldier might trust his comrade— loyal men boggled, traitors
waxed bold, and the army, far superior numerically to the
small but warlike corps under the Prince of Orange and
Marshal Schomberg,* became a mob of armed men at sixes
and sevens. More, the same cause which paralyzed the
soldiers, screwed several lords to the insurrectionary pitch in
their respective counties.
When Lord Clarendon heard of Cornbury's desertion, he
wrote in his diary — " O God, that my son should be a rebel !
The Lord in His mercy look upon me, and enable me to
support myself under this grievous calamity." Then he
hurried to Lord Middleton, who had just succeeded the traitor
Sunderland as Secretary of State, " to obtain leave to throw
myself at the King's feet." Let him proceed, "The next day
waiting on the King at Will Chiffinch's,^ I said what I was
able upon so melancholy a subject as my son's desertion.
God knows I was in confusion enough. The King was very
gracious to me, and said he pitied me with all his heart, and
' Ellis, " Correspondence."
= M. Michelet complains that Lord Macaulay has ignored the great part
played by the French in this expedition. He writes : " Les chefs du g^nie
et de l'artillerie sont. Cambon et Goulon. Les trois aides-de-camp de
Guillaume sont aussi frangais. Trois regiments d'infanterie, en tout 2,250
hommes, sont frangais, trfes redoutable troupe, pleine de vieux soldats de
Turenne, de gentilshommes, et d'officiers qui dans cette guerre sainte
trouvaient bon d'etre soldats. Ajoutez un escadron frangaise de cavalerie.
Bien plus, presque toute I'arm^e dtait frangaise par ses cadres, Guillaume
y avait disperse dans tous les corps comme un ferment d'hommes et de
bravoure 736 de nos officiers." — Histoire de France.
' This person had been page of the back stairs to Charles II. He was
the go-between in all the secret intrigues of the court, and therefore a man
of great importance.

88 INVASION.
that he would still be kind to my family."' Clarendon's
affliction would be very touching were it not for the fact that
in the course of a fortnight he followed his son's example and
" waited upon the Prince."
Still loth to suspect his officers, James summoned to White
hall Lord Churchill, the Duke of Grafton, Major-General
Kirke, Colonel Trelawny, and other military men of note
happening to be in town. After assuring them that, as soon
as the foreigners had quitted the country, he would call a free
pariiament, and do all that in him lay to quiet the minds of
the people by securing their religion, laws, and liberties, the
King concluded with these remarkable words — " If after all
this any of you is not satisfied, let him declare himself I am
willing to grant passes to all such as have a mind to go over
to the Prince of Orange, and spare them the shame of desert
ing their lawful sovereign." Taking the cue from Churchill,
the generals burst into loyal chorus. " What is honour ?— A
word. What is that word, honour .?— Air, a trim reckoning."
Applicable indeed to those petted dissemblers, the philosophy
of fat Jack.
And, further to befool the dull King, " volunteers of quality
and distinction " rallied round him, seemingly eager to flesh
their court rapiers in his cause. At the head of these carpet
knights ruffled the young Duke of Ormond, glorious in his
new garter.* He presently joined the Dutch. "A trim
reckoning " forsooth !
The morning after the ebullition of the men-of-war saw the
archbishops and two bishops present an address to his Ma
jesty, signed by themselves and nineteen temporal peers. It
urged the speedy assembly of a free parliament as the only
means by which the calamities impending over the nation
could be averted. The King replied with emotion, " My
lords, what you ask of me I most passionately desire, and I
promise you, upon the faith of a King, that I will have a
parliament, and such an one as you ask for, as soon as ever
the Prince of Orange has quitted the realm. For how is
' Clarendon, " Diary." ' Ralph, " History of England."

LORD CHURCHILL "GOES OVER." 89
it possible a parhament can be free in all its circumstances, as
you petition for, whilst an enemy is in the kingdom, and can
make a return of near a hundred voices .? " ' Surely there
is common sense in this reply.
And now James started for Salisbury. The day after his
arrival (19th of November) he was seized with excessive
bleeding of the nose as he stepped into the Duke of Berwick's
coach for conveyance to Warminster to inspect the advanced
guard under Kirke. So profuse the hemorrhage that not only
had he to give up the journey, but he continued unwell for
some days ; nevertheless, the attack may have been a safety-
valve to a system overstrained by intense application to busi
ness, and wrung by anxiety. The Duke of Berwick fears
there were grounds for the report, that this accident saved
Churchill and Kirke from the crime of delivering their master
to the Prince of Orange, which, had he gone to Warminster,
they had agreed to do.*
During the King's indisposition, Feversham and de Roye
reiterated objections against advancing on the enemy. The
artillery still in the rear, Salisbury and Warminster untenable,
would it not be wiser to retire voluntarily than — what was
quite possible — to be forced to retreat.' As the royal army
in the field was now about 24,000 strong, it is obvious Fever
sham counselled thus, because, to his knowledge, many of the
superior officers could not be depended upon. After hearing
the general-in-chief, James called a council of war, and
proposed to fall back behind the Thames. The plan was
warmly opposed by Viscount Dundee, a thorough soldier,
eager " frapper vite et frapper fort," and by Churchill, vehe
ment for battle, with the object, probably, of killing suspicion.
The King stood firm, and the council broke up. The game
of deception could be no longer played with safety ; Lord
Churchill and the Duke of Grafton deserted to the Dutch.

' Dalrymple, " Memoirs."
' The rumour is mentioned by Reresby, Burnet, Clarendon, Sir P.
Hume, but, in fairness it must be said, was always denied by Marl
borough.

90 INVASION.
Next morning Colonels Trelawny, George Churchill (brother
of the famous John) Berkeley, and some twenty privates did
likewise. Most cordially, of course, were they received by
the Prince. The remark, however, with which Schomberg
"saluted Lord Churchill must have ruffled that nobleman's
serenity : we are told he never forgot it. " You are the first
deserter," quoth the old marshal, " of the rank of lieutenant-
general I ever saw." '
- Keenly indeed did the loss of Churchill distress James.
Churchill, the brave and beautiful, whom to know was to love,
who owed everything to his King ; who, up to the very last,
stood at the royal right hand uttering boundless devotion and
advising bloody onslaught— that one so honoured, so trusted,
so cherished, should "go over" to the foe, is transgression of
a kind peculiarly unpleasant to contemplate. " The inviolate
dictates of my conscience, and a necessary concern of my
religion " constrained, so this general officer wrote to his bene
factor.* To leave all and follow Christ is a glorious act ; but
to play the hypocrite, to ape Judas — is religion to be pro
moted by such means } If a private sentinel, charged with
flying from his colours in front of the enemy, were to plead
" the inviolate dictates of his conscience " forbade him to
fight, how would a court-martial receive his excuse.' And
yet we are expected to accept such an apology for the guilt
of a consummate commander, a peer of the realm, a close
personal friend I
The Duke of Berwick obtained the troop of Life Guards,
so unexpectedly vacated by his uncle, and Lord Arran suc
ceeded Berwick in the Blues.
On James's arrival at Salisbury, Feversham recommended
that, in consequence of the disaffection tainting the commis
sioned ranks, suspected officers should be dismissed, and
smart sergeants promoted in their stead. If this suggestion
had been carried out promptly and without scruple, the Dutch
might have fared ill. But, feebly tried here and there, the

Macpherson, " Stuart Papers."
Kennet, " History of England."

THE PROTESTANT OFFICERS. 91
measure proved futile in a military, and mischievous in a
political sense. The troops remained unpurged of the poison,
and the few insignificant officers sent to the right-about
assumed crowns of martyrdom. The poor gentlemen had
been disgraced, it was said, because they were Protestants.
The tale was believed, and religious hates received another
impetus. In the English army, however (the Irish, it should
be recollected, was a separate institution), no Protestant officer
was meddled with on account of his creed. Those who suffered
were Protestants and something more — even plotting fanatics,
or the pestilent busybodies whom soldiers call " bits of law
yers." In truth, Protestants occupied nearly every important
post in the royal army : Feversham and De Roye were Pro
testants. All who deserted were Protestants, not one of them
had ever been disquieted on that account ; on the contrary,
they had all been highly favoured by James. In the " Me
moirs ofthe Earls of Granard" there is a passage relating to the
subject, which amusingly impeaches the military administra
tion of the time. Lord Forbes, on his way to Northampton to
join his regiment (i8th Royal Irish), met the lieutenant-
colonel and major who "had just been dismissed by the King
because they were Protestants." He immediately ordered
them back to quarters, and, displacing the newly appointed
officers, reinstated them. Being rebuked by the King, he
offered to resign his commission, when James bitterly re
marked, "he supposed my Lord Forbes meant to go over. to
the Prince of Orange." To which that nobleman replied with
spirit, that, " having taken an oath to serve his Majesty, he
would never serve another King."
The officers referred to were discharged on suspicion of
Dutch proclivities. Unjustly, perhaps, for in difficult times
authority is prone to deal roughly with persons of dubious
loyalty, and Lord Forbes, chivalrously faithful himself, would
scarcely have supported his comrades without a strong per
suasion of their innocence. Be this as it may, what a strange
state of discipline is revealed. In front of the enemy a colonel
quashes the order ofthe King and the commander-in-chief!
While James tarried at Salisbury a skirmish of advanced

92 INVASION.
posts took place at Wincanton. At first the Royal Horse,
under Sarsefield, had the advantage, but as they retired on
the coming up of fresh Dutch, the affair, trivial in itself,
swelled by report into serious defeat. And so the morale of
the English troops, already depressed, sank a peg.' Another
clash of sabres between Butler's dragoons and some foreign
cavalry about a fortnight afterwards, near Reading — and we
have all the fighting of this wonderful campaign.
Enfeebled by repeated bleedings at the nose, bewildered by
reports of insurrection in different parts of the country, appre
hensive of the enemy getting to his rear, and so cutting him
off from the capital, distrusting all around, the King left
Salisbury for London on the 25 th of November, at the same
time directing the army to fall back and occupy Reading,
Windsor, and the adjacent districts. " Most of the private
men," says Dalrymple, " shed tears when they heard of this
retreat." Indeed, James's remarks on the subject are not
without point — " It is hard to say which was most surprising,
to see so general a defection in the officers from a prince that
paid them well and cherished them so much, or so much
loyalty amongst the common soldiers, when almost all their
officers gave them so ill an example ; to see such ingratitude
amongst men who pretend so much to honour, and so much
honour in those who generally seek nothing but their pay;
but this change of character and humour ran through all ranks
of people ; men of the rudest lives talked of nothing but reli-
gion."^ Just as Montesquieu has it, "Je vols ici des gens
qui disputent sans fin sur la religion, mais il semble qu'ils
combattent en meme temps a qui I'observera le moins."
The King stopped the first night at Andover, and had for
guests at supper the sleepy gastronome, George of Denmark,
and the Duke of Ormond. But their host, no sooner to bed,
than his son-in-law and "the foremost volunteer," together
with Lord Drumlanrigg, made off for the nearest Dutch post.
According to the fashion. Prince George left behind a hypo-
' Kennet, " History of England."
= Clarke, " Life of James II."

THE CHURCH MILITANT.

93

critical letter, but James seems. to have taken this foul blow
easily enough. George had been wont to exclaim, "Est-il
possible ! " on news arriving of each successive desertion ;
hence, with grim humour, the victim observed, " Is ' Est-il
possible ' gone too .¦• were it not for the unnaturalness of the
thing, the loss of a private trooper had been of greater conse
quence." A thick head and sound digestion being the salient
characteristics of the royal Dane, the comment is telling.
As soon as the Princess Anne heard that her husband had
gone over, she made haste to follow him. In the night of the
26th, attended by Lady Churchill and Mrs. Berkeley, the dutiful
wife, creeping out of her closet in the cockpit, tripped down
the back stairs to the street door, where the Bishop of London
waited to hand her and the ladies into a coach-and-six. Then
away to Nottingham. No function, it would appear, uneasy
to this versatile divine, for, on a volunteer guard forming to
protect Anne, he took command of it, "riding at the head of
the troop in a purple cloak, martial habit, pistols before him,
and his sword drawn."' Of the earth, earthy. And yet the
churchman defiant in his old dragoon gear is of pleasanter
aspect than when, in swelhng lawn, he quibbled with the
obtuse King, or in plotter's muffling taught ladies how to cut
and run.- A letter was, of course, concocted in this case; but,
by some accident, it did not reach the Queen, to, whom it was
¦addressed, for a day or two after the flight. Anne pretended
therein, that dread of the King's displeasure at her husband's
unexpected departure had caused her to withdraw for a while,
until a reconciliation could be effected ; and more of the same
sort. " Unexpected departure ! " when, only a week before
(on the 1 8th), she had written to her brother-in-law as fol
lows : — " You have my wishes for your good success in this so
just an undertaking, and I hope the Prince (George) will soon
be with you, to let you see his readiness to join with you, and
I am sure he will do you all the service that lies in his power.
He went yesterday with the King towards Salisbury, intend-

ElUs, " Correspondence."

94 INVASION.
ing to go from thence to you, as soon as his friends thought
proper." '
The serving women, seeing their mistress's bed had not
been lain in, set a-screaming, which brought upon the scene
Lady Clarendon and an old nurse, who inflamed the hubbub
by shrieking, "The Papists have murthered the Princess !" In
the midst of the " great consternation," the King arrived at
Whitehall. This blow struck him to the heart. Nay, accordr
ing to Sir John Reresby, " disordered him in his understand
ing." " Intorno si mira,
Tutto smarrito daUa grande angoscia,
Ch' egli ha sofferta, e guardando sospira." "
" God help me, my own children have forsaken me ! " What
bitterer cry than that .''
Of unkindness to his children James cannot be accused.
Anne he had treated with peculiar affection. He had respected
her religious convictions, as she owned distinctly to Lord
Clarendon ; ^ but, in his misery, she cast him off, with a lie
upon her lips : —
" Let them anatomize Regan ; see what breeds about her
heart : is there any cause in nature makes these hard hearts ?!'

' Dalrymple, " Memoirs," &c.
' " Looks round him, all bewildered by the great anguish he bas under
gone, and looking sighs." — Dante, Inferno.
' Clarendon, " Diary."

IX.
FLIGHT. 1688.
I^S HE intelligence now crowding upon the King was
black indeed : London in ferment, his cherished
sailors estranged, Douglas's Scotch horse frater
nizing with the Dutchmen, some of the great
towns pronouncing for the foreigner. Albeit, the better it
may be to mask the flight there is reason to think he was
now meditating,' the Protestant lords, spiritual and temporal,
were summoned to Whitehall, to confer on the exigency. After
a " serious and warm debate " in which Lord Clarendon, to
the surprise of his peers, spoke in a manner " indecent to his
sovereign and inhuman to a relation," * the council resolved
to proclaim a pardon to the Prince's adherents, remove
Papists from office, assemble a parliament, and treat with
the Hollander.
And most men rejoiced to hear the news; for the Lon
doners were by no means unanimous in admiration of
strangers triumphant on British soil. Clarendon himself
testifies " to the infinite satisfaction " with which the prospect
of a new house was regarded, and then — characteristic of the
man and of the time — proceeds to relate " how he had
thought of going to Sarum to see if he could secure his son
being chosen for the county, and that he would then go to the
Prince of Orange." Only a week before, this nobleman had
assured the Princess Anne " he was ashamed to appear
' Buckingham, " Revolution.'' ' Dalrymple, " Memoirs."

96 FLIGHT
anywhere since the villany his son had committed." It takes
one's breath away all this : " Good God bless us I nothing but
lying and dissimulation in the world ! " as the same Clarendon
ejaculated on the 3rd of December, after conversing with the
Prince of Denmark at the invader's headquarters.
At this moment the Prince of Wales was the King's most
pressing anxiety. On leaving town for Salisbury he had sent
the child to Portsmouth, where it was thought he might abide
in greater safety than at Whitehall, and whence, circumstances
requiring it, he might easily pass over to the Continent. On
the 29th of November, the King wrote to Lord Dartmouth,
" conjuring " him to assist Lord Dover (who had assumed
temporary charge of Portsmouth during Berwick's absence in
the field) to forward the infant across the water, but the
admiral " with the greatest dread and grief of heart imagin
able " decUned the responsibility ; the boy, therefore, returned
to London, and arrangements were made for sending him to
France. And events were drifting the King towards a similar
resource for himself The commissioners selected by the
council — Lords Halifax, Nottingham, and Godolphin — had
started on their errand, " the last being the only man," says the
Duke of Buckingham, " that had the cunning or else the good
fortune to be at once in some favour both with the King and
the Prince of Orange." Avoiding an interview, however,
William steadily advanced, receiving the great with grave
politeness, and assuring the populace, hat in hand, that he had
come to secure the Protestant religion, and to save them from
Popery. Now, it happened that many, previously unsus
picious, began to feel uneasy ; not a few would have it that
the Stadtholder hankered after the throne, but his favourites
warmly repelled the charge. With virtuous indignation
Bentinck declared to Lord Clarendon, " though there are not
ill men wanting who give it out that the Prince aspires to the
crown, which is the most wicked insinuation that could be in
vented ; that though three kingdoms would be a great tempta
tion to other men, yet it would appear that the Prince pre
ferred his word before all other things in the world, and

CONFERENCE AT HUNGERFORD. 97
would pursue his declaration in endeavouring to settle all
things here upon a true foundation." ' This gave Clarendon
" great satisfaction," for, to do him justice, he desired not to
dethrone his brother-in-law: he craved place in the adminis
tration which he thought external pressure would force upon
the King.
At last, on the 8th of December, the commissioners, being
admitted to his Highness's "bed-chamber" at Hungerford,
presented to him a letter from James, written in French ;
whereupon William " with tenderness (as it seemed to Lord
Clarendon) remarked, his uncle always used to write to him
in English, and in his own hand." Even for the Clarendon
digestion such tenderness was too much. He made bold to
reply, " Sir, your highness being here as a foreign prince, and
this being a formal credential, which are {sic) in Latin or
French, it ought to be in the secretary's hand." The com
missioners now proposed that measures should be taken for
securing freedom of election, and the meeting of parliament.
WilUam requested the English nobles about him to draw up
an answer, and, that he might not be accused of swaying their
deliberations, withdrew to Littlecot Hall. It is curious that
the point at which the English nation particularly aimed
should be the one which vexed William's English friends
beyond measure — the speedy assembling of a new parliament.
By a large majority they struck out of the draft the clause
providing for the issue of writs ; and only at the Prince's
express desire did they ultimately allow the very thing
which James had been reproached for hesitating to accord.
This difficulty surmounted, agreement was soon arrived at.
Papists, it was settled, should be disarmed and dismissed
from employment; the City authorities should take over
the Tower and Tilbury Fort ; Portsmouth be delivered to an
officer acceptable to both sides; no more foreign troops to
enter the kingdom ; both armies to halt at a distance of forty
miles from the capital ; the King and the Prince to reside

Clarendon, " Diary."
11'

98 FLIGHT.
in London, or at an equal distance from it, and to be attended
by the same number of guards.
While negotiations proceeded, a circumstance befell which
wrought powerfully on James's enfeebled' mind. One Speke
forged and circulated a proclamation, in the name of the
Prince of Orange, outlawing Papists in office or bearing arms.
It warned the magistrates that, if Catholics were not disarmed,
the Protestant blood likely to be shed would be on their
worships' heads ; also, that they would be held responsible for
Protestant property destroyed during the conflagration and
massacre which popish ruffians, set on by the French and
English kings, designed for London.
This document, universally believed to be genuine at the
time, fixed the King's resolution. Lord Halifax's private
messages' led him to regard the Hungerford parley as a sham,
and the Speke forgery as the real reflection of his nephew's
mind : his friends struck down wholesale, he was to be left
naked to the mercy of his enemies. His father's fate might be
his. He would fly the country, but first of all his wife and
son should depart.
Deeply attached to her unhappy husband, Mary of Modena
could be persuaded to quit him only on a promise that he
would soon rejoin her. On the 9th of December, she went to
bed as usual, but about midnight the eccentric Comte de
Lauzun, and Monsieur de Saint- Victor, a gallant gentleman
of Avignon, knocked at the door of the King's apartment.
The Queen bade sorrowful farewell to James ; and then,
leaning on Lauzun's arm, Saint-Victor in front to show the
way, the sleeping infant and his two nurses following, she
quitted Whitehall for ever. It blew a gale, the rain fell in
torrents, as the fugitives crossed the Thames in a common
wherry. When they landed on the Surrey side the coach which
ought to have been ready to receive them was no where to be
seen ; and so, for an hour, Mary Beatrice and her little son
bided the pelting of the storm under the drear shelter of
Lambeth Church wall. At length, Saint- Victor discovering
' Reresby, " Memoirs.''

JAMES QUITS WHITEHALL. 99
the coach at a neighbouring inn, they started for Gravesend.
There, Lord and Lady Powis, and her steadfast friend, Anna
Monticuculi, awaited the Queen. Immediately, they boarded
the packet boat ; Mary, Dangeau tells us, descending to the
fusty cabin with (as it seemed) a bundle of dirty linen tucked
under her arm : it was her soundly sleeping babe. Still cause
for alarm ; the squally Channel teemed with Dutch cruisers,
and, likely enough, the captain was a knave ! Consequently,
Lauzun stood by his side during the voyage, ready to pitch
him overboard on faintest symptom of foul-play showing
itself But the worthy skipper, ignorant of his passenger's
quality, attended simply to the sailing of his craft. After
dreadful tossing, the miserable company found generous
welcome at Calais.
Mary gone, the King's despondency increased : —
" Let's choose executors, and talk of wills."
The arrival of Saint-Victor, with good news of the passage,
cheered him for a moment, but his mind, evidently out of gear,
was fit for little beyond thought of flight. He wrote to Lord
Feversham to announce his intended departure, and desired
him to thank the loyal officers and soldiers for their conduct,
remarking, "he did not expect them to expose themselves
by resisting a foreign army and a poisoned nation."* He
destroyed the writs for the new parliament, and sent warning
to be off to persons whose attachment to himself might cost
them dear.
At 3 o'clock A.M., on the nth of December, James quitted
Whitehall, attended by Sir Edward Hales and two servants.
As he crossed the Thames, he flung the great seal into the
water. Taking horse at Vauxhall, he was close to Faversham
by 10 o'clock. About the same hour, the Duke of Northum
berland informed the courtiers collecting in the palace anti-
chambers, of his uncle's exit. And then this faithful lord-in-
waiting — " dog easily won to fawn on any man — "

Madame de Sdvign^. ' Reresby, " Memoirs."

100 FLIGHT.
declared for the Prince of Orange, and set about weeding the
Papists out of his troop of Life-Guards.^
From gilded saloon to grimy city shop spread dismay.
Tumult resounded in the streets. Shame, nay, grief possessed
the troops; for Feversham, on receipt of the royal letter,
disbanded the army. Many of the soldiers wept, others shook
with rage, while the general order to that effect was being
read.* And the mob went to work : here burning Catholic
chapels ; there, sacking them ; even pillaging the house of the
Spanish ambassador. The mustered train-bands beheld these
outrages with shouldered arms. At length, the bewildered
authorities plucked up sufficient courage to order some regu
lar horse to fire with ball upon rioters refusing to disperse.
Quite enough, this, to lower rabble enthusiasm : the patriotic
iconoclasts vanished, leaving to their more respectable coun
trymen the duty of paying the ambassadors of Spain and
Florence for the damage done to their property.
In the full swing of the outbreak, some roughs lighted upon
a burly sailor, skulking at Wapping. Dragged before the
mayor, in flapping nor'wester, but bereft of his terrible eye
brows. Lord Chancellor Jeffreys stood confessed. The sight
of him so enraged the crowd that, but for the guard, he would
have been torn in pieces, and so agitated the worthy magis
trate that he fell into a paralytic fit and expired next day.
And Lord Jeffreys, of Wem, marched under escort to the
Tower, soon to die of the stone, exacerbated by the kicks and
buffets of his captors.
The stillness of the following night was suddenly broken
by a cry — "Rise! arm ! arm! the Irish are cutting throats!"
Out of bed in a trice the citizens, and, wild with fright, or
mad with fury, hustling in the street ; obese aldermen,
scantily garbed, handled guns with danger to themselves ;
yelling 'prentices brandished pokers ; dishevelled maids up
lifted broomsticks : all uniting in a howl of vengeance against
the Papist soldiers, whom Feversham had let loose to murder
good Protestants. The inventive Speke was at the bottom of
' Ellis, " Correspondence." ° Dalrymple, " Memoirs."

THE KING AMONG THE BOATMEN. ior
the lie, and had a hand, probably, in the anonymous letter
which reached Lord Mount Alexander, in Co. Down, an
nouncing that the 9th of December was fixed for the massacre
of Irish Protestants. Mount Alexander circulated the hoax
far and wide, and immediately intense panic in Ireland.' The
"no Popery" trick, stale and dirty, seldom fails to leave a
mark on the political rubber, and to bestow notoriety on the
knave or fool who may play it.
The King off the scene, the peers and prelates then in
London, after consultation with the City municipality, as
sumed the government of the nation. One of their first acts
was to inform the Prince of Orange that they approved of his
endeavours to obtain for them a free parliament which might
secure the Church of England, and — new-born liberality ! —
extend indulgence to Protestant Dissenters. The London
aldermen followed suit in more obsequious terms, and, itching
to " address," invited the Prince to town. William, who had
heard of his uncle's flight with undisguised " satisfaction," was
" greatly pleased " with the civic effusion ; "but not at all so"
with the colder production of the nobles. Slowly and steadily,.
he continued his march upon the metropolis.
But while roughs gambolled, common councilmen rehearsed
obeisance, and lords temporal and spiritual halted between
two opinions, a hitch occurred — the King still dwelt in the
land. The hoy hired to convey him to France needing
ballast, her master ran her ashore near Sheerness to supply
the want. But in the night, just as the vessel was beginning
to float, a party of armed men boarded her from three luggers,
plying the lucrative trade of " priest-codding," i.e., fishing for
Catholic fugitives. With foulest oaths, the ruffians overhauled
the king's pockets ; then they took the hoy to Faversham,
where James, whom the mob mistook for a priest, on account
of his " lantern jaws," was shut up in an inn. On day dawn
ing, however, an old salt recognized the unlucky prince, under
whom he had formerly served. A revulsion of feeling set in ;
sordid truculence gave way to manly pity ; even the coarse
' Lingard, " History of England."

102 FLIGHT.
fellows who had filched the royal guineas offered to restore
them. Presently, the King sent for Lord Winchelsea, but, ere
that nobleman arrived he had a fit of the violent bleeding
from the nose, now so frequent with him ; hence, further phy
sical and mental exhaustion.
Lord Winchelsea gave sensible advice ; he urged his sove
reign not to quit the country, but to return to London. The
ruling peers were sitting, when intelligence of the arrest
reached Westminster. As Lord Mulgrave entered the council-
chamber, a peasant delivered to him a letter writ with the
royal hand. It merely stated that the writer was prisoner in
the hands of the Faversham rabble. Other lords had been
previously accosted by the messenger, but, fearful of compro
mising themselves with the Dutch Prince, they evaded the
faithful fellow's importunity — would have nothing to do with
the letter, the import of which he tried to explain. And even
now, in order to shelve so awkward a topic, Lord Halifax,
who presided, endeavoured to adjourn the meeting. But
Mulgrave protested that, willing or unwilling, they should
consider the humiliating position of the King of England.
" And," says Dalrymple, " shame made the council show that
respect which pity could not draw from them." Harder of
heart, these supple lords, than priest-codding boatmen ! It
was finally resolved that Lord Feversham should proceed to
Faversham with a troop of Life Guards and a state carriage,
and there take his orders from the King ; and straightway the
Marquis of Halifax left London and joined William of
Orange. The presence of Feversham backing the opinion of Win
chelsea decided James to return home. From Rochester he
despatched Feversham to the Prince (now at Windsor), in
viting him to a conference in London.
On the i6th of December, the King passed through the
City to Whitehall. In front of him rode a glittering cavalcade
of gentlemen, all bare-headed. The huge horse grenadiers
plunged in the rear. Bells clanged welcome. Everywhere a
vast concourse rent the welkin with hurrahs. So widespread
the joy that the intelligent foreigner might easily have mis-

GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 103
taken the doomed Stuart for the best beloved of monarchs.
In this boisterous manifestation we have evidence, to a certain
extent, of the aristocratic character of the Revolution. As a
body, the soldiers were well disposed towards the King. The
lower classes were not otherwise; they hated his supposed
schemes, not his person. But James, at fifty-five, was un
nerved. His public anxieties, his terrible domestic afflictions
pressing upon him at a period when the effects of his pre
mature start in active public life were telling on his con
stitution, broke him down. With failing health, the animal
courage which once had distinguished Turenne's pupil waned ;
the stubborn will relaxed, there was scarcely a robust faculty
left,— " So faint, so spiritless,
So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone,"
he was now as unfit to turn to account the rebound in his
favour, as he had lately been incapable of coping with the
perils, conjured up in the flush of health and pride of appa
rent triumph.
The day after his arrival he had an interview with the Earl
of Balcarres and Viscount Dundee. What passed between
them is thus told : " He said it was a fine day, he would take
a walk. None attended him but Colin (Balcarres) and Lord
Dundee. When he was in the Mall, he stopped and looked
at them, and asked how they came to be with him, when all
the world had forsaken him and gone to the Prince of Orange.
Colin said their fidelity to so good a master would ever be the
same ; they had nothing to do with the Prince of Orange.
Dundee made the strongest professions of duty. ' Will you
two, as gentlemen, say you have still attachment to me .? ' ' Sir,
we do.' 'Will you give me your hands upon it as men of
honour .' ' They did so. ' Well, I see you are the men I
always took you to be, you shall know all my intentions. I
can no longer remain here but as a cipher, or be a prisoner to
the Prince of Orange, and you know there is but a small
distance between the prisons and the graves of kings ; there
fore, I go for France immediately ; when there, you shall have

I04

FLIGHT.

my instructions. You, Lord Balcarres, shall have a commis
sion to manage my civil affairs ; and you, Lord Dundee, to
command my troops in Scotland." '
As bombshell falling plump in besieger's camp causes even
veteran hearts to flutter, so did the news of the King being
stopped on the coast disquiet the Anglo-Dutch at Windsor.
Instantly, William despatched Zulestein to order his uncle to
halt at Rochester ; and when Feversham arrived with the
royal message he was placed in durance, on pretence that he
had come without a pass. A high-handed proceeding which
" startled " some who had been trying to persuade themselves
that the invasion arose out of abstract love of justice. Their
" wonder," we are told, made Dr. Burnet " laugh," as well it
might. But at still jubilant Whitehall, not at dingy Rochester did
James receive the foreigner's command ; and, about the same
time, intelligence of Feversham's mishap. Ill omens both, for
Zulestein was an old mischief-maker, and the arrest of his
general admonished the indignant but faltering King to
beware of the tender mercies of a relation, whose scruples
evidently diminished as his chances of success increased.
James's return to London demanded a decisive counter-
move on the part of the adversary. He requested the lords
collected at Windsor to advise him as to future proceedings ;
in other words, to contrive an eviction. After a discussion,
in which the imprisonment of their sovereign was suggested
by some ardent Reformers, it was decided that the King
should be required to quit Whitehall and betake himself to
Ham House, the Duchess of Lauderdale's mansion near Rich
mond, Halifax hinting that a Dutch officer would be the
proper person to convey the order. But the shrewd William
was determined that Enghsh politicians should bear the odium
of the transaction. " By your favour, my lords," quoth he, " it
is the advice of the peers here, and some of yourselves shall
carry it."* And he named Hahfax, Shrewsbury, and Dela-

' " Biographical Notice of Colin, Earl of Balcarres," by his son.
^ Clarendon, " Diary."

^ THE GUARDS RETIRE'. 105
mere for the duty, at the same time giving orders that the
Dutch guards should march next morning for London, and
occupy the posts of Whitehall and St. James's. A masterly
move of the Dutchman's, and humiliating surely to the Briton :
the shifty lord whom, but a fortnight before, James had
selected to confer with William, was now fixed to do dirty
work against his old master. Halifax's dilemma seemed so
amusing that his grave Highness could not repress a laugh.
In more sensitive minds, however, arose pity for a King so
basely used.'
On the following evening the aghast Londoners beheld the
Dutch Blue Guards tramp through their streets. St. James's
Palace was occupied by a strong detachment ; and presently
three battalions led by Count Solms, marched down the Mall,
colours flying, drums beating, and-^conflict being possible —
matches lighted. They deployed opposite Whitehall. Earl
Craven commanded the British Foot Guards. Eighty years
of age, but still of an ardent temper, the veteran spurned the
foreigner's summons, declaring with a round oath he would be
cut in pieces ere he quitted his post. The English formed up
for fighting ; but James, hearing that blood was about to flow,
ordered Craven to retire.* Then, with mouths full of cursing,
and shame at their hearts, British grenadiers, on their own
ground, fell back before stranger steel. The man who cannot
sympathize with the distress of those brave soldiers must have
a sluggish circulation, or be a fanatic of yellowest complexion.
An outlandish " sentry-go " under his windows, the King
was now a prisoner in his own house. Soon after midnight
a loud knocking at the outer gate heralded the coming of
Halifax, Shrewsbury, and Delamere. Lord Middleton awoke
James, and he immediately received the messengers in his
bedroom. With downright rudeness Halifax told him he
must leave London by ten o'clock A.M., and take up his abode
at Ham, for the Prince expected to enter town at midday, and
a meeting must be avoided. The King replied that, disliking
' Dalrymple, " Memoirs."
' Duke of Buckingham, Kennet, &c.

io6 FLIGHT.
Ham, " an ill winter place," he preferred returning to Roches
ter. His wish was eventually complied with, on condition that
he proceeded to his destination by the Thames, because, as
Halifax brutally explained, "his presence passing through the
City would create disturbance and move pity."
At eleven o'clock next morning, James bade farewell to the
peers and foreign ministers crowding the state apartments.
Shortly after, he stepped on board the royal barge, attended
by Lords Arran, Aylesbury, Lichfield, Dumbarton, and Dundee.
Despite heavy rain and bitter cold, the banks of the river
swarmed with a multitude " all gazing with compassion and
many with rage " on the sorry spectacle of a British monarch
departing from their midst under escort of twelve boat-loads
of Dutchmen. The situation seemed critical. The English
army " murmured," and, adds Clarendon, " it was not to be
imagined what a damp there was upon all sorts of men
throughout the town."
James scarcely out of sight, before his nephew took up
quarters at St. James's, and with 6,000 picked troops there
about, and 1,000 at the Tower, assumed the sovereign au
thority.' He was well received by the mob —
" "Whose breath I hate
As reek o' the rotten fens, whose love I prize
As the dead carcases of unburied men
That do corrupt my air — "
an opportune report of Irish " murtherings " having been set
agoing, for the purpose of winning cheers. " Serious people,"
however, looked very glum.
And the King, weary and wretched, had not gained the
shelter of the Gravesend attorney's roof (under which he lay
that night) when the Princess Anne of Denmark accompanied
by Lady Churchill, and flaunting in orange ribands, rumbled to
the play in one of her poor father's coaches.* The moral
callousness which 1688 laid bare is probably unmatched in
history. ' Ellis, " Correspondence."
' Bevil Higgens, " Short View of English History."

A LETTER FROM THE QUEEN. 107
Next morning James left Gravesend for Rochester, where
he remained four days slackly guarded by the Dutch soldiers,
most of whom, oddly enough, were Catholics. On this tender
subject the blunt veteran Reresby pointedly remarks, "He
(William) came to settle the Protestant religion, and yet
brought over 4,000 Papists with him in his army, a number
not far short of what the King had in his ; but then the
former were foreigners, the latter for the most part English."
The rumour of discontent in the English ranks, which now
reached him, and Dundee's trumpet voice urging him to make
the most of the soldiers' wrath, and strike at the invader
while the native iron was hot, quickened for a moment James's
flagging spirit. Ignorant of the part Lord Danby had taken
against him, he proposed to join that artful politician in
the north. Afterwards he offered to place himself in the
hands of the bishops if they would answer for his safety ;
but from the sadly perplexed Bench a frank reply could not be
extracted. His hopes crushed, he sank into his old despon
dency. Just then a letter from the Queen (which, having been
intercepted, had been read by the Prince of Orange) was for
warded to him. Reminding her husband of his promise to
join her abroad, Mary passionately besought him to fulfil it.
Coming in the nick of time, the appeal turned the trembling
scale in favour of escape.
We must now revert to the Duke of Berwick, too long
neglected. He had not been idle. Mihtary details were his
study ; nor was the opportunity of acquiring knowledge of
human nature, so lavishly afforded by this annus mirabilis,
let slip by the young soldier.
The day after the Queen's departure from Whitehall, the
Duke returned to Portsmouth. He found the place untenable,
not because the garrison (consisting of 2,500 foot and 500
dragoons) were ill-affected, but owing to lack of food. The
strict blockade maintained by the fleet prevented any vessel
running into port ; and the old Cromwellian, Colonel Norton,
having occupied Portsdown heights with a large body of
militia, Portsmouth was shut up on the land side. To ex
plain his necessity Berwick repaired to the flagship, but Dart-

loS FLIGHT.
mouth, " with tears in his eyes," protested that, although per
sonally willing to further the royal interests, he was practically
powerless — no more commander of the fleet than the Duke him
self The sailors paid him the outward respect due to his rank,
but, in fact, he was little better than a prisoner. Indeed, he
recommended Berwick not to venture again on board, lest
Rear-Admiral Berry, who was really master afloat, should order
his arrest. In consequence of this discouraging interview,
Berwick assured Norton that the royal troops would under
take no hostilities, provided the peasants were allowed to
bring provisions to market. And the garrison lived literally
from hand to mouth. James, whose ability as an adminis
trator was considerable, is not to be blamed for this destitu
tion. From Salisbury he had issued orders that a ship laden
with rations, then lying off Southampton, should sail for
Portsmouth ; but, feigning empty lockers. Berry seized the
vessel and appropriated the cargo.' Such a condition of
things could not last. Speedily the Prince of Orange sent
Colonel Talmash to summon the place. It surrendered, and
Berwick rejoined his father.
James spent the evening of the 22nd of December in com
posing a note explanatory of the motives which induced him
to quit the kingdom. In this paper he forcibly exposes the
wrongs which the Dutch prince had heaped upon him. The
lies respecting his son's legitimacy especially wound him :
" What had I to expect," he writes, " from one who by all arts
had taken such pains to make me black as hell to my own
subjects, as well as to all the world besides.?" He would remain
within call of his people, so that, when they recovered from
their delusions, he might return to their service. In fine, he
appeals " to all who are considering men and have had expe
rience whether anything can make this nation so great and
flourishing, as liberty of conscience." When he had finished
the document, he handed it to Lord Middleton, with orders
for its publication, after his departure.
Late that evening the Duke of Berwick reached Rochester.
' " Mdmoires du Mardchal duc de Berwick."

AT AMBLETEUSE. log
James went to bed as usual, but at midnight he arose, and
dressed himself. About one o'clock A.M., he descended to
the garden by a secret stair, attended by Berwick, Biddulph,
a gentleman of the bed-chamber, and his faithful French
valet, Labadye. The coast was clear : no where, as William
had taken care, a sentinel to challenge. Alone on the look
out, Captain Macdonald anxious to show the way to the
water-side, where Captain Trevanian was waiting with a boat.
Straightway these brave gentlemen rowed the fugitives to a
smack which lay near Sheerness ready to receive them. " And
farewell King ! " " Res est sacra miser." " How pleasant,"
says old Burton, " is the charm of a discreet and dear friend
on such as are depressed : ille regit dictis animos et tem
perat iras." And so, doubtless, did the cheery presence and
buoyant converse of a son, whom he might trust, lighten
James's hea"vy heart. The pair were lodged in a cabin so
small that they could scarcely sit down at ease, and yet the
King, breathing more freely in the fusty den than under the
perjured roof of Whitehall, "saw some cause for mirth when
Captain Trevanian went to fry his Majesty some bacon, but,
by misfortune the frying-pan having a hole in it, he was
forced to stop it with a pitched rag, and to tie an old can
round about with a cord to make it hold the drink they put
in it ; however, the King never eat or drank more heartily in
his hfe."' Such is our nature — inextricable tangle of joy and
sorrow. A dust heap with a silver spoon in it :
" Le seigneur Jupiter salt dorer la pilule."
After a stormy voyage, the smack made Ambleteuse on
Christmas Day. And immediately the Duke of Berwick
started for Versailles, to announce to Louis XIV. that James II.
sought a refuge in France, and to tell Mary of Modena the glad
tidings of her husband's safety. The Duke was received with
marked cordiality, and so feelingly did Louis express himself,
that it was evident he spoke from the heart and not merely

' Clarke, " Life of James II."

no FLIGHT.
with the tongue.' Mary Beatrice was then tarrying at Beau
mont, on her way to Saint Germain ; and to Beaumont, fast
as the state of the roads permitted, sped Berwick, accom
panied by Louis's representative. Monsieur le Grand (Comte
d'Armagnac). " Que je suis heureuse ! " exclaimed, with
rapture, this loving wife, on hearing the good news, and con
tinued her journey rejoicing.^ A few days afterwards, James
reached the Chateau of Saint Germain. Le Grand Monarque
was there to welcome him. A royal embrace accomplished,
according to strictest form of court etiquette, the French King,
taking his EngUsh cousin by the hand, led him to Mary's
chamber, and thus pleasantly announced the wayfarer :— " Je
vous amene un homme que vous serez bien aise de voir." The
delight of this meeting, after so many sorrows, so much peril,
the heart may imagine, but no pen can describe. Then, the
Dauphin, the Duc de Chartres, Cardinal Bonzi, and other
noble personages, were presented to James with as much
ceremony as if he wielded the might of Britain. Anon, the
two Kings mounted to the nursery of the little Prince of
Wales ; and after a while Louis took leave of his guests, with
the happy remark : — " Voici votre maison ; quand j'y viendrai,
vous m'en ferez les honneurs, et je vous les ferai, quand vous
viendrez a Versailles."^
. As a king and a politician, Louis XIV. is liable to grave
criticism. As a gentleman, befriending a forlorn relation, he is
without reproach.
' " Memoires du duc de Berwick."
^ " Mdmoires de Dangeau." ' Madame de Sdvign^.

X.
SAINT GERMAIN AND ST. JAMES.
1689.
\F it were possible for exiles to be content, James
and Mary would have relished their new home.
Louis, who could make himself the pleasantest and
most amiable of men,' was not only sedulous in
delicate attention to his guests, but magnificent in providing
for their comfort. He made them an immediate present of
50,000 crowns (nominally equal to ;^i 2,000, but worth double
that sum in our present money), and, notwithstanding the
thrifty James's remonstrances, fixed their ordinary allowance
at 50,000 francs a month.*
The little court of Saint-Germain soon became the fashion ;
for did not " le Roi Soleil " specially patronize the fugitives ?
did he not point out Mary Beatrice to the Duchess of Orleans
— "Voila comme il faut que soit une reine, et du corps et de
I'esprit, tenant sa cour avec dignitd .'' "* Did he not caress the
august baby of Wales with more fondness than he had ever
vouchsafed to his own children .? Cordons bleus hurried to
the chateau to pay their elaborate respects ; and an exasper
ating point of etiquette — viz., what exalted personages were
entitled to arm-chairs {fauteuils), who must put up with folding
chairs {si^ge-pliant), and who descend to stools {tabouret) in the
presence of Mary of Modena — no sooner decided by the
infallible King himself, than the pride ol princesses du sang,
' " Mdmoires d'Elizabeth, Duchesse d'Orldans."
^ " Journal de Dangeau." ^ Madame de Sdvignd.

112 ST. GERMAIN AND ST. JAMES.
and the dignity of Duchesses de la vieille roche ceased to
trouble. The female mind smoothed its ruffled feathers ; and
lately pouting fine ladies pronounced the infant of Wales,
crowing, kicking, and slobbering, in a fanciful attire of merry-
andrew {godenot), to be adorable.
Just then, indeed, society had two prime topics for chat : the
doings of distressed royalty up at the old Chateau, and
Racine's " Esther," so charmingly acted by the young ladies
of St. Cyr. The tragedy was an amazing success. Louis had
declared it "admirable ; " the lovely de Caylus, as the heroine,
had drawn tears from M. le Prince, and delighted Racine
himself No wonder the noblesse besieged Madame de Main-
tenon for invitations to the play. How natural that Madame
de Coulanges should sharply rebuke Madame d'Estrees, who
seemed rather cold on the enthralling question : — " II faut
que Madame la Mar&hale ait renoncer a louer jamais rien,
puisqu'elle ne loue pas cette piece." '
As might be expected, James did not please the courtiers.
He looked old and worn, we are told. He stammered some
what. He spoke French indifferently.^ He had played his
cards badly. Nay — so hard is it to pardon want of success —
even Le Tellier, Archbishop of Rheims, could not repress a
bit of profane wit at the pious Stuart's expense : — " Voild un
fort bon homme, il a quitt6 trois royaumes pour une-messe."
On the contrary, the Queen was admired universally. She
had esprit. She had good sense. She treated all-powerful
Madame de Maintenon with exquisite tact. She conciliated
the dauphiness, who, on being denied a fauteicil, had taken to
her bed in the sulks. Louis evidently enjoyed her society.
Hence lord-in-waiting transports without stint. From the
incomparable hand of Madame de Sdvign^ "we have a sketch
of " une pauvre reine fugitive, et baign^e dans ses larmes " '
taken at this period : " The Queen is thin, her eyes, black and

' Madame de Sdvignd.
^ And yet, Reresby says, "James was a great lover of the French
tongue.'' How little do we know our own deficiencies.
^ Thus Mary wrote of herself to Louis.

WILLIAM RULES. 113
very beautiful, bear the signs of many recent tears. Her
complexion is clear and pale, her mouth large, but then, her
teeth are splendid. Her figure very fine. In a word, ' une
personne fort pos6e, qui plait fort.' "
Soon lords, ladies, and gentlemen — English, Scotch, and
Irish, Protestant as well as Catholic — began to arrive. Nor
was the immigration confined to the upper classes. Most of
the old servants of Whitehall re-appeared on a foreign stage.
Prominent amongst them loomed the orthodox obesity of her
Majesty's state coachman, a fellow of various and romantic for
tunes. Commencing his elevated function as chief whip to
Oliver Cromwell, he was fated to descend from the Queen's
hammer-cloth into a French grave.'
While the exiles were settling down at Saint Germain, the
Revolution rolled on apace in England. James's escape made
manifest, the House of Peers met. After refusing to read the
King's letter explaining the reasons which had impelled him
to fly the country, and much perturbed debate, the Lords
decided upon requesting WilUam to summon a convention to
assemble about the middle of January, and, in the interval,
to assume the direction of public affairs. To give this address
a national air, William sought counsel from a committee made
up of persons who had sat in any parliament during the reign
of Charles 1 1., and of the Lord Mayor and aldermen. These
gentlemen endorsing the resolutions of the upper house, the
Prince issued circular letters to shires, boroughs, and corpora
tions, empowering them to elect a convention.
And the reins had passed into a tight hand. The Stadt
holder at once curbed the license of the press — a necessary
measure, doubtless, but yet hardly in tune with the noisy cry
of " Liberty " raised by the invaders and their partisans. He
ordered fat, easy-going Barillon, the French ambassador, to
leave the country within twenty-four hours. He marched the
EngUsh guards and other royal regiments to a distance of
twenty miles from London, which he filled (bluff Reresby in
dignantly exclaims) " with ill-favoured and ill-accoutred
' " Journal de Dangeau."
I

114 ST. GERMAIN AND ST. JAMES.
Dutchmen." He borrowed ^^200,000 from the City — a saga*
cious move, which not only provided cash in hand, but also
created a breeches-pocket sympathy.'
A dead calm while all this was doing ; sullen apathy every
where. At the end of January the Convention went to work. The
Commons voted that King James, having violated the funda
mental laws and withdrawn himself out of the kingdom, had
abdicated the government, and that thereby the throne was
vacant. Strangely enough, this resolution was carried up to
the Lords by Mr. Hampden, grandson ofthe celebrated John.
Evil omen for the Stuarts.
Bitter were the dissensions of the perplexed peers. To the
Tory majority the "advanced opinions" bandied about in the
Lower House brought terror ; nevertheless, a disposition to
break with James prevailed, but in such a case how was the
go^vernment to be settled .'' The greater number of the bishops
and high church lords desired a compromise in the shape of a
regency during the life of the King. Another Conservative
section, led by Lord Danby, would cut the knot by crowning
the Princess of Orange. The Whigs, manoeuvred by Halifax,
pronounced for a king in the flesh of the Stadtholder.
Thus the peers would, and they would not. So unfriendly
to James that they declined even to read his letters, they yet
shrank from the manufacture of a monarch out of a foreign
prince who had not only again and again disavowed such an
ambition, but whose invasion had been borne by Englishmen
mainly on the strength of those repeated disclaimers. And
so shuffling conferences with the sturdier Commons. Puerile
shilly-shally, ingenious hair-spUttings, hours of casuistry as
to the meaning and derivation of the word " abdicate." During
the dodging hither and thither to evade the mounting tide,
William worked out his end with consummate prudence. Pos
sessed of the admirable gift of silence — a gift, like the vice of
ingratitude, hereditary in his family — he had, withal, the
faculty of saying the right thing at the right time in a very

Dalrymple, " Memoirs," &c.

TROUBLE IN SCOTLAND. 115
few words. Seeing, then, that events were in danger of miss
ing the groove so cunningly laid for them, he plainly informed
HaUfax, Shrewsbury, Danby, and the rest that they need not
appoint him Regent during his uncle's life, for no such office
would he accept ; and if, on the other hand, men imagined to
place his wife alone upon the throne, it was right to announce
that, with all respect to her, he would never submit " to hold
the crown by her apron strings." The hint had the desired
effect. The weaker brethren shook, faltering voices were
heard, schemers shirked compromising debates. In a word,
the lords, casting to the winds the amendments they had
wasted no end of sophistry in concocting, agreed by a majority
of four to the original resolution of the Commons, and on"
Danby moving that the Prince and Princess of Orange be
declared King and Queen, the motion was carried by twenty
votes. On the 13th of February, therefore, WilHam and
Mary graciously accepted the crown of " England, France,
and Ireland."
Meanwhile, dire commotion in Scotland. In the beginning
of the troubles the royal cause seemed firmly fixed. The
Anglican (then the Established) Church supported it ; a strong
body of troops made it respected. But no sooner did the
military pressure relax, through the dispatch of regiments to
England, than many adroit time-servers, hitherto brimful of
verbal loyalty, saw the expediency of being on good terms
with the Dutchman. And the Covenanters burst into tumul
tuous fanaticism ; publishing the Prince's declaration in the
market-places, they prayed for the success of his enterprise ;
and, holding in equal abhorrence the Catholic creed and the
Anglican communion, they pitched into the same roaring
Glasgow bonfire, images of the Pope and the Protestant arch
bishops. In the remote Lowlands, odium theologicum took up carnal
weapons. The poor established and endowed " priests of
Baal," driven suddenly from their snug homes, wandered dis
consolate, seeking — for shivering wives and numerous hungry
bairns — hot porridge and shelter from the winter blast. But,
alas ! little mercy anywhere to the persecuting church of the

1x6 ST. GERMAIN AND ST. JAMES.
minority in her last throes. ReUgion in all Scottish mouths,
but no notion of charity.
In the midst of this wild work, the Kirk party besought
William to exercise the government of Scotland till the meet
ing of the Estates in March. He acquiesced, and issued writs
setting forth that none but Protestants should elect, and Pro
testants alone be elected. At the appointed time the delegates
met ; and, on condition that prelacy be abolished in Scotland,
and that the new sovereign be Presbyterian to all intents and
purposes, the crown was voted to William and Mary. So
much for an alien church " established and endowed " in de
fiance of the national will.
But whatever the Convention might say or do, affairs re
mained out of joint. A large party of all ranks adhered to
King James. In his name the Duke of Gordon still held
Edinburgh Castle, and Viscount Dundee, able, brave, and
devoted, was astir in the kindred Highlands.
Of Ireland we shall speak presently.
William scarcely enthroned, before the partial popularity
which had previously attended him vanished as an exhalation
of the morning. " There were most certainly great and violent
discontents at this time," says Reresby. Men angrily dis
cussed the contrast between the Prince's profession and prac
tice: he had underhand sought the crown. He evaded in
quiry into the birth of the Prince of Wales, whom he had
publicly branded as supposititious ; he was huddling out of
sight the cruel accusations upon which he had founded his
action against his uncle ; he was shovelling the English troops
into Holland. Trade languished, for the frugal foreigners spent
little. Diminished receipts and heavier taxation made grum
bling tradesmen. In vain puissant nobles besought lucrative
places, while Dutch courtiers were promoted tp great honour.
In such circumstances the necessity of eluding an appeal to
the country is obvious : after hot debate in both Houses the
Convention was transformed into a Parliament.
Amongst the British soldiers disaffection seethed. The
Duke of Grafton's regiment of guards melted away so rapidly
on their march to Gravesend, that some companies " had not

MEETING OF THE ROYAL SCOTS. n;
above fifteen or twenty men a-piece ;" the Guardsmen " de
claring openly they would neither go into Holland nor Ireland,
nor fight against King James." '
More serious far the mutinies of the Scotch horse and of
Dumbarton's foot (Royal Scots). The former deserted almost
to a man, and made for Scotland to join its old colonel, the
" Bonny Dundee." * In the latter corps Marshal de Schomberg
had just obtained the dignity of its beloved colonel. Lord
Dumbarton. The disgust created by the change being in
creased by the receipt of orders for Rotterdam, the Royal
Scots determined to resist the new Government. With the
sympathy of the English troops and the approval of most of
their officers, they took possession bf the military chest, seized
four field-pieces, and, colours flying, drums beating, marched
out of Ipswich for the north. The news threw the Commons
into a panic, but William retained his cold common sense.
General de Ginkell started in pursuit with two Dutch regi
ments of dragoons and one of horse. The militia were
ordered to obstruct the progress of " the rebels." The sym
pathizing English soldiers faltered at the pinch. Finding
themselves abandoned, Dumbarton's men began to despair ;
and, although certain of their officers were for fighting against
heavy foreign odds, they were induced to lay down their arms.
William behaved with a wise clemency. He dismissed some
of the officers, pardoned the rank and file, and shipped the
regiment for the Low Countries, where war's alarms might per
adventure supersede political and personal antipathies.
The Mutiny Act was the immediate consequence of this
jeopardy. Thus, WilUam III. managed to legaUze a standing
army — a disposition to maintain such a force being one of the
heaviest charges against James II.
And religious discords harassed the new sovereign. For a
moment, Protestantism seeming in danger, the Church had

' Clarendon's " Diary."
" " Several of the late army . . . have deserted in great numbers, so that
of 35,000 men, of which the late army was composed, 'tis said there are
not above 10,000 left."— Luttrel, Brief Relation of State Affairs.

ii8 ST. GERMAIN AND ST JAMES.
courted the Dissenters. But, the storm past, the old Adam
revived; and Anglicans noted with disgust William's Cal
vinistic bias. Moreover, scruples of conscience troubled some
of the bishops. They had sworn allegiance to King JamesTl
could they, in another breath, call God to witness their loyalty J
_to King William ? Thus it was that Archbishop Sancroft and
five of the lately imprisoned prelates refused their oaths to the
revolutionary dynasty. Four hundred of the parochial clergy
did likewise. Palaces and vicarages were cheerfully abandoned.
The non-jurors lost income and preserved honour. Noble,
indeed, the giving up of temporal advantage for conscience'
sake ; so noble that, to the minds of many — cleric no less than
lay — it seems very foolishness : " In a great house there are
not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of
earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour."
Difficulties, then, on aU sides. Adverse feeling on the in
crease. Ireland up in arms. The Church cross-grained. Ay,
the tide actually setting in favour of James.' So hard a time
of it had William that a wit styled him, " King of Holland
and Stadtholder of England."
In such a strait the revolutionary leader must distract
attention from domestic politics ; and what easier method of
effecting this than by rousing the warlike passion of the
people. WiUiam certainly understood the grim game. At
issue with him on jnost points, the excited Parliament swal
lowed the bait ; and, greedy for blood and glory, promised to
stand by him in a war with France. We may irnagine the
chuckle with which, it is said, he pronounced tlig 27th of
April (when England joined the league against Louis XIV.)
" the first day of his reign." ^
To return to Saint Germain, The court had just been re
modelled : English gentlemen relieving the French nobles
provisionally in attendance on the King, and British domestics
supplanting the French valetaille below stairs. In the latter
case the change may not have been altogether for the better :

' See opinions of Halifax and Danby, cited in Reresby's " Memoirs."
' Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."

SOLDIERS ARRIVE. 119
the Marquis de Dangeau ruefully describing " une table tres
mddiocre.'' Had the chivalrous coachman persuaded " a good
plain " English cook to emigrate with him }
But if culinary skill was below par, military prospects were
brightening. Stout soldiers arrived in such numbers that
Louis sanctioned their formation into a regiment of forty
companies, each company to consist of 100 rank and file.
The organization of this corps (nominally Irish, but open to
English and Scotch recruits) was confided to the Duke of
Berwick, appointed its colonel :
" Bastard, St. George, that swindg'd the dragon, and e'er since
Sits on his horseback at mine hogtegs' door.
Teach us some fence."

XL
"NOW THRIVE THE ARMOURERS."
1689.
!)N the beginning of February the courtiers remarked
that the two Kings had frequently long private
interviews, at which " la vieille Maintenon," as the
Duchess of Orleans irreverently calls that supreme
counsellor, was present. Quidnuncs snuffed something in the
wind, and ere long the truth oozed out. Encouraging ac
counts of "Irish feeling had reached Saint Germain; intelli
gence all the mor^ satisfactory, inasmuch as the Lord Deputy,
the Earl of Tyrconnel, had for a moment appeared favourably
inclined towards the new order of things. Some writers have
supposed that he really meditated submission to WilUam, but,
more probably, his outward "wavering" was a cloak donned
for the purpose of gaining time to raise and equip troops in
the Jacobite interest. If Mr. Hallam be correct, Tyrconnel's
aspirations soared far beyond WilUamite friendship. He
says : " It is now ascertained that, doubtful of the King's
success in the struggle for restoring Popery in England, he
(Tyrconnel) had made secret overtures to some of the French
agents for casting off all connection with that kingdom in
case of James's death, and, with the aid of Louis, placing the
crown of Ireland on his own head. M. Mazure has brought
this remarkable fact to light. Bonrepos, a French emissary in
England, was authorized by his court to proceed in a negotia
tion with Tyrconnel for the separation of the two islands in
case that a Protestant should succeed to the crown of England.
lie had accordingly a private interview with a confidential

UNDER ORDERS. 121
agent of the Lord-Lieutenant at Chester in 1687."' Dick
Talbot must have been in a mad mood when he so aspired.
He was wise enough, however, to hide the monarchical
illusion from his countrymen, with whom it would certainly
not have found acceptation. It was a random whim, probably,
born in a twinkling, and as suddenly defunct.
Now to Louis, scarcely less than to James, the state of
Ireland was of moment. With it openly hostile — in addition
to the rickety aspect of the English and Scottish thrones —
William, of course, could do little in aid of the coalition
against France. His hands were full. Apart, then, from
sentimental promptings, national policy urged the French
King to keep the ball going in Erin. In a letter to Louvois,
Vauban tersely expresses this view. James, he thinks, should
at once proceed to Ireland. By so doing, he might possibly
preserve an important portion of his dominions — " ou du moins
faire une diversion assez considerable pour empecher ces
messieurs-la de nous tomber tout-a-coup, et tous ensemble sur
les bras."* Talking the matter over with Madame de S6vigne,
Monsieur de Pomponne gave a similar opinion: "II trouve
que toutes ces grandes montagnes s'applanissent. L'affaire
d'Irlande est admirable, et occupe tellement le Prince
d'Orange qu'il n'y a rien a craindre sur nos cotes."
Hence it was determined that James should join his Irish
adherents. But while the two Kings discussed haute politique, played at
billiards, and hunted an occasional wolf, the sudden death of
the young Queen of Spain threw heavy gloom over gay Ver-
saUles, and put Louis and James into violet doublets.^ Daugh
ter of the charming Henriette, Duchess of Orleans, the ill-
fated lady was James's niece. From the sway she had ac
quired over the feeble mind of her husband, her end was a
' " Constitutional History of England."
° Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."
"¦" Violet was the mourning colour of the ancien regime; and, according
to Dangeau, James assumed it on pretence of being " King of France."
Under the peculiar circumstances of his residence in France, it is wonder
ful that James should cherish the absurd conceit.

122 "NOW THRIVE THE ARMOURERS."
calamity to the Stuart cause ; indeed, the gossips surmised
that a departure so strange, so untimely, was due to a sus
picion at Vienna that she intended to exert her influence in
opposition to the Empire, in .the war just commencing. Be
that as it may, Comte Mansfeld, the Austrian ambassador at
Madrid, and the notorious Comtesse de Soissons' had the
credit of poisoning, in a cup of iced milk, the winning daughter
of a poisoned and fascinating mother.
No longer a secret, then, James's start for Ireland. In the
middle of February, the Duke of Berwick and sevefal British
officers, accompanied by M. de Maumont {Marechal de Camp
and captain in the Guards) whom Louvois had selected to
serve in Ireland as a lieutenant-general, proceeded to Orleans
to make arrangements for the expedition. In a day or two
young Anthony Hamilton, Berwick's famiUar friend, and, in the
words of Sainte-Beuve, destined to be " un des ^crivains les
plus attique de notre litterature," joined the rendezvous with a
large draught of Irish soldiers. The depot was then removed
to Brest.
Although James — never deficient in national spirit — de
clined the aid of French troops, he asked for a few experienced
French officers to assist in organizing the Irish levies. Accord
ingly, the following were placed under the orders of De
Maumont : Boisseleau, captain in the Guards, to exercise the
staff functions of major-general ; Pusignan, colonel of the
regiment of Languedoc, as brigadier of infantry; Lery, as
brigadier of cavalry ; and D'Estrades, ensign of the Guards, to
be Marechal de logis (quartermaster-general) of cavalry,
specially charged with the formation of a Guard corps a la
Frangaise. Twenty captains, twenty lieutenants, and as many
cadets would join the Irish regiments. Arms and equipments
for 10,000 men were forwarded to Brest.^
The King had wished to take De Lauzun with him in the

' The countess was a Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin, and mother
of Prince Eugene of Savoy. Saint Simon tells us that she was strongly
suspected of poisoning her husband (Comte de Soissons-Savoie) in 1673.
' "Journal de Dangeau."

FAREWELL. 123
capacity of captain-general, but the wayward old dandy raised
so many difficulties about accepting the office (for which,
indeed, he had no qualifications), that Lieutenant-General de
Rosen was appointed to command under James.
Nor was the diplomatic service neglected. The active and
sagacious D'Avaux, lately ambassador to the Hague, would
go to Ireland as envoy extraordinary, and distributor of the
500,000 crowns' furnished by the French treasury; while
M. de Pointis, an officer of marine bombardiers, would have
charge of' the artillery and materiel.
On the 25th of February James went to Paris, and, in Notre
Dame, dubbed De Lauzun, still in favour notwithstanding his
perverseness, a Knight of the Garter, vice the Duke of Albe
marle, just deceased : the same Garter being bestowed about
the same time by William on his lieutenant. Marshal de
Schomberg — an odd conflict of de jure and de facto. Then
commenced a series of ceremonious adieux. Having finished
his devotions in the Cathedral, his Majesty drove to the
convent of EngUsh nuns, where, " as King of France," he
touched for the evil.* Afterwards, he dined with M. de Lauzun,
in company with the Archbishop of Paris. Then off to the
Luxembourg, to see Lauzun's quondam innamorata (wife .'')
but present foe, la grande Mademoiselle? Next to the con
vent of Chaillot, where the heart of his mother was enshrined.
The day's work ended at Versailles. Here the Kings, after
being closeted awhile, proceeded to the apartment of the
Dauphiness, when Louis wished his cousin " Bon soir," with
this remarkable addition : " Je souhaite. Monsieur, de vous ne
revoir jamais, cependant si la fortune veut que nous nous
revoyions, vous me trouverez toujours tel que vous m'avez
trouve." ¦* But this was not the final farewell. Two days
' Equivalent to ;^240,ooo in our present money.
' Madame de la Fayette.
' Anne Marie Louise d'Orldans, Duchesse de Montpensier, daughter of
Gaston d'Orldans, brother of Louis XIII., and of Marie de Bourbon,
heiress of the house of Montpensier. At the mature age of forty-two she
became desperately enamoured of De Lauzun.
¦* "Journal de Dangeau."

124 "NOW THRIVE THE ARMOURERS:'
afterwards, " le grand Monarque " again embraced the knight
errant, and, observing with a laugh that one article of war had
been forgotten, unbuckled his sword and presented it to him,
an act of grace which enchanted the Court, and made Madame
de Sevign6 exclaim : " Que ne fera point ce roi brave et mal-
heureux avec les armes toujours victorieuses ! " Certainly,
the eloquent lady had not the gift of prophecy.
In the eariy morning of the 28th, after a sad parting -with
Mary Beatrice, whose agony of sorrow —
" Tanto 6 amara, che poco h piu morte " —
went even to the hearts of ladies of fashion,' James II. quitted
Saint Germain, accompanied by the Duke of Powis, Lords
Dumbarton, Melfort, and Thomas Howard. Like Niobe, ah
tears, the Queen immediately afterwards hastened, with her
Uttle boy, to the convent of Poissy, that she might enjoy the
consolations of reUgion in quietness. Very touching, surely,
the devotion of this beautiful ItaUan to a husband much older
than herself, and of a nature ill-fitted to inspire ardent affec
tion. But of the deep mystery of woman's love there is no
reasoning. Evil auguries attended James's journey to Brest. His fa
vourite French valet, Labadye, was sailing down the Loire in
a boat laden with the presents which Louis had selected
to promote his cousin's comfort during the Irish campaign;
driven against the bridge of C6, the boat capsized, the faithful
servant was drowned, and the costly baggage lost. Again,
the King was himself detained a whole day at Orleans by the
breaking down of his carriage, and when he reached Brest
strong winds blew dead against his setting sail. Albeit, much
to Madame de S^vignd's surprise. His Majesty's appetite con
tinued unimpaired. He thoroughly appreciated a fish dinner
which the Duc de Chaulnes, " aided by the fairies," so hot and
delicious was it, had made ready at the chateau de la Roche-
Bernard : " Ce roi mange," cries Madame, " comme s'il n'y
avait point de Prince d'Orange dans le monde." And when
' Madame de Sdvignd

LOUIS LE HARD! 125
at last the wind changed, and he went on board the Saint-
Michel, a ship ran foul of her as she cleared the port. Her
bowsprit being carried away, she must return to harbour.'
And so, not before the 7th of March did the expedition put
to sea. Many a heart beat high, many a God-speed rang out
as Admiral de Gabaret's fleet weighed. Away to old Ireland
a King unfortunate in every undertaking, escorted by a
gallant company of some 300 gentlemen, amongst whom we
see Berwick, his brother, Henry Fitz-James, and the heroic
Sarsefield. Away to old Ireland 1,500 brave British soldiers
— ahorse, foot, and dragoons — every man of them ready to pour
forth his blood Uke water in, as he thought at any rate, a
righteous cause — " Honour's thought
Reigns solely in the breast of every man."
When James went forth to the encounter, military matters
were in this posture on the Continent. At the end of
September, 1688, war had broken out between France and
the League, in the trenches before Philipsbourg. After a
month's siege, conducted by Vauban with wonderful skill and
resource, the place surrendered to the Dauphin. No mighty
man-of-war, Louis le Hardi (as the soldiers called him), but
still a brave, modest, and humane Prince.^ In a letter to his
father, he pithily tells " how he got on " with his illustrious
tutor — " Nous sommes fort bien, Vauban et moi, parceque je
fais tout ce qu'il veut."^ Prince commanders-in-chief are
often equally sensible, but seldom so generous.
Two months after the commencement of hostilities, nearly
the whole of the left bank of the Rhine lay at the mercy of

' Madame de la Fayette.
" After the capture, the Duc de Montausier, who had been his governor,
wrote the Dauphin this admirable letter: " Monseigneur, Vous aviez une
bonne armde, des bombes, des canons, et Vauban ; Je ne vous en fais pas
aussi sur ce que vous avez dtd brave, c'est une virtu hdrdditaire dans votre
maison. Mais je me rdjouis avec vous de ce que vous etes liberal, gdnd-
reux, humain, faisant valoir les services de ceux qui font bien."
^ " Journal de Dangeau."

126 "NOW THRIVE THE ARMOURERS."
the French, thanks to their native rapidity of movement, and
to constitutional German sluggishness.
Unhappily, military occupation did not satisfy the French
Government. The Marquis de Chamlay, the very capable
and scientific chief of the staff {Marechal General des Logis), ^
" had persuaded the King," says Villars, " that the safety of
the state could be best insured by placing deserts between our
frontier and the enemy's armies." Hence the ravage of the
Palatinate, and the burning of the castle of Heidelberg : every
horror being done in the name of policy. But, as events
proved, grosser impolicy could not have been. Spasmodic
strokes of sensational statecraft usually terminate in the con
fusion of those who affect them.
In the early spring corps, gathering from all parts, fell into
line. Militia, supported by a few regulars, guarded the
northern coast of France. In the south the Duc de Noailles,
also with a mixed body of militia and regulars, watched the
restless Protestants, and the still inert Spaniards. Marechal
d'Humieres commanded the army of Flanders; but as the
chief events were sure to come off on the Rhine, where Charles
of Lorraine was expected, the most numerous and best ap
pointed force was " the army of Germany," under Marechal
de Duras, assisted, or rather prompted, by the clever and
ruthless Chamlay.
To await the development of the League's designs, and to
stand everywhere on the defensive, constituted in brief the
plan of operations decided upon by Louis XIV.
No juncture could arise without pregnant counsel from
Vauban. He now pressed upon Louvois the expediency of
husbanding unseasoned infantry at the commencement of a
war. In his judgment the foot should be gradually wrought
up to campaigning efficiency, not forced thereunto with a jerk.
' "The Duc de Luxembourg called Chamlay a living map; Turenne
pronounced him his right arm. He was, in fact, the geographer and
secretary of that great work, the arrangement of the frontier fortifications
which remains the glory of the three persons who achieved it — Louis XIV.,
Louvois, and Vauban." — LavalljJe, Les Frontiers de la France. A great
accomplishment, which Bonapartist madness has obliterated.

VAUBAN RECOMMENDS. 127
In other xvords; he distrusted the rhodern theory of rapid
manufacture of soldiers. It smells of the hospital. BattaUons
thus formed may stand the shock of a seven weeks' campaign,
but would ill bear the strain of a Peninsular war. While the
infantry was being inured to suffering, he recommended that
the mass of the cavalry, the dragoons, and some picked bat
teries of light artillery should be organized into a flying camp
(camp volant), ready to anticipate the enemy everywhere, to
harass him on the march, to swoop upon his convoys, and
to eat up the forage in his front.'
Behold Europe ! a workshop of stupendous ordnance, and
rifles of curious precision. Go where we may we hear
prophecies how victories shall be henceforth won at long
range. " Admirable leading articles " argue how obsolete is
the notion that hardened veterans are beyond price, and we
wonder at Aldershot. But with all this amazing handicraft,
and infinite small talk on military things, where are " the
mighty valiant men, and prudent in matters " — men who
thoroughly master their tools, instead of being "a little
o'erparted " by them .' If the family of Vauban be extinct in
France, the stern common sense of Wellington has grown rare
in England : " Bonus dux bonum reddit militem."
' Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois.''

XIL
"THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA."

°!^^,HE pages of Irish history have been stained with
tears and blood." '
Oppression and hatred followed in the wake of
Strongbow's invasion, but Ireland's pecuUar
faculty of assimilating foreigners — a faculty which no statute
of Kilkenny could stifle — was doing healing work. By mar
riage with the blue-eyed daughters of native chiefs, and per
chance through the mysterious influence of balmy Irish air,
most of the great Norman families had grown Hibernian in
taste and sympathy :
" These Geraldines, these Geraldines, not long our air they breath'd.
Not long they fed on venison in Irish water seeth'd —
Not often had their children been by Irish mothers nurs'd,
"When from their full and genial hearts an Irish feeling burst."
There was a fair prospect of good will between man and
man, when the Reformation intervened to rend afresh the
closing wounds of society.
" Lamentations, and mourning, and woe." Needy soldiers
and spendthrift younger sons now thronged across the channel.
Determined to be rich, "the new English" deliberately in
flamed the Celtic chiefs, turbulent and quick to quarrel, into
insurrection. Then came forth the English power of the Pale
to crush " the rebels." Carnage, devastation, and confiscation
followed — the Crown generally granting the lands of the in
surgents to the very men who had contrived the outbreak.
' Mr. John Bright, M.P., March 19th, 1869.

RISING OF THE GERALDINES. 129
Again, while it was the interest of the Dublin functionaries to
keep " the mere Irish " in a state of chronic ferment, almost
any means to that end might be employed with impunity, for
the English kings, engrossed with weighty concerns, domestic
and foreign, cared little for, or knew nothing of Ireland ; and
the Irish character being systematically blackened by per
sons in authority. Englishmen were educated, so to speak, in
the doctrine that the innately noxious " Irishry " should be
exterminated in the handiest fashion. " Some hold opinion
that it were good with the sword to destroy all the in
habitants of that realm for their wickedness, and to inhabit
the land with new." ' The last sentence is the key to the
" opinion." But the more we get the more we covet. Flushed with
the success attending their machinations, stimulated by the
immense transfer of property which the Reformation had
effected in England, the immigrants soon found the territory
of the "wild Irish" too narrow for them, and, therefore,
turned with whetted appetite toward the domains of the
Anglo-Irish, or old EngUsh settlers.
Henry VIII. launched the Reformation in England, not
out of hatred to Catholicism, or because the mass of the
people incUned to new ways ; but because, by breaking with
the Pope, and assuming the headship of a national church, he
might indulge his passions and caprices without hindrance.
The abuses which had crept into the ecclesiastical administra
tion, the — in some instances — licentious manners of an over
rich clergy favoured his designs ; and Catholic doctrine or
ritual being little meddled with, the English were induced, by
an artful mixture of force, coaxing, and bribery, to accept the
revolution promoted by the Defender of the Faith.
In Ireland the case was different. There the priesthood,
poorer and more virtuous than their English brethren, were
revered. Then, as ever, an eminently religious people, the
Irish detested the Anglican innovation, and at the voice of the
Geraldines, rose in arms. But Henry's cannon pounded the
• " Calendar of the Carew MSS."
K

130 "THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA."
rising into dust at Maynooth, and " silken Thomas " (" allured
to yield " by his relative. Lord Deputy Leonard Grey) pre
sently swung at Tyburn, having been previously disembowelled
alive, along with his five uncles.
But Tudor artiUery did not accomplish tranquillity. The
people conrinued to be violently agitated. O'Neil drew the
sword. Worsted at length, but not disabled, the Ulster chief
tain submitted ; and, on invitation from Henry — ^who, if cruel
and despotic, was an astute politician — repaired to London.
Flattered to the skies, the great tanist returned home, "le
tres haut et puissant seigneur Con, comte de Tyrone en la
royaume d'Irlande ;" ' and, moreover, seemingly won over to
the dogma of a Royal Supremacy. So cleverly, indeed, did
Henry apply the soothing system, that the Earl of Desmond
likewise abjured the authority of the Pope, and allowed his
favourite son to be educated in the English fashion. Other
powerful nobles also listened to the voice of the lusty
charmer, and not only did peace prevail during the rest of this
reign, but, when the King landed at Calais in 1544, a body of
Irish soldiers, " distinguished by their undaunted spirit,"
marched in his ranks.*
The glimmering chance which the Reformation in Ireland
derived from Henry's subtile management was dispelled by
the folly of his successor's council. O'Connor and O'Moore,
chiefs of Leix and Offally, having proceeded to the English
Court to seek redress of certain grievances, were thrown into
prison, and their lands parcelled amongst the intriguers who
had suggested the journey. The disquiet thus introduced was
fanned into flame by the indecency with which the Reformers
fastened upon the wealth of the CathoUc churches. The new
Earl of Tyrone, incensed by the sacrilege, and alarmed by the-
seizure of Leix and Offally, reverted to Rome, not much
against the grain, perhaps, for —
" He that complies against his will
Is of the same opinion still."
Other Irish and Anglo-Irish nobles, who had swallowed the
' " Carew MSS." ' Leland, " History of Ireland."

RECANTATION. 131
Supremacy, followed his example. Expecting a storm, the
Lord Deputy arrested the Ulster chieftain. But, O'Neil in
durance, his power passed into the stronger hands of his son,
Shane, who broke into open war. And, with half England
cursing the Reformers, with every evil thing rank in Ireland,
the sickly boy, Edward VI. , drooped into the grave.
The accession of Mary changed the scene. Yesterday the
Puritans smashed the painted windows, and broke up for
private use the plate of Clonmacnoise Abbey. To-day, " the
Lord Deputy comes to Christ Church nobly accompanied,
and is received at the church door by the Archbishop of
Dublin, with the clergy kneeling. Then he is censed, and
afterwards kisses the cross, being blessed by the Archbishop." '
A glorious peculiarity marked the Catholic revival in Ireland.
_JNo persecution attended it. The Protestants continued to 1^
worship God as they pleased, without hindrance or insult. It
is, indeed, remarkable that, in the two periods subsequent to
the Reformation when the Irish Catholics had the upper hand,
viz., throughout this reign, and for a while during that of
James IL, religious toleration existed without a break ; and
in our day, notwithstanding the vehement Catholicism of the
Irish, no Protestant is harmed on account of his Protestant
ism.* Surrounded by a dense " Popish " population, he lives in
security ; and if so disposed, may indulge freely in sectarian
bill-posting and abuse.
A singular spectacle now diverted Irishmen. The officials
so busy under Edward in pulling down Catholicism, were now
eager, under Mary, to rebuild it. Ostentatiously recanting
their former "errors," they hastened to repeal all Acts of
Henry and his son injurious to Holy Church. Still, on the
land question-, the views of Mary's advisers differed not from

' " Calendar, Carew MSS."
' " It is worth remarking, that although many Roman Catholic prelates
were tortured and hanged, or slain in battle since the year 1558, yet not a
single Anglican prelate was either tortured or put to death by the Roman
Catholics when they obtained power in the reign of Mary, of James, or
even during the Civil "Wars of Charles I."— Rev. Maziere Brady, Irish
Reformation.

"132 " THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA:'
those of preceding Governments. The districts of Leix and
Offally were cruelly "settled" into two counties, caUed King's
and Queen's counties. The unhappy clansmen of O'Connor
and O'Moore were brutally driven from their holdings. Eliza
beth on the throne, oppression reached a point it had never
before attained. Great men her ministers ; they knew their
countrymen ; they comprehended foreign politics. But the
Irish nature they did not understand. Intent upon securing
the power and material interests of England, the happiness of
Irishmen was beside their consideration, and the prosperity of
Ireland per se, they did not even desire.
" Our rights and blessings, Ireland's wrongs and woes."
The barbarity with which the CathoUc re-action had been
conducted in England led to a rebound in the Protestant direc
tion. The rivalry between Spain and France also facilitated
Elizabeth's attack on the Catholic Church : but the circum
stances which seconded the Queen's views in England by no
means ministered to them in Ireland. The Irish mind was
not the English mind. Hence, every attempt to uproot their
religion rendered it dearer to Celtic hearts ; the blows aimed
at the Papal Supremacy not only fell wide of the mark, but
made CathoUcs intensely Roman.
The mode of its establishment sufficed to ensure the col
lapse of Anglicanism in Erin. The majority ofthe reformed
clergy were Englishmen, ignorant of the Celtic tongue, then
spoken everywhere ; many of them, too, lived loosely, careless
of the spiritual welfare of their flocks, but marvellous greedy
of the pence. Acts, then, like that for forcing the Irish to
attend the new worship might be passed easily enough
but how did they work } They made the EngUsh name hateful,
and turned the English ritual into an outrage.
More ; to obliterate the Irish faith was not work enough for
British statesmen ; they would also dispossess the Irish land
lords. In 1650 we have the Earl of Sussex suggesting the
pacification of the country in this way : " This man (Earl of
Kildare) taken away, some noblemen and gentlemen of
England should be planted in places convenient, who upon all

THE DESMOND WAR. 133
occasions might, and would bring over force to defend their
own."' Now such a policy must break down unless it be executed
with a pitiless will, backed by sufficient power, and at that
time England had the will without the power. Not only,
then, did her propagahdism come to worse than nought, but
the designs of the new English upon the land impelled the
chiefs and nobles to look towards Spain : the very contingency
Elizabeth most dreaded. Plot breeds counterplot. The in
trigues of Irish gentlemen at Paris, Rome, and Madrid were a
natural response to the manoeuvres of London speculators.
One Piers, a jobber, having instigated the assassination of
the O'Neil, half Ulster was confiscated to the Crown. The
turn of Munster came next. On the pretext that the Earl of
Desmond had encouraged an invasion from Spain (in which
his brothers were certainly concerned), the Government carried
fire and sword into the territory of that great peer. Butchery
ensued of a sort thus hinted at by no friend to the Irish race :
"The English nation was shuddering over the atrocities of
the Duke of Alva. The children in the nurseries were being
inflamed to patriotic rage and madness by tales of Spanish
tyranny. Yet Alva's bloody sword never touched the young,
the defenceless, or those whose sex even dogs recognize and
respect." ^ The murder of the chief of the Anglo-Irish was
the appropriate coup de grace to the Desmond war.
The Elizabethan statesmen now congratulated themselves
on the accomplishment of the Ulster and Munster confisca
tions. But they were soon to discover that, having broken up
the rude old ways, they had nothing effectual to put in their
place. Even as regarded English interests, the last state of
Ireland was worse than the first.
Spain was daily assuming a more offensive attitude ; the
" planting" of Ulster had failed ; EUzabeth hesitated. Indeed,
so grave seemed the emergency that the appointment of a
chief whom the northern Irish would accept, and on whom
' " Calendar, Carew MSS."
" Froude, " History of England."

134 " THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA:'
the sovereign might rely, was recommended. Hugh O'Neil,
son of the illegitimate Matthew, Baron Dungannon, and
nephew of the murdered Shane, became tanist. Hugh had
served in the EngUsh army ; he was a politician no less than
a soldier. Equal to every exigence of peace or war, he
played the man of the world so gracefully at Court that the
heart of the maiden Queen, seldom inaccessible to masculine
attractions, warmed toward the comely Celt, and he went
home Earl of Tyrone, and grantee of the O'Neil country.
A main principle of Lord Deputy Perrot's administration
being to protect "the old native Irish," to employ their talents,
and to preserve their property, O'Neil for a while was safe ;
but Perrot no sooner departed, amid the lamentations of the
Irish, high and low, and the joy of the new EngUsh, whose
schemes he had sometimes thwarted, than the air teemed with
insinuations adverse to Tyrone's good faith. The new Lord
Deputy, Fitzwilliam, speedily undid all the good Sir John
Perrot had effected. The Irish hailed O'NeU their champion ;
but, aware of the perU of his position, he'hurried incognito to
England, and again professed his fidelity. This act only
exasperated the hatred of the Dublin functionaries, who, in
their despatches, constantly represented him as deep in the
concoction of rebellion. It is probable O'Neil was more
sinned against than sinning. There is no satisfactory proof
that at this juncture he desired conflict with England, but
there are substantial reasons for believing that the Irish
Government were bent on forcing, so to speak, revolt upon
him. Fitzwilliam, beloved of "the adventurers," being recalled,
was succeeded by Russell, to whom Tyrone immediately pre
sented himself; but his arch foe and brother-in-law, Bagnall,
had already gained the deputy's ear. There arose debate in
the council whether or no the Earl should be sent to prison.
This coming to his knowledge, O'Neil quitted Dublin, and
then — war to the knife : war waged with singular abiUty by
Tyrone and his lieutenants, O'Donnel and O'Sullivan Beare.
In truth, an uprising of the Celtic race, which for five years

THE FLIGHT OF THE EARLS. 135
not only strained England's resources, but in pitched battles
worsted her trained soldiery. War which ended, after profuse
bloodshed and havoc, mainly through the incapacity or
treachery — perhaps both — of the Spanish general sent to re
inforce the insurgents. Hard smitten indeed, but not pros
trate, O'Neil accepted the terms offered him by Lord Mount-
joy, and retained his honours. Now Elizabeth died. Glorious
to England, the virgin's rule was calamity to Ireland. It
destroyed her trade with Spain, and confiscated her acres. It
strove to uproot her creed, and it attempted the extermi
nation of her chUdren.
Unnerved by years of carnage and ravage, Ireland offered a
golden opportunity to an able and benevolent prince ; but, a
grovelling pedant, James I. could not conceive a generous
policy. Any good he did he carefully neutralized with evil.
If he extended the jurisdiction of British law, beyond the
narrow limits of the Pale, through the length and breadth of
the island, he ceaselessly persecuted the Catholics. His grand
feat was the Plantation of Ulster, which many writers pro
nounce wise and statesmanlike, and was so perhaps, if native
rights and happiness be deemed of no account. It was brought
about in this wise : the Gunpowder Plot having provoked
Englishmen into believing any charge, however absurd, aimed
at the unhappy Papists, the land speculators used the oppor
tunity to forge a plot in Ireland. One morning a letter is
found in the Castle council-chamber, warning the Government
against a Catholic conspiracy. At the same time the Earls of
Tyrone and Tyrconnel receive information that suborned wit
nesses would swear them to be the wire-pullers of the project.
Now, Tyrone knew that, owing to the exhaustion of the
country, he had no chance of facing his foes. He could not
maintain an army. Hence the flight of the earls. Accom
panied by O'Donnel of Tyrconnel, Hugh O'Neil escaped to
Rome, where he died in 161 6, a pensioner of the Pope. De
priving these chiefs of their lands by royal proclamation,
James "planted" six counties with English and Scottish
" undertakers," conspicuous amongst whom was the Corpora-

136 "THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA:'
tion of London.' By the original plan all the native Irish
would have been evicted. But the idea was too grand to be
quite practicable. Besides, " as hewers of wood and drawers
of water," some of them might be useful. Having filled the
country with moral dynamite, the " British Solomon " slept
with his fathers.
James had an unscrupulous servant in Chichester, Charles
was advised by one as unscrupulous and more dangerous.
The merciless Strafford ulcerated the grievances of previous
reigns. At length the " inquisitions " into titles, the persecu
tions for recusancy, together with many lesser vexations, led
to the "Charter of Graces." A soberer petition has rarely
been addressed to the Crown. In it the Catholic nobility and
gentry prayed for relief from religious persecution, and sought
to secure the tenure of property, now threatened by the " De
fective Titles" Commission. Neither were the interests of
commerce forgotten ; the petitioners proposed that " several
commodities might be transported from Ireland into any of
the King's dominions, or other countries in amity with him,
that live cattle might be shipped to any of his dominions
without restraint, and wool transported into England, only
paying the ordinary custom and duties." And yet, 200
years ago, Britons deemed those claims exorbitant ! It is
worth notice, too, that "the new settlers" in Ulster were to
be confirmed in their estates, and that there should be a
general pardon for all past offences. Such, in faint outline,
were the excessive "graces" which the Catholics offered to
buy of the Crown for £ 1 20,000. The King, indeed, inclined
to a bargain, but Strafford was inexorable, and Baby Charles
shuffled.

' " Manors of 1,000, 1,500, and 3,000 acres, offered to such English and
Scottish as should undertake to plant their lots with British Protestants,
and engage to allow no Irish to dwell upon them." — Prendergast, Crom
wellian Settlement. In such a state of things, the amenities described by
Leland naturally arise : " The reformed looked with abhorrence on the
partizans of idolatry and the imps of Antichrist ; the Romanists, with
equal rancour, inveighed against heresy and apostasy, the blind ministers
of Satan, and children of perdition." A happy Christian land !

BLOODSHED IN ULSTER. 137
Royal faithlessness, the harsh rule of the Lord-Deputy,
the truculence of the Puritans, excited among the exiled
Irish hope of retrieving their fortunes. Presently — Strafford
gone to the block, and Borlase and Parsons, schemers of a bad
sort, the Lords Justices — the O'Moore, who had just returned
from the Continent, found the occasion ready to his hand.
Ulster, as the scene of the last confiscation, afforded an appro
priate stage for the conflagration. An attempt to seize
DubUn Castle failed ; but in the winter of 1641 the native
Irish recently "cleared" from their hearths, broke hke a
thunderstorm out of the mountains and bogs, whither they
had taken shelter, cast adrift the new-comers, and re-occupied
their bits of land. That blood smeared the rising is certain,
but that it was the monstrous horror declaimers have pre
tended is untrue.' For example, however infuriate the mere
Irish, they could hardly have murdered more Protestants
than actually abode in Ulster ; nevertheless, fervid authors
have so written. Righteous indignation often runs away with
arithmetic. As yet the Anglo-Irish aristocracy had stood aloof, but into
the mHee Borlase and Parsons resolved they should go ; were
they not Catholics possessing goodly estates .' and did not
Irish perils provide the English ParUament, whose disputes
with the King verged on blows, with a specious excuse for
raising men and money .? Persecution, then, of the gentry was
redoubled,* arbitrary arrests multiplied, false witness pur
chased. The ruse succeeded. The lords of the Pale reluc
tantly joined in the northern insurrection, not against the
British monarchy, as they emphatically avouched, but against

' Mr. Prendergast says, " Contemporaneous accounts, especially those
that give results against the bias of the writers, are mostly the true ones.
All these prove there was no massacre." — Cromwellian Settlement.
' " The most rigorous execution of the penal laws was extended to every
part of the kingdom, and the King gave in to the advice of the Lords
Justices that the army should be provided for out of the weekly fines
to be imposed upon the Catholics for absenting themselves from the
established worship." — Plowden, Historical Review cf the Irish
Nation.

138 " THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA."
the EngUsh parhamentarians, whose instruments Borlase and
Parsons were.
Three parties then were in the field ; the confederates, com
posed of the old Irish (some of whom sought separation from
England), and the Anglo-Irish, who .merely required the
" graces ; " a King's party, containing intriguers like Ormond,
and honest partisans Uke Clanricarde ; lastly, the Puritans.
Now, the confederates had little in common beyond identity
of creed ; the King's party, consisting both of Catholics and
Protestants, were neither so united nor so disinterested as
romance leads us to imagine ; in fact, the Puritans, smallest
in numbers, alone worked steadily shoulder to shoulder.
Everywhere, therefore, the elements of chaos.
The opening of the confederate war called to the front a
gifted commander of a rare stock : Owen Roe O'Neil, an
officer in the Spanish army, who with eminent skill and courage
had lately defended Arras against the French.
On the I oth of May, 1642, the clergy met in synod at Kil
kenny. "Warwasnecessary," they declared, "for the defence of
the CathoUc religion, the prerogative of the King, and the con
servation of the laws and liberties of Ireland." Out of their de
liberations issued the famous Convention of Kilkenny, which
directed the war, and framed a polity. It would be well if
writers, who diligently upbraid the Irish with disloyalty,
studied the acts of this assembly. They inculcated allegiance
to Charles, while they denounced the administration carried
on at Dublin " by a malignant party to his Highness's great
disservice, in compliance with their confederates the malig-
nants of England."
At first fortune favoured the "rebels." In Ulster O'Neil
manoeuvred with success. Elsewhere Catholic officers ob
tained advantages. Hard pressed by the Parliament, the King
sought agreement with the Irish. " A cessation " of hostilities
took place, and immediately the Convention voted Charles
a supply of money, and aided him with troops who served
gallantly under Montrose in Scotland.
The truce was fatal. The clashing interests and fierce
jealousies which the excitement of fight had kept in check.

GLAMORGAN AT KILKENNY. 139
now caught fire. The Anglo-Irish dreaded a marked success,
lest the old Irish obtained the mastery. O'Neil inveighed
against the armistice, and — Monro, the parliamentarian
general, persisting in cattle-liftings — remained under arms in
the north. Ormond, an ambitious egotist, confused the situa
tion. Led by the savage Coote, the Irish Puritans grew daily
more intolerant.
In the spring of 1644, commissioners from the Convention
laid before the King, at Oxford, divers propositions for the
settlement of Ireland. The principal of these stipulated for
repeal of all penal statutes affecting "freedom of worship,"
for " the establishment of inns of court and seminaries of
education for the use of Catholic subjects, a free and indifferent
appointment of all natives of Ireland, without exception,
to places of trust and honour — that no chief governor be con
tinued above three years, and that during his government he
should be disqualified to purchase or acquire any lands in
Ireland." The last clause is easy of interpretation. It aimed
at the extinction of constant misery and disquiet by destroy
ing the cause of them — the land-jobbing of the Lord Deputy.
Such were the proposals of men who had gained ground in
the field. Not a claim of theirs savours of revolution. Reli
gion and land, as ever, alpha and omega of the matter.
The King paltered, spoke " gracious words " to the deputa
tion, and referred them to Ormond, his Lord Lieutenant. That
cunning politician, now coquetting with the Parliament, struck
out the clause for repeal of the penal laws ; and then, with
out much intention of coming to a satisfactory conclusion,
proposed to discuss the other conditions.
But the royal cause waxing desperate, Irish aid became a
vital necessity: Charles, therefore, sent Lord Glamorgan, a
Roman CathoUc friend, to Ireland, to procure peace at any
price. After an interview with Ormond at Dublin, the envoy
disclosed to the supreme council at Kilkenny the terms which
his Majesty would grant. Accordingly, a treaty was ar
ranged. It proclaimed religious equality : Catholics should
pay their own clergy ^ Protestants doing likewise by theirs.
Both communions should continue to use the churches then

140 "THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA."
severaUy occupied by them. In return for these indulgences,
the confederate Catholics engaged to furnish the King with
10,000 soldiers. But to prevent an inconvenient explosion of
Puritan fury, Glamorgan insisted upon the compact being;
for the present, kept secret. Crooked courses are perilous
expedients. The Papal Nuncio, Rinuccini, pronounced the
business " hole and corner," nay, beneath the dignity of the
Church. And a copy of the secret articles having been found
on the corpse of the Archbishop of Tuam, murdered by the
Scots at Sligo, Coote disclosed them to the English Parlia
ment. Thereupon, an uplifting of raving voices against Charles
Stuart ; savage refusal of toleration to Catholics. Ormond
affected to have been kept in the dark. Charles repudiated
the negotiation, protested that Glamorgan had exceeded his
instructions ; and, for a little while, the ambassador was a
prisoner. And now we find the confederates, soured by suspicions and
torn by hates, carefully fomented by Ormond. At length, the
more timid Catholics prevailing, a colourless treaty, shirking
nearly every cardinal point, was signed in March, 1646.
Meantime, the royal cause in England had gone to wrack.
In Ireland, the confederate military operations hung fire:
generals not acting cordially together, Monro insulted Ulster,
Coote slaughtered ad libitum in Connaught, Murrough O'Brien
earned everlasting curses in Tipperary.
One Irishman, however, still struck full and straight. Early
in June, 1646, O'Neil marched from Leinster toward Armagh,
in quest of Monro. They met at Benburb. The Scots had
the advantage of numbers ; but the Irish, excellently handled
by Owen Roe, won a signal victory, and divided a rich booty.
And yet, by inflaming the jealousy with which the Norman-
Irish regarded the native Irish, the achievement weakened,
rather than strengthened, the national cause.
On the 1st of August, the peace cooked between Ormond
and the nervous aristocratic majority was officially trumpeted
through Dublin. From Rinuccini and O'Neil down to the
rabble of Waterford, sturdy patriots cried out upon it. De
fiance breathed from every nostril, " Prave 'ords," but military

DOMESTIC STRIFE. 141
means — where ? Thus Ormond reasoned ; and caring not to
stick to a sinking ship, opened a parley with the ascendant
ParUament. Presently, he proceeded to England, but dis
liking the aspect of affairs there, betook himself to France,
and the Roundhead Colonel Jones reigned in his place at the
Castle. And when, beset on all sides. Irishmen should have sternly
closed their ranks, was the time of their fiercest variance.
The confederates frittered away opportunities in domestic
strife, and in heaping affronts on the only leader worthy of
confidence. Indeed, so cordially did they detest O'Neil, that,
to crush him outright, they entered into a bargain " with
Inchiquin, who had lately fallen out with his crop-eared
friends. Rinuccini inveighed against the transaction, but it
was clenched ; and its first-fruits were seen in the march of
Preston and Inchiquin against the northern chief
On the other hand, O'Neil, despairing of his country in the
shaking confederate hands, made a truce with the Scots, and
set forth to suppress the supreme council at Kilkenny. Inter
necine conflict meaning, of course. Parliamentary triumph,
Jones stood by with grounded arms. The expedition failed.
Preston and Inchiquin being too strong for him, Owen Roe,
prudent as he was brave, fell back on his old Ulster quarters.
And while the Irish tangle grew inextricable, ill blood
appeared amongst the parliamentarians : Monro and his
Presbyterians growling over the turn events were taking in
England, Monk was sent to supersede him ; and Monro
returned a prisoner to England.
In the whirl of the hurly-burly, Ormond arrived at Cork as
the King's Lord Lieutenant. Taught by experience, he was
now ready to concede to the Irish their most essential de
mands. On the 17th of January, 1649, therefore, a peace was
ratified. Too late ; on the 30th of the same month, Charles
died saint-like on the scaffold.
" On devient innocent quand on est malheureux."
Shortly afterwards, the inflexible Rinuccini, foiled in all his

142 "THE BLEEDING IPHIGENIA."
plans by the irresolute partisans of Ormond, quitted the
country ; and Oliver was at hand.
That Dublin should be in Royalist keeping before Crom
well's arrival was obviously most important ; Ormond and
Preston, therefore, pushed thitherward ; but, with all his craft,
the Duke was no general, and Preston a mere dragoon ; and
so Jones, the Republican governor, defeated them heavily at
Rathmines.

XIIL
THE CURSE OF CROMWELL, AND THE SETTLE
MENT OF CHARLES.
JOW, Lord Lieutenant Cromwell lands with more
than 1 2,000 veterans, a strong artillery, and much
hard cash. He pressed quickly on to Drogheda,
where Sir Arthur Aston, an intrepid English offi
cer, awaited him with 3,000 seasoned troops. Down crashed
the town walls before Puritan big guns. Then, desperate
breast-to-breast fighting in breach, street, and house. The
mighty Ironside prevailed, and stained his renown for ever.
"No quarter." The undaunted garrison were slaughtered,
with the exception of a miserable thirty set aside for sla
very in Barbadoes. Blood enough had not yet flowed. The
Christian warriors went to work massacring men, women,
children. For five days, horror indescribable. Drawling texts
of Holy Writ, fiends, calling themselves " Saints," spitted
little innocents, brained imploring virgins, hewed down priests
standing before the altar —
" Religion is my name ;
An angel once, but now a fury grown."
Expecting to extract national submission from national
havoc, Oliver treated Wexford as he had treated Drogheda.
" God would have it so," he blasphemously wrote. But no
peace. Cruelty has never brought peace to Ireland ; and yet
phlebotomy has always been eagerly prescribed in her case.
" Some furious spirits," quoth the shrewd Sir WilUam Petty,
" have wished the Irish would rebel again, that they might be
put to the sword. But I declare that notion to be not only

144 THE CURSE OF CROMWELL.
impious and inhuman, but withal frivolous and pernicious
even to those who have rashly wished for those occasions."'
What a pity there were so few Pettys to instruct " furious
spirits." Anxious to keep up discord among the factions, Cromwell
would have beguiled the affronted O'Neil, but that high-hearted
chief, forgetting his quarrel with the confederates, resolved to
try a fall with the foe now scourging the land. He had already
despatched a reinforcement to Ormond, when he was seized
with illness (poisoned, some think), and on the 6th of Novem
ber, 1649, the greatest Irishman ofthe age, adept in war, wise
in counsel, and, rare in those days, humane to the vanquished,
expired at the moment his life was priceless to his country.
Although the confederates continued in harness, the O'Neil's
death virtually laid Ireland at the Leveller's feet. No matter
individual acts of daring, military operations conducted by
officers at odds amongst themselves surely come to naught.
But before Cromwell returned to England, Irishmen taught
him at Clonmel what formidable enemies they are when fitly
commanded. The mighty Roundhead compassed that place,
defended by some good troops under Henry O'Neil. There
was a hard task before him : his stratagems foiled, his assaults
beaten back, his best battalions decimated. And when, after
nearly two months' wrestling with the PhiUstines, he entered
the torn and riven town — the garrison nowhere. Having fired
their last cartridge, the native soldiers had deftly flitted.
Cromwell now quitted Ireland ; and, although desultory
combats occasionally took place, regular campaigning was
over. It could not be otherwise. Few in numbers certainly
were the Roundheads, but united in purpose, strongly dis
ciplined, armed at all points. Bereft of a leader they might
have trusted, poorly armed, in penury, rancorously divided
amongst themselves — behold the confederates. In despair,
40,000 Irish soldiers laid down their arms ; and, according to
terms made with the Parliament, were shipped to France and
Spain, where not a few won high honours and founded great

' Political Anatomy of Ireland."

TRANSPLANTING. i4S
families. They prospered everywhere except on the old soil.
The wives and children of many of these exiles were left
behind, and the godly dealt decisively with such impedi
menta ; even by transporting them to the " tobacco islands,"
where— thanks to fever — they gave little further trouble.
Then — sure as death — confiscation with a vengeance. " On
the 26th of September, 1653," writes Mr. Prendergast, "all
the ancient estates and farms of the people of Ireland were
declared to belong to the adventurers and army of England ;
and it was announced that the ParUament had assigned Con-
naught (America was not then accessible) for the habitation
of the Irish nation, whither they must transplant with their
wives and children before the ist of May following, under
penalty of death if found on this side of the Shannon after
that day."'
As Ulster had been already appropriated by English and
Scottish Protestants, as Connaught was partly reserved for
" Irish and Popish persons innocent of rebellion," the two
fertile provinces, Leinster and Munster, lately the property of
the Anglo-Irish gentry, passed " by beat of drum " into the
hands of Anabaptist and Independent soldiers, in satisfaction
of their arrears of pay, and to London jobbers who had
advanced money to the Government.*
Of course, the Commissioners sitting in Dublin did not
neglect religion. They republished the 27th of Elizabeth, by
which, and subsequent edicts, any Catholic priest found in
Ireland twenty days after date of proclamation was liable to
be hanged, drawn, and quartered ; persons harbouring a priest

' " Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland."
^ " It is remarkable that among those seeking to be dispensed from trans
plantation to Connaught, was "William Spenser, ' whose grandfather was
that Edmond Spenser who, by his writings touching the reduction of the
Irish to civihty, brought upon him the odium of that nation' (thus wrote
' Oliver P.'). That very estate near Fermoy, which was confiscated from
the Fitzgeralds, and conferred on him about seventy years before, is now
confiscated anew, and set out among the soldiers of the Commonwealth
army, and his grandson is ordered to transplant to Connaught as an Irish
man." — Prendergast, Cromwellian Settlement.
L

146 THE CURSE OF CROMWELL.
were subject to loss of Ufe, goods, and chattels ; persons not
revealing the whereabouts of a priest might lose their ears and
be publicly whipped; magistrates might tear children from
CathoUc parents and send them to England for education ;
the oath of abjuration might be tendered to persons of twenty-
one years of age, who, if they refused it, laid themselves open
to imprisonment during pleasure, and deprivation of two-
thirds of their real and personal estates.'
Henry Cromwell, a wise and humane governor, moderated,
as far as he dared, the swing of these atrocious laws. Oliver
himself bent to the necessity of abandoning the ghastly policy
inaugurated at Drogheda. Still, after giving the authorities
credit for executing their terrible powers as tenderly as British
fanaticism would permit, it remains a marvel how the Catholic
religion was kept alive in the land, and how the Celtic race
contrived to survive the tribulations encompassing it.
The Restoration refreshed the spirits of the dispossessed
Anglo-Irish. Having lost all in striving against the Parlia
ment, they fondly imagined that, royalty revived, their patri
mony would return to them. But gratitude was a virtue
languid in the Stuart temperament. The difficulties which
beset Charles II. made a deeper mark on his unprincipled
mind than did the weighty claims of those who, with blood
and treasure, had supported his family in the evil time.
Every kind of chicane was resorted to for the purpose of
keeping the land in statu quo ; and although a few great
families of old English origin (specially befriended at White
hall) managed to recover their estates, although the Court of
Claims (to " the motley adventurers' " dismay) declared many
loyal gentlemen " innocent," yet, as the Independents, Ana
baptists, Seceders, and Socinians in possession could not be
dislodged without being " reprised " (i. e., obtaining in exchange
lands of equal value), the number of confederate and native
Irish royalists who actually regained their old domains was
insignificant. Hence, numbers of Irish gentlemen rushed to
the Continent, capital recruits for an Irish brigade soon to be
' Haverty, " History of Ireland."

"A NUISANCE." 147
terrible to England ; while other inflammable spirits," running
out into the boggs, woods, and other fastnesses and desert
places of the land," joined the Tories' in warfare on the
Puritan intruders.
Besides the land ulcer, there was the commercial sore.
"From the commencement of the sixteenth century," says
Lord Dufferin, " English statesmen persisted in strangling at
its birth, or handing over gagged and bound to the jealous
custody of the rival interest in England, each nascent industry
of Ireland." Nor was this sufficient. Irish flocks and herds
were rigidly tabooed, as the following incident shows : In
1666 certain Irish proprietors, ill furnished with cash, and yet
full of compassion, proposed to contribute 15,000 buUocks to
the relief of the London poor, then in grievous distress, owing
to the Great Fire. The boon was rejected. Detecting a
sugared snare, the Commons refurbished the prohibition (20th
of Elizabeth) against the importation of Irish cattle. They
pronounced such trade " a nuisance." Excited debates fol
lowed in both Houses of Parliament. To the peers the Duke
of Buckingham shouted, " none could oppose the Bill but such
as had Irish estates or Irish understandings." Lord Ossory,
son of the Duke of Ormond, retorted with a challenge ; where
upon the gallant youth went, under arrest, to the Tower, for
Buckingham, quick to scoff, disrelished Irish steel. Affecting
sobriety of expression, the Lords would have termed the
coming-in of the cattle "a detriment and a mischief" rather
than "a nuisance;" but the Lower House sticking to the
" nuisance," the bill thus garnished became law. And exceed
ing wrath grew the Cromwellian landlords when they dis
covered that, once settled in the west, the saints had little to
expect at the hands of their English brethren.
' " Bands of desperate men formed themselves into bodies under the
leadership of some dispossessed gentleman who had retired into the wilds
when the rest of the army he belonged to laid down arms, or had ' run out'
and resumed them, rather than transplant to Connaught. These were the
Tories." — Prendergast, Cromwellian Settlement. Dr. O'Connor de
rives this celebrated sobriquet from the Irish word toirighim — to pursue
for plunder.

IL

148 THE CURSE OF CROMWELL.
This disreputable reign closed not without further affliction
to Irishmen. Titus Oates's abominable fraud — the Popish
plot — ramified, it was pretended, through their country. Ac
cordingly every penal statute went to work at high pressure.
To bear a Celtic name was a crime. The Government cast
about for "swearers." Jones, the Protestant Bishop of Meath,
formerly scout-master-general under Cromwell, plunged con
amore into the foul search. Bigotry yelled for blood. No
mean victim would satisfy. Thus the virtuous Archbishop
Plunket of Armagh, dragged from "his little thatched house,"
was carried over to England to be tried — and falsely convicted.
This illustrious martyr to the most execrable madness that
ever perverted a great nation, was hanged, drawn, and quar
tered at Tyburn in July, 1681.
" Persecution," wrote Hallam, " is the deadly original sin of
the reformed Churches ; that which cools every honest man's
zeal for their cause, in proportion as his reading becomes more
extensive." ' ' " Constitutional History of England."

XIV.
THE "REMODELLING."
^AMES II. an anointed King, the CathoUc ex
ulted, the Protestant quaked in Ireland. The
Cavaliers, whom attachment to the Stuarts had
ruined, dreamed of restitution ; the CromweUians
feared for vineyards they had not planted, and houses they
had not built.
The Earl of Clarendon, an ardent Anglican, who succeeded
the Duke of Ormond as Lord Lieutenant, announced on arrival
at Dublin that "his Majesty had no intention of altering the
Acts of Settlement." But as some of the King's proceedings
showed that the country would not be governed with an eye
to the exclusive benefit of the Protestant interest, official
declarations failed to calm Puritan misgivings.
It being believed at Whitehall that Irish Protestants had
sympathized with Monmouth's rebellion, and the English
militia having shown themselves, in that juncture, frigid
loyalists as well as contemptible soldiers, the Court appre
hended that, in a similar emergency, the Irish militia, "entirely
formed of Protestants^" might turn out unfaithful. Orders
were, therefore, issued that they should deposit their arms
in the royal stores.' Thereupon, "from men trained to
an habitual horror of the popish Irish," arose prophecy of a
general throat-cutting. The new English, however, were
agreeably disappointed ; their windpipes remained intact ;
their sheep and oxen alone suffered from occasional Tory raids.
Ill-organized, badly armed, irregularly, nay, dishonestly
' Leland, " History of Ireland."

ISO THE "REMODELLING:'
paid, the army was a sham in shabby buckram ; James, there
fore, resolved that such sorry array should be licked into
military shape.' But he did not select the fittest man for the
work. Richard Talbot, an Irish gentleman of the Anglo-
Norman stock, recently created Earl of Tyrconnel, was ap
pointed to the command. His powers, large and ill-defined,
jarred with the prerogatives of the Lord Lieutenant ; hence —
what we are acquainted with in our day — a dual military
administration. Moreover, not only a Catholic, but a noisy
and injudicious one, was Tyrconnel. He had been charged,
in his impulsive youth, with offering to assassinate Oliver
Cromwell, and with itching "to turn his poniard upon the
Duke of Ormond." Such accusations, however, are too reck
lessly made, and too easily credited, in troublous times, to
carry with them much historical weight ; we may fairly, then,
dismiss the dagger scene, and pronounce Dick Talbot a hand
some, ruffling spark, hot of blood as the fiery Tybalt :*
" My naked weapon is out ; quarrel, I will back thee."
That the army needed drastic "purging" of old and worn-out
officers and men is certain. But the commander-in-chief
was too zealous by half Despite the King's instructions that
" there should be no distinction made between his subjects "
in this matter ; despite his own sensible exclamation : " God's
wounds ! to ask a soldier, if he comes well mounted and be a
likely fellow, what religion he is of, is a ridiculous thing ;"3 — it
' " He (Tyrconnel) said that the army had never been useful by reason
of their never having been regimented till of late, and because the troops
and companies have been quartered a dozen years and more upon the es
tates of their captains, without having been once exercised, which was the
ruin of an army ; that the King was resolved to have his army weU dis
ciplined, that they might be useful to him." — State Letters ofHe?iry, Earl
of Clarendon.
" He married, in 1679, the beautiful widow of George, Count Hamilton
(son of the fourth Earl of Abercorn). Her maiden name, Frances
Jennings, she was the eldest daughter of Richard Jennings, of Sandridge,
in Hertfordshire, and sister of the famous Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough.
' " The practice in the army of Ireland was, that no man was admitted
to be a trooper but who came well mounted, armed, and at his own
rharges." — Clarendon, State Letters.

ALARM AND RAGE. 151
is plain that Tyrconnel preferred CathoUc to Protestant re
cruits. His partiality begat wild exaggeration. At the time
the adventurers were asserting the wholesale discharge of Pro
testants, we have " some of the great officers averring that
when all the changes are made, there will not be a seventh
part natives" (in the ranks). Even Clarendon, always at
variance with Tyrconnel, and evidently anxious to make the
worst of the " remodelling,'' has nothing more damaging to
impart to James, than that " there are already (August 14th,
1686) 2,000 Irish, which is a fourth part of the army." Men's
sense of right and wrong often assumes the character of the
weather-cock. The heaviest charge against James IL, pre
ferred by the Protestant interest, amounted to this : — that he
treated Protestants somewhat in the fashion they were accus
tomed to treat Catholics.'
Naturally enough, the military remodelling, the appoint
ment of three Catholic judges, and the King's desire that men
of the old race should find employment in their own land,
alarmed, as well as enraged, the settlers ; so wild, indeed,
became the excitement that many of them rushed open-
mouthed to England. Amazing spectacle for Europe ! On
one hand might be seen Irish Catholics marching under foreign
colours, and fiercely telling their new comrades how grievously
they had been wronged. On the other, Irish Protestants filled
London coffee-houses, ante-rooms, and churches, with lamen
tation over the tribulation which Popish Irish and Popish
majesty were bringing upon the just.
It hailed pamphlets too. The adventurers drove the quill
to bolster the Acts of Settlement and Explanation,* which Lord

' How Catholic soldiers fared at the hands of the "Williamite govem
ment is told by Luttrell (April 24th, 1689) : "The Irish soldiers, about
2,000, who came from that kingdom to assist King James, and upon his
goeing away were secured and confined to the isle of "Weight, are shipped
of there in two of his Majesties men of war, who are to carry them to
Hamborough, as a present from our King to the Emperour, to be em
ployed against the Turks." — Brief Relation of State Affairs.
' In his speech on the Union, Lord Clare pithily described the Act of
Settlement : " I wish gentlemen, who call themselves the dignified and

152 THE "REMODELLING."
Clare assured our fathers "it is impossible to defend;" while
Nagle and other Catholic writers, with equal vigour and better
wit, exposed the rotten foundation on which the huge super
structure of abuse had been reared.
In the midst of the commotion Clarendon was recalled,
and the survivor of bloody Drogheda — Cromwellian hater,
and Cromwellian hated — Tyrconnel, became Viceroy. Oil
upon flame. Immediately, more scared flight across the
Channel, more Catholic appointments, louder outcry and bit
terer sermonizing in England : sham plots and false rumours
flying thicker than ever about Ireland — Papist peasant dread
ing a burst of Puritan rage, and Puritan suspicion fancying
Popish dirks in every reed shaken by the wind. If, for a
moment, the dispossessed landlords congratulated themselves,
their hopes were soon blighted ; for James's council promptly
rejected a bill which provided that "a new commission should
issue for hearing and deciding upon such claims as had not
yet been heard, for want of time or other cause, without fault
of the parties." When the fate of the bill was known. Chief
Baron Rice and his colleagues returned to their lodging fol- "
lowed by a yelling mob, certain roughs of whom bore aloft
potatoes stuck on poles, and with brazen lungs bawled —
" Room for the Irish Ambassadors !" All this to the infinite
diversion of cockneydom, ever ready for a fling at Paddy.
Events multiplied apace. When the dull eyes of James
at last opened to Dutch designs, Tyrconnel despatched to
England a few picked Irish regiments, whose landing gave
the signal for fresh panic anent Popish " murtherings."'
independent Irish nation, to know that seven million eight hundred thou
sand acres of land were set out, under the authority of this act, to a motley
crew of English adventurers, civil and military, nearly to the total exclu
sion of the old inhabitants of the island. Many of the latter class, who
were innocent of the rebellion, lost their inheritance, as well from the
difficulties imposed upon them by the Court of Claims in the proofs re
quired of their innocence, as from a deficiency in the fund for reprisals to
English adventurers."
' Butler's dragoons, first battalion foot guards. Lord Forbes' foot, An
thony Hamilton's fooi. Total, 2,818 men.

DERRY AND ENNISKILLEN. 153
Useless to the King in England, the absence of these
troops from Ireland was disastrous to him. The northern
and southern Protestants had not simply declaimed. Long
before the Williamite landing at Torbay they had been arm
ing, drilling, and keeping up their courage with horrifying
tales of the slaughter, arson, and rape which the Celtic mind
was supposed to be revolving.'
To make up the contingent for English service, Tyrconnel
had withdrawn the garrison from Derry ; but, perturbation
increasing through Ulster, Lord Antrim's foot, 1,200 strong,
were ordered to occupy that important position. Now, An
trim's was what we should call " a very fine corps " — " six-
foot " to a man. Yet more. Irishmen being constitutionally
gallant, a bevy of merry brown-haired wenches accompanied
the lusty warriors. As the soldiers marched along, hideous
stories about their stature, their ferocity, and their women,
startled the country side. Anon came to hand the anony
mous letter, " warning of a general massacre intended by the
Irish," which, diligently circulated by Lord Mount Alexander,
had just thrown D;iblin into confusion and uproar unparalleled.
Fear, passion, and the mob, got the upper hand in Derry.
The graver citizens preached prudence to the winds. On the
7th of December, 1688 — a fortnight before James quitted
Whitehall — up went the town drawbridge in front of the royal
Anakim. Few acts of popular effervescence have produced
greater results than this rough work of nine 'prentice youths.
Its success made it glorious.
Such examples are catching. Enniskillen followed suit.
The north is a-fire. Everywhere making ready for a fight ;
everywhere pressing invocation to William of Orange.
Tyrconnel did not doze. He called upon loyal men to
enrol ; and then, with more forbearance than might be ex
pected from him, informed the northern associations that, if
they laid down their arms, an amnesty should be granted.
"The Prince of Orange being too busy to afford his Irish
friends the military assistance they craved, northern fervour
' Plowden, " History of Ireland."

154 THE "REMODELLING."
flagged, and, through the mediation of Lord Mountjoy, a Pro
testant nobleman who adhered to James, the Derrymen ad
mitted within their walls a garrison, partly Protestant, partly
CathoUc, consisting of six companies of Mountjoy's regiment,
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Lundy.
But if unprepared to take Ireland by the throat, WilUam
had not forgotten her. At this time lived in London as " a
sort of prisoner," Colonel Richard Hamilton, a brother of the
afterwards famous Anthony Hamilton and the Comtesse de
Grammont. He had served in the French army, but having
dared to fall in love with the Princesse de Conti, Louis's ille
gitimate daughter, had been obUged to quit Versailles. Now
this adroit gentleman, of whose wit and bonnes fortunes Saint
Simon speaks approvingly, was mentioned to WilUam by Mr.
Secretary Temple, as just the person to serve his turn in the
perplexing posture of Irish affairs.' Accordingly, Hamilton
proceeded to Dublin with instructions to urge Tyrconnel, sup
posed to be wavering, to submit to the new regime. But, im
pressed with the instability of the revolution, the agreeable
colonel advised Tyrconnel to stand by James. The Lord
Lieutenant having, by this time, discarded the flighty notion
of a crown for himself — which is said to have flashed across
his brain — was easily persuaded. However, as the country
lacked arms, money, every military appliance indeed, save
men, it was necessary to gain time ; he therefore kept up a
show of negotiation ; and, under pretence of obtaining James's
consent to the submission of the sister kingdom through a
viva voce explanation of its impuissance, Lord Mountjoy and
Chief Baron Rice were despatched to Saint Germain. On
their arrival the truth transpired. Mountjoy, whom Tyrconnel
distrusted, was lodged in the Bastille, and James prepared to
join his army in the field.
Meanwhile, having received favourable tidings from England,
the Ulster Protestants rose. The Catholic soldiers were hunted
out of Derry, and the Dutch prince proclaimed king in the
' Son of Sir "WilHam Temple. He committed suicide on hearing the
upshot of his protdg^'s mission.

LANDING AT KINS ALE, 155
neighbouring market-places. Except Charlemont and Car-
rickfergus, the whole province was speedily in Orange hands.
Straightway the Lord Lieutenant sent Richard Hamilton
with 2,500 troops against the insurgents. While he was
marching on Dromore, King James landed at Kinsale.

XV.

DROMORE AND CLADYFORD.
1689.
I OR three hundred years an English King had not
set foot in Ireland ; and how opposite the circum
stances under which Richard II. and James II.
appeared ! The Plantagenet came to subdue, the
Stuart to rally a nation. Both failed, for both were feeble.
The character of James at this period is well drawn by
Comte d'Avaux : " La seule chose, Sire," writes the sagacious
ambassador to Louis XIV, " qui pourra nous faire de la peine
est I'irresolution du roy d'Angleterre, qui change souvent
_d'€bi4s7 et ne se determine pas toujours au meilleur. II
s'arreste aussy beaucoup a de petites choses, ou il employe
tout son temps, et passe legerement sur les plus essentielles." '
The King's old business habits, then, had sunk into a passion
for petty details. Mindfulness of this sort, however proper in
the captain of a company, is fatal to a prince in arms.
D'Avaux foreboded.
Tyrconnel awaited the King at Cork, and received a duke
dom for his pains. Those acquainted with the Irish nature
can picture to themselves the rapture which blazed through
out the South. As the cortige travelled to Dublin — sometimes
cheered by a smiling landscape, but too often grieved by
blackened vestiges of Cromwellian devastation — the intense

' " Negociations de M. le Comte d'Avaux en Irlande." For access to
this very rare book I am indebted to the courtesy of the late Earl of
Clarendon and Earl Granville, when Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

CREAD MILLE FAILTHE / 157
affection of the Celt occasionally assumed a form more tender
than agreeable ; at Carlow, we are told, women not always
seductive, wrinkled crones, no less than buxom maidens,
actually imposed kisses on their reluctant Prince.
Into Dublin James rode in gallant guise ; Tyrconnel, bear
ing the sword of state, preceded him. Comte d'Avaux, the
Dukes of Powis and Berwick, the Earls of Melfort and Granard
were on his right and left. Irish, Scotch, and English gentle
men followed. To welcome him came forth the old nobiUty
in coaches and six. The aldermen, newly robed for the
nonce, might be seen, panting for an imperial glance ; and
with the Host aloft in their front, the Catholic clergy, regu
lar and secular, advanced in august procession. Forty beau
tiful damsels scattered flowers upon the royal path, tapestry
waved across the streets, every window glowed with loveli
ness, and a countless multitude vociferated, " Cread mille
failthe!" " Hence the fool's paradise, the statesman's schemes.
The air-built castle, and the golden dreams."
The King was soon busy. Addresses poured in from all
quarters. That of the Anglican clergy " touched gently on
the distraction of the times, and the grievances they had
experienced." ' Jarnes assured the reverend gentlemen of
protection and redress. He promised to defend, nay, even to
enlarge, the privileges of the University. But, as Protestants
were removed from the Privy Council to make way for Catho
lics Uke Powis and Berwick, Protestant feeling was generally
irreconcilable. Five proclamations were now issued. The first commanded
Protestants who had lately quitted the kingdom to return,
and accept the royal protection, under penalties for refusal.
The second, directed against marauding, ordered all CathoUcs
not belonging to the army to lay up their arms in their
houses. A third called on the peasantry to bring in provisions
to the troops. A fourth raised the value of money — a feat
often attempted, but never achieved. The last summoned a
' Leland, « History of Ireland."

158 DROMORE AND CLADYFORD.
parliament to meet in Dublin on the 7th of May. While all
this was doing, the Duke of Berwick, accompanied by several
officers, both French and Irish, left the castle for the north.
He had just been appointed Marechal de Camp (Major-
General) in the force acting there under Lieutenant-General
Richard Hamilton.
The military condition of the country caused James's ad
visers grave anxiety. It is true that, by the exertions and at
the cost of the nobiUty and gentry, numerous regiments of
cavalry and infantry either had been, or were in course of
being raised.' The recruits were of excellent quality. D'Avaux
reports them to his master : " des plus beaux hommes qu'on
puisse voir, il n'y en a presque point au dessous de 5 pieds 5
a 6 pouces" (nearly 6 feet English measure). " Les piquiers et
les grenadiers sont presque tous de 5 pieds 6 pouces et demie "
{i.e. above 6 feet English). "Je parle des nouvelles levees,
comme des anciennes." Of rank and file, then, no stint ; but
over and above thew and sinew, little, and that of the v^orst.
The ambassador describes the levies as being armed mostly
with shillelaghs {petits bastons) sometimes tipped with iron ;
and James asserts that the 20,000 stand of arms, which Tyr
connel had to distribute, were " so old and unserviceable that
only a thousand of the firearms proved afterwards to be of
any use." Here the King is borne out, not only by D'Avaux,
but by Lord Clarendon, who, when Viceroy, informed Lord
Sunderland how constantly the officers complained "of the
defects of their arms, and alleged that many of them may be
bought here (in Dubhn) for half what they cost out of Eng
land." * No doubt ; but at this time, and for long afterwards,
' It appears from " L'Etat present de I'armde d'Irlande," sent by
D'Avaux to Louis XIV., that shortly after James's arrival the army con
sisted of " the guards (22 companies of 90 rank and file each company),
thirty-five regiments of infantry (each regiment having 13 companies of
62 rank and file), three regiments of cavalry (of 9 companies each), four
other regiments of 6 companies each. Three regiments of dragoons
12 companies each. Four others of 10 companies. In all about 35,000
men." '^ " State Letters ofthe Earl of Clarendon."

MILITARY NECESSITIES. 159
England preferred buying dear at home to buying cheap
elsewhere. The only corps tolerably armed were the " old regiments "
— the Guards (Dorrington's), Macarthy's, Clancarth'ys, and
Newcomen's infantry; also, seven companies of Mountjoy's
(the remaining six being in Derry). Three regiments of
horse, and one of dragoons, were likewise fairly equipped. Of
artillery, only eight small field-guns could parade, " the rest
not being mounted." Moreover, " no stores in the magazines,
little powder and ball, many of the officers gone to England,
and no money in cash." ' Against this penury there is a set-off
in the arms and ammunition brought from France, but after
making allowance for these, the supply remains inadequate
to the demand.
On the strength, perhaps, of an ambiguous expression in
James's "Memoires" that the officers were "gens du pais peu
differents des soldats," Lord Macaulay has picturesquely de
scribed them as "cobblers, tailors, butchers, or footmen."
But Mr. Dalton — a satisfactory authority on the subject — is
of a contrary opinion : " A more noble host," he says, " has
seldom been submitted to review. Six of the colonels were
peers, as were . five of the captains. The other officers were
sons of peers, baronets, or heirs of the oldest families as long
as they had anything to inherit."* How doctors differ !
Dismal prospect. The old corps alone fit to fight, the rest
of good stuff certainly, but, as yet, awkwardest unkempt
squads. What a mistake, the despatch of nearly 3,000 disci
plined soldiers to England ! At home, besides their value in
the field, they would have done excellent service by imparting
morale to the raw recruits, always unsteady, always prone
to panic. The siege of Sebastopol proved how poorly the
youngster, taken green from the loom or the plough, endures
the miseries of war, even when the resources of the richest
nation under heaven are lavished to make a soldier of him.
And now to blows. On the 14th of March, Lieutenant-

' Clarke, "Life of James II."
' " Illustrations of King James's Army List."

i6o DROMORE AND CLADYFORD.
General Richard Hamilton came up with the insurgents at
Dromore, co. Down. Of the 2,500 men at his back, many
were raparees,' a species of the bashi-bazouk, useful when a
. general knows how to turn them to account, worse than use
less under a routine commander. More numerous, and even
more undisciplined were the Protestants. They scattered at
the first shock. After this " break of Dromore," the mass of
the fugitives entered Hillsborough ; but, on receiving " pro
tections" from Hamilton, slunk gladly to their homes. How
ever, by the exertions of Sir Arthur Rawdon, Colonel Upton,
and other gentlemen, a considerable body held together and
made for Coleraine, to stop the Catholics on the Bann ;
another band sought shelter in Enniskillen.
Soon after the Duke of Berwick's appearance in their camp
the Irish reached Coleraine. Here, the northerns were found
so strongly intrenched that Hamilton, seeing no chance of
carrying the position with the force under his orders, skir
mished languidly and demanded reinforcements. Exultation,
great but shortlived, on the other side. Five regiments of in
fantry, one of cavalry, and two guns, quickly arriving under
the Marquis de Pusignan,* that active officer crossed the river
with a detachment a Httle above the town, upon which the
enemy, fearing to be cut off from Derry, evacuated the place
and pushed for the Foyle.
Leaving Charles Moore's men to garrison Coleraine, the
Irish passed the Bann in boats and marched through a difficult
country to Strabane. While they reposed there, news arrived
that 10,000 WilUamites under Colonel Lundy, the Governor
of Derry, had occupied Cladyford and Lifford, with the object
of securing the passes of the Finn water. This stirred Hamil
ton. On the 15 th of April a light corps of 600 horse and 350
foot, led by himself, with Pusignan and Berwick for his seconds,
' Story's "Impartial History of Affairs in Ireland."
' Viz., GormansLOwn's, Bellew's, Louth's, Nugent's, Charles Moore's
foot, and Tyrconnel's horse. Pusignan, writing to D'Avaux from Dun
gannon, says, " I have seen the regiments of BeUew, Gormanstown, and
Louth, which do not possess a sword, and but very few muskets. In short,
I cannot exaggerate the necessities of this country."

THE KING'S MISTAKE. i6i
was at Clady. On reconnoitring the bridge the general found
the first arch broken and a stout breastwork at the further
extremity, the greater body of the enemy being in column
somewhat to the rear.
Sending his grenadiers to the front, Hamilton made a
fatigue party repair the damaged arch under the cover of their
fire. While this was being done with planks and boughs of
trees, confusion within the breastwork became evident. The
cavalry, therefore, were ordered to cross the river. Berwick
at their head, Tyrconnel's horse dashed at the stream and
gained the opposite bank, with the loss of Major Nangle and
two troopers. The cavalry still swam, when the infantry,
rushing over the now practicable bridge, seized the tete de
pont. This smart action so daunted the foe that they broke
and ran for Derry. Hotly pursued for more than five miles
they left 400 men killed and wounded behind. Had the bogs
not proved friends in need, their loss would have been far
heavier. The Catholic casualties were insignificant'
During Hamilton's course through Ulster there was anxious
discussion in Dublin about Derry. How was the centre of
rebellion to be treated ^ It was agreed at last, that the
general-in-chief, de Rosen, should proceed with a few squadrons
to the north ; whither, contrary to the opinion both of D'Avaux
and Tyrconnel, the King resolved to follow. The French Am
bassador and the Irish duke judged aright. On every ground,
political and military, James ought to have stayed in Dublin,
but Lord Melfort, the unpopular Scotch favourite — " n'y bon
frangais, n'y bon Irlandais, qui songe uniquement k I'Ecosse"*
— had persuaded him that, being sincerely beloved by his
subjects, his appearance before Derry would suffice to unlock
its gates. And, to do him justice, James was desirous of pre
venting, by his presence, any unnecessary bleeding of yielding
Derryites.^ It chanced that Rosen and his comrades, Maumont and
' L'Abbd MacGeoghegan, " History of Ireland." Harris, " Life of King
William III."
" " D'Avaux au Roi (Negociations)." ' Ibid.
'm

i62 DROMORE AND CLADYFORD.
Ldry, entered Strabane, while Protestant and Papist were con
tending at Clady. With the horse they had brought from
DubUn, and eighty men of the foot guards, then garrisoning
the town,-the French officers crossed the river at Lifford ; and,
sweeping aside some straggling bands in their front, marched
for St. Johnstown ; thus forming an advanced guard to Hamil
ton, who was now en rotite for Raphoe. By this time the King
had reached Charlemont. Wrought, perplexed in the ex
treme, ought he to proceed to Derry .' Would it not be more
prudent to return to DubUn >. But the news from Clady, and
a letter from the Duke of Berwick announcing that the supe
rior officers were convinced Derryite obduracy would melt
away under the sun of York, dispelled his hesitation. Attended
by a single valet, even leaving behind his camp bed, James
remounted his weary horse and rode thirty miles across
country to Newtown Stewart in quest of Rosen.'
While these events occurred outside, Derry was in con
vulsion. Two EngUsh regiments (now the 9th and 17th) under
Colonels Richards and Cunningham having arrived in Lough
Foyle, a council of war met, and, at the instance of Governor
Lundy, decided that, the place being untenable, the troops
should not land, and that the citizens ought to capitulate.
Desiring nothing better, the wealthy burgesses promised, in
reply to a summons from General Hamilton to send deputies
to treat, provided the King's forces did not advance beyond
St. Johnstown. But to the masses this half-heartedness seemed
abomination. They cried aloud for war ; and indeed their utter
ignorance of war suited the emergency better than the scant
science boasted of by Lundy (lukewarm Williamite at best)
and his comrades, Richards and Cunningham, doubtless, mere
rule-of-thumb commanders.
To heighten the effervescence, befell one of those blunders
which, in a crisis, James had a knack of committing. Without
directly communicating with Hamilton, and only vaguely
cognizant of that ofaeex's pour-parlers^nxih. the civic authorities,
the King, joining Rosen on the i8th of April, hurried to Derry.
' Macpherson, " Original Papers."

A ROYAL SUMMONS. 163
But no sooner did the dragoons escorting him loom on Wind
mill-hill, south-west of the town, than, not unnaturally, arose
the cry — "Treachery!" "These d — Papists," bawled the
popular leaders, "would butcher us unawares. The halt at
St. Johnstown was a feint. Lo ! they come. Have at 'em in
God's name!" Straightway, divers of the rabble flew to the
walls, and, to the summoning blast of the royal trumpeter,
replied with a cannon shot, killing, according to some accounts,
an officer who rode beside the astonished monarch.' Dutiful
constituted authority stood aghast, and would have apolo
gized ; but the roughs, in full swing of sectarian intoxica
tion, made a clean sweep of timorous respectability. Robert
Lundy stole away in disguise — to share with the Pope hor-
riblest cursings over Orange punch-bowls for evermore ;
Richards and Cunningham sailed right glad for England — to
be broke on arrival for excessive prudence. Lynch law, how
ever, prevailed not. New rulers turned up, cut and dry for
the occasion : the Rev. George Walker, rector of Donaghmore,
County Tyrone, an active parson with a strong military turn,
and a Mr. Baker assumed sway. Still, Protestant wrath burns
fiercely, and every working man, stirred to his heart's core,
thirsts for the blood of " Popish murtherers." And yet, in a
crisis when one might expect all anti-Catholic energies con
centrated on a single object, strife broke out amongst "the
different religious parties ;" — one Dissenting teacher pro
nouncing none worthy to fight the good fight who refused to
take the covenant. The peril, however, grew too pressing for
the indulgence even of theological rancour. The pious had
to bide a more convenient season for controversial pastime,
and to betake themselves to the less congenial pushing of
pikes.* Derrymen, unexpectedly stubborn, and the royalist soldiers,
worn out with continual marching in incessant rain — ^James
retired to St. Johnstown, where it was at once decided at a
council of war that the King should return to Dublin for the
purpose of organizing succour and meeting Parliament. Taking
' Dalrymple " Memoirs." " Leland, " History of Ireland."

164

DROMORE AND CLADYFORD.

with him Generals de Rosen and de L6ry, James went his
way. The lead against Derry, therefore, devolved on Lieute
nant-General de Maumont, Richard Hamilton being second
in command, the Duke of Berwick and Marquis de Pusignan
serving as major-generals.

XVI.
AGAINST DERRY.
1689.
jHAT of Derry .? It clusters upon an oblong ridge,
about five miles south of Lough Foyle. The river
of that name, winding pleasantly through a charm
ing country, surrounds the town on three sides.
Rampart walls, 24 ft. high and 8 or 9 ft. thick, girt it. A ditch
lay outside. On nine bastions and two half-bastions were
distributed, according to the Rev. George Walker, "twenty
serviceable guns" (the Duke of Berwick says "thirty pieces").
There were four gates, north, south, east, and west. In ad
vance of Bishop's Gate, facing south, Lundy had constructed
a ravelin. At 260 paces beyond this, a trench had been
opened, extending from the south-west bastion to the water
side on the south-east.
On the 25 th of March avast store of arms and ammunition
had been introduced ; ' 7,341 fighting men (officers inclusive)
paraded in eight lately formed regiments. "Besides these,"
says the Rev. John Mackenzie, a presbyterian chaplain, " there
were several volunteers who did good service." The weak
points in the defence were the numerous ineffectives — old men,
women, and children, who had taken refuge in the town — and
a scanty supply of provisions.
How the Jacobites were prepared for offensive operations
against a walled town strongly garrisoned, and comparatively
well armed, will appear as we proceed.
' Rev. Andrew Hamilton, " Actions of the Inniskillen men.''

1 66 AGAINST DERRY.
The day after the King's departure. General de Maumont,
accompanied by Hamilton, Pusignan, and Berwick, left St.
Johnstown with 400 foot, Tyrconnel's horse, and Dungan's
dragoons (about 700 sabres in all). Passing Derry on the
right, they proceeded to Culmore Fort, which, jutting boldly
into the estuary, defends the entrance to the Foyle. It luckily
surrendered without demur, for the royalists had no means of
capturing it by force. At the same time, the troops were
distributed thus : — three battalions and nine squadrons re
mained at St. Johnstown ; head-quarters were fixed at Brook-
hall ; a corps watched the place from the eastern side of the
water. The entire force may be estimated at about 10,000,'
including several detachments.
It was intended not only to blockade the city, until the
arrival of materiel might render a living siege possible, but
also to repress the armed malcontents swarming in Ennis
killen. Brigadier Ramsay had thrown 200 infantry-, under Anthony
Hamilton, into Pennyburn, a village about a mile south of
Derry, on the road to Culmore. On the 21st of April the
besieged "sallied out as many as pleased and what officers
were at leisure, not in any commendable order,"* on this post.
Disposing his men in barricaded houses, and behind hedges,
Hamilton sent for assistance. The cavalry being out foraging
when the messenger reached Brook-hall, some forty troopers
only could on the instant be collected. Galloping at the
head of them went Maumont, Berwick, Henry Fitz-James,
and other superior officers. Joined on the road by foragers,
they entered Pennyburn about eighty sabres. Down, then,
upon the foe ; break them up, hunt them to the very gates !
Seeing their horse routed, the Derry foot retired with Uttle
loss. Having in their charge borne the fire of infantry, the
' "With the addition of Lord Galmoy's corps acting independently, "the
total force in the north consisted of 11,975 foot, 735 horse, 750 dragoons."
Macpherson, Original Papers.
^ Rev. George "Walker, " Account of the Siege of Londonderry." The
Duke of Berwick asserts the reverend colonel's hazy field state to signify
1,500 foot and 300 horse.

SKIRMISHING. 167
Catholic cavalry suffered heavily : the general-in-chief de
Maumont, Major Taaffe, brother of Lord Carlingford and of
Count Taaffe (Berwick's " governor "), together with six or
seven soldiers were killed. Almost every man and horse
engaged were hit more or less ; Berwick and Pusignan had
horses shot under them.
Mr. Walker speaks with awe of the Irish artillery, and im
mensely overrates its abundance — as a country clergyman
transformed into a sabreur would naturally enough do. At
the commencement of the investment the Jacobites had only
two small mortars, three field pieces, and two 12-pounders
with which to batter walls mounting, at least, twenty cannon.
On the 23rd the Irish opened fire with a heavy gun from
the opposite (north-east) side of the river on Ship-quay-gate,
but the gunners being very unskilful, small damage ensued.'
The besieged replied from the bastions (fronting north), and,
besides a trifling amount of mischief, slew " two friars in their
habits." Rare fun for Derry !
In the early morning of the 25th a considerable force sallied
upon the Pennyburn detachment, now raised to 500 men.
The combat lasted long; and the Irish, forced out of the
hedgerows, were reduced to a few loop-holed houses, when
Brigadier Ramsay, advancing from the south of the place,
took the sortie in rear, and sent it in confusion whence it
came. As usual, no great loss of life, but the French officers
suffered badly, Pusignan being so severely wounded that he
died soon afterwards. The Duke of Berwick received a con
tusion of the spine — his sole wound (he tells us) until the
death-blow. Writing to Louis XIV., D'Avaux sketches the situation in
colours different from those in which Walker paints " the well-
appointed " Irish army : " Les affaires," he says, " ne vont pas
trop bien au nord. M. de Pusignan y a regu un coup de
mousquet au travers du corps, dont il pouvrait guerir, s'il y
avait un bon chirurgeon dans toute I'arm^e. Mais je n'espere

' " Les cannoniers ^taient si mal adroit, qu'ils ne pouvaient donner dans
aucune maison." — DAvAUX a Louvois.

J 68 A GAINST DERR Y.
rien de sa vie, et il meurt presque autant de chagrin de s'etre
VU abandonn^ dans I'occasion, et dans sa maladie, que de sa
propre blessure." Then he goes on to teU how, after losing
two French generals, to say nothing of three or four French
officers, the Irish must convert the siege into a blockade, and
intrench themselves against sorties.' In fact, this quasi-siege
appears to have been the result of a compromise. Aware of
the depletion of the magazines, Rosen always objected to
a siege. Melfort, with an eye to Scottish concerns alone,
desired a blockade, in order that Irish troops might reinforce
Dundee. Other counsellors suggested a middle course — a
kind of siege-blockade— to serve as a school for the recruits
and untrained officers. Wishing to please everybody, and
hoping that somehow something might turn up, James em
braced the idea.
Richard Hamilton, who now assumed command, reported
to Dublin that the infantry immediately in front of the place
only amounted to six feeble battalions, and that out of every
ten muskets about one might be counted on to shoot.^ He '
pressed, therefore, for soldiers, cannon, a hea"vy mortar, and
siege materiel.
The notion entertained by Leland, Harris, and others that
Derry was invested by " 20,000 well-appointed troops " is
a stretch of imagination. It is scarcely possible that at this
period 20,000 recruits could have been massed upon any parti
cular point in Ireland. But we have it on James's authority
that when the Royalists appeared before the city their entire
force throughout the north amounted to 13,463 horse, foot,
and dragoons.^ How these troops were employed a Pro
testant writer shall explain : " It is well known," says the
Rev. Andrew Hamilton, an eye-witness of and actor in the
events he describes, " that during the whole time of that long
siege, the men of Inniskillen kept at least half of the Irish

' D'Avaux au Roi, " Negociations," &c.
° " Comme les bons (bataillons) ne sont que de six cents hommes. Je
juge que ceux-lk n'en ont pas quatre cents." — D'AVAUX AU Roi.
" Macpherson, " Original Papers."

WIND-MILL ATTACKED. 169
army from coming before Derry, and kept them in so great
fear of their coming to relieve the town, that they durst never
make a regular attack upon the place, but were forced to
divide their men, keeping strong guards at Strabane, Lifford,
Castle-Fin, Cladybridge, Newtown-Stewart, Castle Derrig, and
Omagh, lest Inniskillen men should come upon them. By so
doing they made the siege a great deal easier to the besieged,
and therefore (as those who were best acquainted with the
affairs of Derry during the siege do confess) Inniskillen does
deserve no small part of the honour of that place's preserva
tion.'" This homely good sense disposes of much of Mr.
Walker's hyperbole, so eagerly patronized by Leland.
It follows, then, that inverting the proper order of such
things, [the defenders were throughout more numerous than
the assailants,^ that the former possessed more than double
the guns the latter could, at any period, place in battery ; more
over, there is reason to believe that the Derry men were better
armed than their opponents.
To resume, information coming from Dublin that battering
cannon might soon be expected, Hamilton determined to
secure positions close to the walls, so that real work might
commence, when the artillery arrived. On the 6th of May,
therefore, Ramsay attacked the intrenched windmill, crowning
an eminence about half a cannon shot south of the town ;
but (the Duke of Berwick writes) it being defended " avec une
grande bravoure," and the garrison opportunely sallying, the
Irish were beaten back ; Brigadier Ramsay, a valiant soldier,
and 200 men killed ; several officers of note taken prisoners.
From their position we can conceive that the Derryites suffered
less severely. Still, it is difficult to imagine so much fighting,
attended by a Protestant loss of only three men killed and
twenty wounded. In addition to other endowments, the Rev.
George Walker seems to have possessed a lively fancy.
Wauchope took command of Ramsay's corps, and two heavy
' " Actions of the Inniskillen men."
" Napoleon laid it down that a besieging army should be four times the
strength of the garrison. But this calculation assumes the troops, inside
and outside, to be equal as regards discipline and armament.

170 AGAINST DERRY.
guns, one large mortar with ten companies of Eustace's regi
ment having joined, again attempted to carry the mill ; but
alive to its importance, the enemy had strengthened it so
effectually, that despite the daring of Captain Butler ' and the
stormers, the Irish had to retire, leaving behind, says Walker,
400 fighting men slain, besides the gallant Butler and other
officers captured. A less impulsive authority, the Duke of
Berwick, puts the Jacobite casualties at " several officers, and
at least 100 men."
Was there ever a funnier ruse de guerre than that practised
by the retreating Irish, according to Walker. " We wondered,"
says he, " the foot did not run faster till we took notice that in
their retreat they took the dead on their backs, and so pre
served their own bodies from the remainder of our shot, which
was more service than they did when alive." ^ Some might
suppose the beaten soldiers to have done bravely in carrying
off the dead : in our day the Victoria Cross peculiarly glorifies
the achievement. By no means. It was simply to save their
own hides ! Such is history written on the spot, passion
guiding the pen, and prejudice clotting the ink.
Some change in the disposition of the Jacobites now took
place. The battalions on the east side of the river remained
undisturbed, but the main body of the troops was massed
behind a wood a little west of the town.
On the 15th of June cheerful intelligence greeted the garri
son, who were becoming straightened for food. An English
fleet of thirty sail was reported in the lough. But the savoury
mirage of bread and beef speedily vanished, for the winds
were contrary, and the Irish transported their big guns to
Charles Fort, just above Brook-hall, where the Foyle makes
its first great bend to the eastward. Here, too, they stretched
across the water a mighty boom, made of huge beams, braced
together with a stupendous cable, fortified with chains. They
sprinkled musketeers along the banks. So effectual the ob
struction, that Commodore Rooke, commanding the frigates
' Second son of Viscount Mountgarret.
' "Walker, " Siege of Londonderry.''

CONRAD DE ROSEN. 171
which conveyed the expedition, agreed with Major-General
Kirke that there was nothing for it at present but watching
events and praying for change of wind.' Communication
with the ships cut off, signalling from mast-head and steeple
availed not ; and when a hardy seaman contrived to creep,
dodge, even swim, away into the town, and told how Kirke,
lamb of Tangiers, wolf of Sedgemoor, Protestant hero now, lay
comfortably in the lough with two veteran regiments, arms,
ammunition, and provisions in plenty, his tidings profited the
hungry citizens about as much as the sight of a richly fur
nished butcher's stall regales the starving outcast.
General de Rosen joined the Irish headquarters on the 17th
of June with a few French engineers and gunners, three regi
ments of infantry, five troops of horse, and one of dragoons.
The investing corps now seems to have reached its maximum
strength — viz. bwelve battalions and fifteen squadrons, number
ing from five to six thousand men.^ How the reinforcements
were prepared for war D'Avaux shall explain. Writing to M.
de Louvois, he says, "J 'ay vu la lettre d'un colonel d'un des
regimens, qu'on vient d'envoyer a Derry, qui mandoit que dans
tout son regiment, il n'avoit que sept mousquets, les autres
n'ont que de petits bastons long de trois pieds, qu'ils portent
sur I'epaule, et quelques uns ont des piques qui ne sont pas
ferries." Then he proceeds to inform the minister that the
luckless army possesses neither hospitals, medicines, pro
visions, nor munitions, — " n'y rien de tout ce qui est necessaire
a la subsistance aussi bien qu'^ la defence des troupes, qui ont
beaucoup d'ennemis sur les bras, et qui assiegent une place
bien gard6e et bien munie." ^ And Mr. Walker imagined he
was striving with a " well-appointed " foe.
We will turn for a moment to the general-in-chief A big
German of coarse aspect, Conrad de Rosen's manners were of
the roughest, save when eating; then, stimulated by good
cheer, he grew jovial, and would converse with noisy pleasantry
of his campaigns. A good cavalry officer, shrewd and bold,
' Campbell, " Lives of British Admirals."
" " Mdmoires du Duc de Berwick." ' " Negociations," &c.

172 AGAINST DERRY,
he was capable of leading the wing of an army ; but a dread
of responsibility — frequent infirmity of the military mind —
iU-fitted him for a separate command. Somehow, he managed
to obtain the marshal's baton in 1703, and subsided into pri
vate Ufe, gourmand and gouty.'
Although — confining himself to watching Kirke and the
Inniskillen men — Rosen left to Hamilton the conduct of the
siege, his coming instilled vigour into the attack, which, owing
to the removal of guns to oppose the ships, and to lack of
trenching tools, had been for some time suspended. On
making his first reconnaissance of the place, he flew, after his
wont, into a violent rage, cursing and swearing — spluttering
in Franco-Dutch terriblest damnation against the obstinate
city. But blasphemy did not engross his energies. By his
advice trenches were opened south and west within a few
perches of the walls. Such of the guns as could be spared
from the river side, and two " large mortars '' were placed in
battery. Still, means to the end remained sadly inadequate
¦ — only thirty shovels for digging, fearful disease among the
troops and no surgeons to deal with it, tents and medicine
wanting, no money for pay, and, a natural consequence, de
sertion by shoals.*
' " Memoires du Duc de Saint Simon." " Memoires du Duc de
Berwick." ' D'Avaux au Roi.

XVII.
BERWICK AND THE INNISKILLEN MEN.
1689.
\^T is necessary to fall back a little in order to
explain the duty which now devolved on the
Duke of Berwick. Towards the end of 1688,
many inhabitants of Inniskillen and the neigh
bourhood, alarmed at Tyrconnel's recruiting and his attempts
to disarm the Protestants, determined to resist the royal
authority. They therefore refused to admit two companies
of Newcomen's regiment, sent by the Viceroy to garrison
their town, and choosing for their governor Gustavus Hamil
ton, an influential squire who had formerly served in Lord
Glenawly's regiment, beat up for volunteers both horse and
foot. Nor did they omit to solicit from the Prince of Orange
arms, ammunition, and money. Although the association
spread through the counties of Armagh, Cavan, Monaghan,
Tyrone, and Donegal, its troops passed generally under the
name of "Inniskillen-men." Having a thorough knowledge
of the country, being comparatively well armed and mounted,
these partisans harassed the Irish very considerably — cutting
their communications, lifting their cattle, and hampering the
investment of Derry by compelling the Jacobites to push
numerous detachments from flanks and rear. At length, their
activity so seriously interfered with the blockade, that it was
decided General de Rosen should take the field in person
against the obnoxious irregulars. But the arrival of the
English fleet and the low ebb to which the corps before Derry
had fallen altered the intention ; the commander-in-chief must

174 BERWICK AND THE INNISKILLEN MEN.
hasten to the Foyle with all the soldiers that could be scraped
together. The army of the south being numerous enough (on paper),
it might be supposed that operations on a large scale should
have been undertaken. But we must remember that effective
action was precluded by the indiscipline, want of arms, and
absence of transport which rendered the majority of the
troops little better than nominal soldiers. It was as much as
" the Castle " could do to restrain the band of armed Pro
testants whom Lord Inchiquin in Munster, and Lord Kingston
in Connaught, were teaching to be troublesome. And thus it
was that the blows novr and again aimed at Inniskillen and
her volunteers by Lord Galmoy and other officers, being per
force feeble and desultory, had meagre influence on the war :
when successful, they were checks not disasters to the Wil
Uamites. As time progressed the Inniskilleners waxed bolder, the
wary Kirke more threatening. On the other hand, the Irish
soldiers were perishing. The exigency demanded action.
James's council settled upon converging operations against
the northern insurgents. They should be attacked by Sarse
field and his Connaught men from the west, by a Munster
corps from the south, by Berwick from the north. This
sounds well enough, like many plans of campaign. What
came of it we shall soon see.
But before the scheme could be taken in hand it was neces
sary to disperse the condottieri annoying the besiegers' rear.
The service was sought, and not in vain — king's sons know
little of refusals— by the Duke of Berwick, who wearied of
the monotonous duty before the place, and disliked the rude
bon-vivant m command. On the 2ist of June he left Brook-
hall with 400 troopers and took up quarters at Cavan,' near
Castle Finn. Soon afterwards, informed that the enemy were
crearing a dep6t of provisions at Donegal, he went thither by
night and, entering the Uttle town at dawn, surprised 300
Inniskillen men. Many were cut down, but the rest flying to

' The Duke writes " Cavan-park.'

PRIVATE JOHN WILSON. 175
the castle found protection, thanks to the Duke's want of
artillery. After burning the town and magazine the Irish
dragoons returned to the Finn with 1,500 head of cattle, most
welcome spoil.
The rebel power continually increasing, Berwick was re-in-
forced by a regiment of horse, one of dragoons, and Bellew's
foot. With this force he occupied Trillick, a village ten miles
north of Inniskillen, and on the 13th of July proceeded at the
head of a strong body of cavalry to reconnoitre the insurrec
tionary headquarters. Warned by his scouts, Gustavus
Hamilton sent 200 foot and 100 horse to secure a narrow
pass between lough and bog, which the Duke, if bent on
reaching the town, could not avoid, and which, owing to the
nature of the ground, surmounted by the mill of Cornacrea,
" might be easily defended by a few men " — at least until
Hamilton could come up with fresh troops. Gaining the mill,
and perceiving no foe, the Inniskillen advanced guard pushed
heedlessly on. Barely, however, had they cleared the pass,
before Berwick was upon them. Rout followed ; without an
attempt to support the infantry the cavalry rode away. The
pursuit continued up to the sod-fort and intrenchments,
thrown up to shield Inniskillen from a coup-de-main. Many
were ridden down as they ran, many prisoners captured, the
greater part of the arms belonging to the infantry taken.
Amid the dismay, a Protestant private emulated the fame of
stout Witherington. One John Wilson, we are assured, stood
the shock of divers troopers fiercely hewing at him, some he
stabbed with his bayonet, some he brained with his firelock
butt, others he tore bodily from their saddles, —
" I'll do the best that do I may,
"While I have strength to stand."
And when at length " in doleful dumps " he fell, bleeding
from twelve wounds, and considered done for, this doughty
Wilson, being prodded by a passing sergeant, sprang up and
wrenching the halberd out of the fellow's hand, drove it
through his pestilent heart. Fortune sometimes favours the
brave, and for thirty years John Wilson lived the pride of Fer-

176 BERWICK AND THE INNISKILLEN MEN.
managh.' So sharp the affair, that Hamilton had not time to
collect his men ; the Duke, therefore, retired without molesta
tion with his prisoners to Trilleck, aiid next day feU back
to Derry. This was one of the heaviest blows dealt the
Inniskilleners during the war, for besides the loss of men and
arms. Captain Corry's mansion and several houses in the out
skirts had been burnt by Hamilton's order, lest they might
afford shelter to the Irish soldiers. Considering that James
Fitz-James was only in his nineteenth year, this dash was very
promising. Early in July the Inniskillen men obtained valuable assis
tance. Kirke despatched a frigate from Lough Foyle to
Ballyshannon with thirty barrels of powder and some muskets,
at the same time requesting that competent persons might be
sent to give him information respecting the military situation.
The Rev. Andrew Hamilton, who was one of the deputation,
tells us that at this period the Inniskillen force consisted of
seventeen troops of horse, a few troops of dragoons, and thirty
foot companies, i. e. about 3,000 men. The infantry was " in
differently well armed," the cavalry " not so well." Kirke re
ceived the notables with anxious expression of reUgious de
votion, and handed over to them " 600 firelocks for dragoons,
1,000 muskets for infantry, 20 more barrels of powder, with
match in proportion, 8 small cannon and some hand grenades."
He also issued officers' commissions for a new regiment of
horse, to consist of 16 troops (50 rank and file to the troop),
a regiment of dragoons of 12 troops, and 3 regiments of
infantry (such regiment to consist of 18 companies).' With an
eye to flying movements, it was arranged that an independent
troop of horse should be attached to every infantry regiment.
An excellent idea, especially befitting partisan warfare.* The
' Harris, "Life of King "William III." Hamilton, "Actions of Innis
killen men."
= It is noteworthy that, in his interesting work, " L'Armde Frangaise en
1867," General Trochu puts forth a similar recommendation: "II faut
qu'en entrant k campagne, un corps de cavalerie dont la force numdrique
variable ne doit jamais etre moindre d'un escadron, soit attach^ k chaque
division d'infanterie. II fait les reconnaissances les escorts, certains ser-

BANTRY BAY. 177
major-general declined to detach any of his veterans, but he
lent some " choice officers," and promoted Gustavus Hamilton
to be colonel of fool. After this largess (if not before it) the
Inniskillen irregulars were better fitted out than the Irish
regulars. They had also more field-guns at their disposal
than any Jacobite force in array.
Not reUshing an attempt to succour Derry by forcing his
way up the Foyle, Kirke essayed a diversion. Proceeding
with some ships round Ennishowen into Lough Swilly, he
landed troops in the Isle of Inch and at Rathmelton, whence
he might threaten the Irish before Derry, and open communi
cations with Inniskillen. To baulk these intentions, Berwick
(just promoted to be lieutenant-general and again on detach
ment) got orders from Rosen to beat up the WilUamites at
Rathmelton. Thither he went with 1,200 horse and dragoons.
Feeling the enemy with the latter, he found 800 infantry too
firmly posted under cover of fire from the ships to be dislodged.
After skirmishing with their outposts, he returned the next
day to his quarters on the Finn water, whence " he might have
the best information of the motions of the enemy, and take
the most proper measures to oppose them." '
Meanwhile the cannon roared at sea. On the loth of May
a gallant fight between Chateau Renaud and Admiral Herbert
ruffled the waters of Bantry Bay. Although the fleets were
pretty equal in strength, the Frenchman held his own ; and,
on the British retiring, landed stores despatched by Louis
" to his dearly beloved brother." * It is said that when
D'Avaux, with sparkling eyes, reported to James how Chateau
Renaud had defeated the EngUsh, the sailor King, " instead
vices de correspondance, &c. C'est un compliment absolument indispen
sable en vue duquel au debut des operations, la cavalerie doit faire une
fois pour toutes, les sacrifices d'effectif necessaires."
' Lieut.-General Richard Hamilton. Macpherson, " Original Papers."
° " The French, who had the advantage of the wind, kept it all day, and
showed by their workings, to the astonishment of the English, and perhaps
to their own, that their vessels were equal in agility, and their seamen in
dexterity, to their antagonists." — Sir John Dalrymple, Memoirs of
Great Britain. N

178 BERWICK AND THE INNISKILLEN MEN.
of being pleased, let faU the air of his countenance," and
coldly answered, "It's the first time, then." This may be
true or not ; but it is like the man. James had patriotic
feehng of a high pitch. By this naval success, the Irish ob
tained aid to a certain extent ; but, owing to insufficiency of
transport, the frightful condition of the roads, and the pecuUar
inclemency of the season, it took so long to convey the
materiel to Dublin that on the siege of Derry the effect was
trifling. A few French gunners, however, joined Rosen on
his march thither, and a French contractor, or " munitioner,"
as he was called, undertook to supply the army with rations
of bread — the first step, apparently, towards organized vic
tualling.

XVIII.
THE SIEGE RAISED.
1689.
Although the commander-in-chiefs arrival had
enlivened operations, they soon flagged again,
mainly because the battering-guns — too few at
best — had been for the most part removed from
before the place to Charles Fort and other points, to resist
the passage of the Foyle by Rooke's frigates.
However, the Irish continued to push toward the walls, and
on the night of the 28th of June, young Lord Clancarty'
(known to fame through his romantic marriage with Lady
Elizabeth Spencer) made a rush with his regiment at the out
works west of the place, mastered them, and even estabUshed
some miners in a cellar under the half-bastion. But ere they
could make safe, the besieged sallied in two bodies from
Bishop's Gate on the south, and Butcher's Gate on the west.
Thus attacked on both flanks, the guns of the place at the
same time opening, musketry blazing from the walls, the
assailants were beaten with loss out of the trenches they had
won. The proverb, " A Clancarty shall knock at the gates of
Derry," was fulfilled, but those who derived hope from the old
saw, forgot that to knock and to enter are very different
things. A day or two afterwards, Richard Hamilton, learning from
deserters how grievous was the misery of Derry, offered terms
' D'Avaux represents Clancarty to Louvois as " un jeune fou, et petit
debauchd."

i8o THE SIEGE RAISED.
of surrender. An answer was not immediately returned : the
city chiefs, says Walker, " seeming to listen to the conditions
till they had used that opportunity to search for (secreted T)
provisions to support the great necessities of the garrison." In
his anger at the delay, Rosen wrote a memorable letter to the
King, the animus of which appears in the following extract : —
" My Uttle hopes of success in the siege of Derry, from the
impossibility of continuing in the trenches, which are filled
both by the tide and the continual rains — ^which must entirely
destroy your Majesty's troops before this place — have induced
me to-day to determine to exterminate all the rebels through
out the country." '
He meant what he said. He informed the authorities that,
unless the place was given up on the ist of July, he would
" gather together all the rebels of this country, and afterwards
drive them under the walls of the town that they might
starve." Though reduced to eating horse-flesh (no great hardship),
dogs, rats (out of both, we are assured, a Parisian chef can
compose most savoury ragout), and starch (discovered to be a
specific for the dysentery so prevalent), the burghers scouted
the brutal Teuton's summons.
He was a worker, however, of the kind of " verity '' which
philosophers, German and Germanized, love to see torment
ing their neighbours. On the 2nd of July this ruffian caused
throngs of men, women, and children, gathered far and wide,
to be driven, cattle-like, under the ramparts. Imagine the
horrorof the besieged gazing on the spectacle ! At first they
hardly believed their senses ; but the veracity revealed, its
devilry steeled, instead of softened, the Derryite heart. Up
went a huge gallows on a towering bastion, and to the foreign
trooper it was declared that, unless he sent priests quickly,
the Jacobite prisoners would swing unshriven.
And a touching letter did these prisoners write to Richard
Hamilton. After the intelligence, " We are all condemned to
die, unless the poor people be withdrawn," they proceed : 

' Macpherson, " Original Papers."

ROSEN DISAVOWED. i8i
" We make it our request to you (as knowing you are a
person that does not delight in shedding innocent blood) that
you will represent our condition to the martial general. The
lives of twenty prisoners lie at stake, and therefore require
your diligence and care. We are all willing to die with our
swords in our hands for his Majesty, but to suffer like male
factors is hard, nor can we lay our blood to the charge of the
garrison, the governor and the rest having used and treated
us with all civility imaginable.
" We remain, your most dutiful and dying friends,
" Netervell (writ by another hand, he himself has
lost the fingers of his right hand).
"(Hon.) E. Butler, (Sir) G. Aylmer, Mac-
DONNEL, &c.
" To L. G. Hamilton."
Quoth Hamilton — "If you suffer in this it cannot be helped,
but you shall be revenged." Cold comfort to gallant gentle
men expecting the rope !
On receipt of Rosen's letter, James instantly commanded
him to desist from his project. More ; in a strongly expressed
circular, the Irish officers at out-stations were instructed to
"positively refuse obedience to any order from our field-
marshal-general" in furtherance of his design.! Thus a
hideous crime was stayed. The intended victims were allowed
to return home. Before they went the city authorities not
only contrived to pick some " effectual men " out of them,
but also to slip into the tag-rag " 500 of their useless people ; "
so Derry gained arms and lost mouths — a cunning arrange
ment which, luckily, Rosen did not discover.
King James is one of those personages to whom authors
give no quarter. He never gets credit for a good quality, or a
humane act ; and yet he was a more conscientious and honour
able man than many a popular hero. For instance, his be
haviour with respect to Rosen's cruel ruse' has been described
as culpably careless, if not absolutely callous. A perusal of
' Macpherson, " Original Papers."

i82 , THE SIEGE RAISED.
his letter to the general-in-chief should remove any such sus
picion. But over and above the letter is the evidence of
D'Avaux. That shrewd minister, whose business and interest
it was to tell the truth to his master, writes to Louis — " Le roy
d'Angleterre s'est extremement fach6 de cette declaration (de
Rosen) et n'a pas voulu qu'elle fut executde." Also to M. de
Louvois : " Mylord Melfort dit que I'honneur du roy et
I'execution de sa parole devait etre preferre k la conservation
des tous ses royaumes, et que si M. Roze etait sujet du roy
d'Angleterre, on le ferait pendre — le roy envoya ordre k M. de
Roze de ne pas mettre a execution sa declaration, et defense
aux gouverneurs de luy obeir en cela." '
Whatever we may think of Rosen's heart, his professional
judgment being clear enough, " the condition of the troops "
caused him deep anxiety. A letter of his to James at this
period shows how military affairs were conducted, and revives
recollection of mismanagement of a modern date. The
general reports that he had just "received a convoy of eighty
waggons, five of them were loaded with swords without belts,
and (so) the soldiers would have to carry them constantly in
their hands." The other waggons brought ammunition and
;£'2o,ooo in silver. Nevertheless, these important supplies
travelled from Dublin to Derry under the escort of twelve
troopers, and "lay three nights within sight of Inniskillen."
What could the ubiquitous Inniskilleners have been about \
How completely James, once an assiduous man of business,
must have rusted !
As to the discipline of his army, the general affords an
inkling : " Upon the death of a captain in O'Neil's regiment,"
he writes, "twenty-five dragoons of his company deserted
with their horses, and those who remained refused to serve,
alleging that they were not engaged but to their captain ; they
were forced to cast lots, and one of them was shot ; but (here
we get the kernel of the story) the regiment was obliged to
borrow arms for that purpose from Lord Mayse's (Slane's .¦')
regiment." ^
' " Negociations en Irlande." ' Macpherson, " Original Papers."

COUNCIL OF WAR. 183
Information reaching the castle that vast preparation for
the invasion of Ireland was being made in England, James
ordered Rosen to hurry the siege. In consequence, a council
of war assembled : all the general officers spoke the same
mind. The depositions of two commanders may serve as
samples of the rest. Brigadier Wauchope says : " My opinion
is, since our army is reduced by sickness, fatigues, and deser
tion, not to the number of 3,000 men able for service, (I)
judge that number's not in a condition to force the town in a
certain time ; but believe these {sic) in the town are far inferior
to our number." '
The Duke of Berwick follows : " It is my opinion that it is
impossible to take the town of Derry by storm with the little
number of foot that is here, or without a considerable number
of battering guns, much less to guess when it shall be taken.
And I do certainly believe that unless they want provisions,
they will never surrender."
The King received the judgment ofthe council on the 22nd
of July, and at once forwarded to the generals permission to
raise the siege, unless they had reason to think that famine
would very shortly extort submission.
Verily starvation threatened the city. Suspicion of the
governor's good faith passed to and fro. Many of the soldiers
insisted that he had a store of provisions in his house on the
sly. "There was great danger of a mutiny." How the
reverend commander met the difficulty is so curious that he
must tell it in his own way : " by his (Walker's) instructions
to a souldier that was to pretend he himself had the same
suspicion, it was contrived that the house was privately
searched, and their (the soldiers') curiosity being satisfied, they
returned to their good opinion of their governor." *
Presently Derry, reduced to the last cow, sends forth a sally
for the purpose of seizing some of the Irish kine. It fails.

' Not so. Mr. "Walker owns that on the 22nd of July, two days after
the meeting of the council, " the army of Derry amounted to 4,973." —
Siege of Londonderry.
' Walker, " Siege of Londonderry."

1 84 THE SIEGE RAISED.
And then— how oddly does the absurd tincture the woes of
life — the officers "were advised to a more easy experiment."
They tied the forlorn cow to a stake, and set fire to her ; for,
says Walker, " we had hopes given us that by the cry and
noise she would make, the enemies' cattle would be disturbed,
and come to her relief, and they began to move and set up
their tails, so that we hoped to have gained our point, but the
cow got loose, and turned to no account, only the danger of
losing her."
Horror and well-nigh despair were rife. Horseflesh had risen
to IS. 8d. a pound, and "a quarter of dog fattened by eating
the bodies ofthe slain Irish " (so at least the governor affirmed)
cost 5j. 6d. Nay, " a certain fat gentleman " fancied his
comely corpulence might evoke ideas of dainty dining in the
public mind : and, consequently, hid himself perspiring.
Notwithstanding Kirke and the ships, the garrison —
" Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress,
But always resolute in most extremes,"
saw death approaching. But deliverance was at hand. On
the 30th of July, three ships are descried in the Lough,
evidently making for the river. In the eleventh hour Kirke
had roused himself. From his quarters at Inch he directed
that a rescue should be vigorously attempted. Abreast of
Culmore Fort the ships receive its clumsy shot. But they
hold their course. Fire, anon, from the river banks. Onward.
The " Mountjoy " of Derry strikes the boom. Dreadful crash
ing. The shock brings recoil ; the " Mountjoy " is aground 1
Shouts from the Irish. Delirious firing from the banks ; eager
making ready boats for boarding. But the "Dartmouth"
frigate coming up, blazes away ; the stranded vessel shaking
herself clear with a broadside, runs the shattered boom. The
three ships lie alongside the quay.
Joy unutterable in Derry. Meat and drink plenteous. The
fat gentleman emerges smiling from his hiding-place. By
enchantment, as it were, the garrison, which disease, short
commons, and, in a lesser degree, war, had reduced from 7,500
fighting men to 4,300 lean wolves — seems forgetful of suffering,

THE JACOBITES RETIRE. 185
and cuts into hunches of British pork and drains jorums of
British beer with a merry air, as though boiled rat and Munster-
fed dog had been hideous dreams of Walkerian indigestion.
Next day Rosen raised a siege, or rather investment, which,
undertaken against his will, had lasted 105 days, and is justly
famous in history. The victory was due to Protestant tenacity
of purpose and to Catholic poverty of shot. The feats of
Walker, a brave but somewhat egotistical old gentleman, seem
to be overrated, while the intrepidity and good sense of Colonel
Murray and Captain Noble, who really directed the sallies, are
well-nigh forgotten. The British public rather likes to hear a
man blowing his own trumpet'
Rosen's reasons for retiring are unmistakable. The place,
being revictualled, could not be taken with the means at his
disposal ; and, invasion from England being imminent, all
available troops must be drawn towards DubUn, whence they
might be recruited, refreshed, and, after a manner, supplied.*
' It is singular that, in his notice of the siege, Bishop Burnet should
make no mention ofthe Rev. Colonel "Walker. "Was the amiable prelate
jealous of a brother whose weapon was a sword, not an acrid pen ?
^ "Walker affirms " the enemy lost between 8,000 and 9,000 men before
our walls, and 100 of their best officers. Most of these fell by the sword,
the rest by fevers and flux." — Siege of Londonderry. These figures seem
random. The Irish could hardly have lost more men than they ever paraded
at any one time before the place, and that the sword killed more of them
than did disease is even less likely than that the Derryite obituary of the
slain amounted only to " 80 soldiers."

XIX.

NEWTOWN BUTLER, AND KILLIECRANKIE.
1689.
fTi^^HE Irish halted the first night at Strabane; and
there met them tidings of a great disaster. It
will be remembered that combined operations
against Inniskillen had been concocted at Dublin.
The scheme fell through. The state of things before Derry
prevented Rosen furnishing the Duke of Berwick with troops
for outside adventure. Sarsefield began work by pushing a
reconnaissance toward Bundroes, where he received a check ;
and how Lord Mountcashel, to whom the chief rdle in the
enterprise had been confided, acquitted himself, we will now
consider. Lieutenant-General Justin Macarthy, Viscount Mount
cashel,' having assembled about 3,600 men at Belturbet,
marched on the 27th of July to Crom Castle, on Lough Erne ;
but before he could master it, he was informed that the Innis
killeners were gathering in his front. He therefore withdrew
to Newtown Butler; and, on the 31st, sent Colonel Anthony
Hamilton to occupy Lisnaskea, if its castle appeared to be
tenable. But before Hamilton got sight of the place he fell in
with Lieutenant-Colonel Berry, whom Colonel Wolseley (the

' Son of Donagh Macarthy, Viscount Muskerry, and uncle of the Earl
of Clancarty. He married a daughter of the famous Earl of Strafford.
He had just succeeded Lord Mountjoy as Grand Master of the Irish
Artillery.

COLONEL WILLIAM WOLSELEY. 187
officer sent by Kirke to command the Inniskillen forces)' had
likewise hurried to Lisnaskea with orders to hold it or to
destroy it, as seemed best. Berry, however, deeming the tower
of no consequence, left it alone and moved toward the Irish.
But on discovering Hamilton, his advanced guard (or "for
lorn," as it was called) fell back on its main body, which also
faced about and retreated through Lisnaskea, followed by
Anthony Hamilton. Now, about a mile beyond the village,
the new road to Inniskillen crossed a bog by a narrow cause
way a few hundred yards in length. Resolved to make a
stand here till reinforcements, for which he had sent, arrived,
Berry placed his foot and dismounted dragoons in a covert
fringing the northern extremity of the pass, his horse being
kept in reserve a little to the rear. All this no sooner done
than Hamilton came up. Ordering Lord Clare's dragoons to
dismount, Anthony — as daring a soldier as he was a clever
writer — put himself at their head, and at the double went the
yellow dragoons in file along the causeway. They approached
the thicket ; instantly a flash and rattling musketry. Hamil
ton was wounded and had to fall to the rear. Lieutenant-
Colonel Phillips of Clare's, who succeeded him, was shot dead
while cheering on his men ; and many a tall fellow sprawled
in the dust. Bereft of their leader, galled by a hidden fire,
the red thread snapped. Then the Inniskillen foot emerged with
hurrahs ; and, knowing their ground every inch, took the bog
right and left of the pathway. Along it the horse advanced.
The Irish retreat through Lisnaskea became disastrous. How
ever, Berry halted, for Mountcashel was nigh.
Nor was Wolseley far off. He joined Berry at noon. Their
united strength amounting (by their own account) to 2,000
horse and foot, they marched on. At Donagh they felt the
Jacobite " forlorn," which retired skirmishing. In this fashion,
passing through Newtown Butler, now in flames, the Innis
killen men reached a great bog, traversed for about half a
mile by a raised causeway (as in the former instance). At
' Major William Wolseley, of Hanmer's foot (now nth), had been pro
moted to the colonelcy ofthe Inniskillen horse.

1 88 NEWTOWN AND KILLIECRANKIE.
the southern extremity, drawn up in battaUa on a hill-side,
appeared the Irish corps, a battery of six guns so disposed
along its front as to sweep the approach. Here we have
another example of the immense advantage accruing from an
intimate acquaintance with the country operated in. The
Irish took it for granted that the slough was of despond —
impassable— that by the defile alone could the foe get at them.
But many of the Inniskilleners had cherished that bog from
childhood, knew to a turn its devious soundness. Accordingly,
Wolseley ordered Colonels Tiffin and Lloyd to thread the
morass with the infantry on both sides of the road, the dis
mounted dragoons in support; the horse, under Berry, to
push along the pass, occasion offering. But the Irish guns
scouring it, Berry could not stir. However, the Inniskillener
foot trotted the bog nimbly.
Mountcashel is said to have been "a man of parts and
courage, wanting no quality fit for a compleat captain, if he
were not somewhat short-sighted." ' Mayhap, then, owing to
his infirmity, the manoeuvre escaped his notice, and Anthony
Hamilton hors de combat, he had no staff-officer beside him
capable of appreciating its scope. Whatever the cause, no
thing was done to thwart the bog-trotters. Spreading widely
for a time, these well-led partisans gradually drew in upon the
flanks and rear of the covering battery. Then, a dash at the
gunners. Seeing his opportunity, Berry charged down the
road. A panic seized the Irish cavalry, and they scampered
for Watling Bridge. For a while, the infantry stood firm ;
but, disheartened by the desertion of the horse, the line broke
at last, and, making for Lough Erne, large numbers perished
in the river, in bog-pits, and by the sword. Little quarter
seems to have been given, for Harris confesses that, " in this
battle, the Inniskillen men possibly carried their resentment
beyond just bounds." We know what that means.
Some of the foot, indeed, escaped into Monaghan, but the
rout was utter. The chivalrous Mountcashel, admitted on all
' Colonel O'Kelly. Excidium Macarice.

JUSTIN MACARTHY. 189
sides to have borne him as became a valiant soldier, was
badly wounded and taken prisoner whUe trying to rally the
fugitives. For several months he lay sick in Inniskillen.
Eventually he made his escape, by the help of the sergeant of
the guard. Accused, of course, of breaking his pledge, a
Court of Honour acquitted him. When in charge of sentinels,
not on parole, he bade farewell to Lough Erne.
At a loss, then, to the WilUamites (if we may believe the
Rev. Andrew Hamilton) of two officers and twenty privates
killed and "forty or fifty men ill wounded," the project against
Inniskillen failed entirely. The calamity compelled Sarse
field — awaiting near Bundroes the development of Mount-
cashel's enterprise — to retire on Sligo. Such the news which,
at Strabane, staggered the Irish army, dispirited and in
retreat. Story, who " at first " considered the usual account of this
defeat "very incredible," heard that it was "partly" brought
about in this wise : the Irish right being sharply assailed,
Macarthy ordered up a part of the left wing to their assist
ance. But the officer in command made a mistake. Instead
of giving his men the words " Right face," he bawled " Right
about face ;'' the consequence being that the second Une (in
rear), alarmed by the repulse (as they imagined) of the front
line, turned and fled ; while the front remarking how cleverly
their supports showed their heels, followed suit. The old
story — panic amongst raw recruits.
Although this error of judgment is not recorded by other
contemporary writers, something of the sort may easily have
happened. The infantry certainly stood their ground for a
time ; and, it is Ukely enough, Mountcashel may have ordered
up succour to the wing most seriously attacked. Nor is it
incredible that some flurried boy of an officer should have
shouted an improper command to his feverish novices. Hence,
the devil take the hindmost! Remembering how a hasty
cry, "Retire," was within an ace of breeding panic among
veterans on the Alma, I can conceive the stampedo such
an order might create amid levies green as those led by

190 NEWTOWN AND KILLIECRANKIE.
Macarthy. Truly observes the Rev. George Story, " So un
happy may a small thing prove to a great body of men."
A last word about Bonnie Dundee. Inspired "by the
spirit of Montrose," as he expressed it. Viscount Dundee had
been upholding with marked ability the Jacobite cause in
Scotland. Hearing, on the 27th of July, that General Mackay
was approaching the pass of KiUiecrankie, in Perthshire, with
4,500 regular infantry and two troops of cavalry, Claverhouse
marched to encounter an officer whom Bishop Burnet informs
us was not only a commander of "great reputation," but the
" piousest man he ever knew in a military way." The Scots
mustered 2,500 foot, chiefly clansmen, and one troop of horse.
The advanced guards began to skirmish about 5 p.m. Mean
while Claverhouse drew up his little corps in three divisions ;
the centre division, or " main battle," consisting of the clans
Lochiel, Glengarry, Clanronald, and the Irish contingent. The
English left was soon beaten, but owing to the disciplined
valour of Hastings' regiment (now 13th), the Scottish left
gave way. Perceiving this, Ian Dhu nan Cath (Dark John of
the battles) charged the British guns and horse, captured the
first and dispersed the last. Now, the Scottish main battle
advanced with a rush. Reserving fire till within a pike's
reach, the Gael delivered it point blank. Then —
" Rose the slogan of Macdonald,
Flash'd the broadside of Lochiel."
Like a hurricane into the midst of the disordered regulars
dash Highlanders and Irish. The extended EngUsh Une
breaks ; the discomfiture is complete. Night alone put a
stop to the carnage ; 1,500 of Mackay's men fell, including
several officers, 500 prisoners were taken. All the baggage
and camp equipage became the spoil of the Highland army.
On the Stuart side, the loss of privates was small, but many
officers of note succumbed ; and Dundee, while encouraging
' The account of the battle of Newtown Butler has been gathered from
the works of Andrew Hamilton, Harris, Story, Macpherson's " Original
Papers," and O'Callaghan's " History of the Irish Brigade in the service
of France."

DEATH OF DUNDEE. 191
onslaught upon Hastings' and Leven's, who were retreating
unbroken, was mortally wounded.'
At Blair Castle, on the same night, he either wrote or
dictated a letter to James describing the combat, and telling
with pride how " both officers and common men, Highlands,
Lowlands, and Irish behaved themselves with equal gallantry
to whatever I saw in the hottest battles fought abroad by dis
ciplined armies, and this Mackay's old soldiers felt on the
occasion." He then prays the King for God's sake to " send
another detachment of your Irish forces, as you sent before,
especially of horse and dragoons." * Next morning " the
spirit of the Graeme " departed, and, says Lord Balcarres,
" His Majesty's affairs were undone by the irreparable loss."
" Sleep I — and till the latest trumpet
Wakes the dead from earth and sea,
Scotland shall not boast a braver
Chieftain than our own Dundee."

' " Memoirs of Colin, Earl of Balcarres."
' Lord Macaulay disputes the genuineness of this letter, but Mr. Mark
Napier, the learned author of " The Life and Times of Viscount Dundee,''
gives elaborate proofs of its authenticity. The Irish who fought so fiercely
at KiUiecrankie belonged to Lord Bophin's foot, one of the regiments which
fled at Newtown Butler three days afterwards.— Dalton, Irish Army
List. Raw troops are always astonishing us at one moment by their head
long valour, at another by their unaccountable pusillanimity.

XX.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE.

jN the King's return from Derry, DubUn prepared
for the sitting of ParUament. With few ex
ceptions, the Commons were Catholic. The Lords
gained Catholic strength by the reversal of the
attainders with which the CromweUians had smitten the
ancient nobility, and by the creation of fresh peerages which
were bestowed on gentlemen of birth and character. The
Protestant bishops actually attended the house ; but, it is re
markable, no CathoUc prelates were summoned.'
Crowned, and in royal robes, James opened the session on
the 7th of May. In his speech, he eulogized " the exemplary
loyalty of the Irish nation." Reiterating his attachment to
liberty of conscience, he declared " he would have no other
test or distinction but that of loyalty."
The houses immediately voted ;£^20,ooo per month to the
King. A few days afterwards, the famous bill for repealing
the Acts of Settlement and Explanation was brought before
the Commons. As the members were immediate descendants
of the gentry evicted by Oliver's troopers or the undertakers,
the bill passed unanimously. In the Lords, however, the
Protestant minority strove iftanfully to defeat it. Dopping,
bishop of Meath, skilfully exposed the hardships it would in-

' One duke, ten earls, sixteen viscounts, twenty-one barons, with six
Protestant bishops, formed the upper house. The Commons numbered
234 M.P.'s.

THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. 193
flict, and an address to the King, drawn up by the excellent
Chief Justice Kearing, "in behalf of the purchasers under the
Act of Settlement," was presented by Lord Granard. Unfor
tunately, poor human nature has Uttle of the saint in its
composition ; CathoUcs had too recently experienced the land
hunger of their enemies to be inclined towards self-denial.
"HeU and Connaught" could not be forgotten. Although
there is reason to beUeve that James regarded the measure
with aversion, the excitement on the subject rose to a pitch
beyond his control ; as he confessed to Lord Granard, " he
had fallen into the hands of a people who rammed that and
many other things down his throat." ' His position was most
embarrassing. Cavaliers ruined through their devotion to his
family claimed his sympathy ; still, he failed not to perceive
how damaging to legitimacy in England would be the resolu
tion of Irishmen to re-occupy their ancient homes. But there
was no help for it. In vain the dissent of Protestant peers
and prelates, in vain royal nausea, Lord Chancellor Fitton's
argumentum ad hominem carried all before it, and the bill
passed.2 An Act for the " Attainder of divers rebels " like
wise received the royal assent. Both to be regretted, and yet
both the inevitable consequence of previous persecution.
In estimating the conduct of James's government at this
period, the circumstances under which it came into being
should be kept in sight. The Protestant minority had im
bibed the doctrine that they formed a peculiar people choFcn
of God to grind the PhiUstines, to extirpate their super
stitions, and to possess their lands. Any means tending
to so desirable an end they held to be righteous, while they
denounced as the climax of sin the retaliation of despoiled
Catholics — "Ces animaux sont si furieux qu'ils se d6fendent
' Dr. Leslie, " Answer to Archbishop King."
° The reputation of Alexander Fitton, Lord Gawsworth, has been
bitterly assailed by Hume and Macaulay, on the authority, doubtless, of
the malevolent Archbishop King. This calls him " a pettifogger," that,
"one Fitton." They accuse him of forgery. Those who care to hear
something in his behalf should read Mr. O'Flanagan's memoir of him in
the " Lives of the Lord Chancellors of Ireland."
O

194 MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
contre ceux qui les attaquent." And what was Irish Pro
testantism .? That it had originally breathed little of the
Christian spirit, we know ; but by this time its once lurid
religious fanaticism had lapsed into an intense political fana
ticism, claiming ascendency over the Irish people, and every
thing that was theirs. One who knew them well used to say
that an Irish Protestant was a man who never went to church,
and hated a Papist'
Considering the provocations they had received, the Catho
lics must be acquitted of displaying any peculiar rancour in
their hour of sway. They sought to get back that of which
they had been stripped ; they attainted "rebels" and obstinate
absentees ; they did, in these respects, as they had been done
by. But they did not persecute for religion's sake ; they
shed no blood on account of doctrine. In the acts passed by
James's Parliament there is not a word levelled at Protestants
pures et simples.
And if the Papists made free with certain empty chapels
and school-houses, the Anglican owners had chiefly themselves
to blame for it; they had not won congregations, and had
been careless of scholars. If years of persecution could not
proselytize the Irish, it was scarcely reasonable in the adven
turers to upbraid them for fastening, in their little hour of
luck, on places where they might worship God and learn their
letters after the manner of their fathers.
The Parliament of '89 abolished the supremacy of the Eng
Ush law-courts, and of the English legislature — objects for
which the Confederates struggled in 1641, and Grattan and
the Protestant volunteers shouldered arms in 1782. A fair
enactment was also introduced, enabling Catholics to pay
tithe to their own priests, and entitling the established clergy
to demand it only from members of their own communion.
But, in this age of money-worship, an enlightened Act for
" the Advancement and Improvement of Trade, and for the
Encouragement and Increase of Shipping and Navigation "

Prendergast, " Cromwellian Settlement."

WAYS AND MEANS. 195
would alone be deemed worthy of the approval of the Reform
Club. By it Ireland obtained a short-lived free trade.
On the 20th of July, Parliament was prorogued to the I2th
of February following.
It is not surprising that James should be driven to his wit's
end to attract —
" Money ! the dumb god
That canst do nought, and yet mak'st men do all things."
Unlike William of Orange, who had cunning Dutchmen at his
elbow to contrive a mortgage on the income of the nation, the
poor Prince, advised by gentlemen ignorant of finance, how
ever up to spending cash, could think of no other way of
raising the wind- beyond the scraping together of all sorts of
brass, copper, tin odds and ends ; then, coining the omnium
gatherum into tokens, and proclaiming them shillings and
half-crowns. At first this " Brummagen " ware was restricted
to commercial deaUngs and revenue payments, sums due on ,
mortgage, bills, bonds, and trust money being specially ex
cluded.' But increasing necessities soon forced the King to
abolish all exceptions, with the promise, however, of taking
back the "copper tickets," at their official value, as soon as-
circumstances would permit The inevitable result followed —
gold and silver slunk affright into old stockings, slipped into
buried pots ; the " King's coin," fell to its intrinsic worth,
merchandize disappeared, and distress ensued. A scrape of
the pen " proclaims " a stamped nail convertible into a four-
pound loaf, but let the hungry citizen tender his mint-marked
screw at a baker's shop, and quickly will he discover the differ
ence between " declared " and real value.
At the same time, attempts were made to improve the
organization of the army. At first, the new regiments were
maintained at the cost of the noblemen and gentlemen who
had raised them. Such a system could not last A scale of
pay for all ranks was, therefore, drawn up. It is enough to
mention that by it the private of foot would receive 4^. a day,
' Harris, " Life of King William III."

196 MEASURE FOR MEASURE.
the trooper 6\d. Considering the depreciated form in which
the money found its way into the soldier's pocket, Pat cannot
be said to have joined a lucrative trade.
Comte d'Avaux, inspired no doubt by Louvois, seems to
have given James good advice on military matters. He urged
the regular payment of the troops, and insi.sted on a rigid
discipline being imposed. Perhaps the weak point of Irish
soldiers is that which in feeble hands impairs the efficiency of
French troops— a tendency to restiveness. In the very in
telligence of the French and Irish lies this danger. For
example, unless the French soldier has confidence in his
officer he criticises and despises him. Moreover, the French
and Irish imagination being peculiarly vivid must never be
disregarded by generals. Properly directed, this mental
activity impels to great things ; otherwise, it runs riot and
engenders disorder.' To both gallant peoples the saying of
Napoleon fully applies : " II faut mener les hommes avec une
main de fer dans un gant de velours."
In a memoire transmitted through D'Avaux, the French
King recommended his EngUsh brother to form the army in
three corps. The first, consisting of half the effective troops,
to be stationed in the north ; the second to be encamped near
Dublin ; the third to take post between Waterford and Lime
rick. The forage growing along the eastern coast to be eaten
up ; crops which could not be disposed of thus, or removed,
to be burnt ; every care to be taken of corn, fodder, and cattle
in the interior, and westward of the great rivers, behind which
it might be desirable to retire, on the enemy landing. In
consequence of the want of training of the troops, their sorry
equipment, the deficiencies of transport and commissariat, it
would be wise to avoid general actions with the more practised
' " Le Duc de Bouilld ecrit dans ses Mdmoires, ' il n'y a jamais eu plus de
discipline militaire, et une discipline plus rigoureuse que chez les peuples
libres ; tdmoin la Rdpublique Romaine, et la Rdpublique frangaise.' " — Mi-
moires de Carnot,parsonfils. The laxity which Napoleon III. latterly
permitted to creep into his fine army, and the vigorous measures of the
Government of National Defence to restore discipline in 1870, go far to
prove the truth of De Bouilld's assertion.

INFIRM OF PURPOSE. 197
WilUamites ; and for the present, at least, to be content with
harassing them in all imaginable ways.'
James was also advised to alter the disposition of many
scattered detachments, to withdraw garrisons from places not
absolutely requiring them ; in a word, he was told to concen
trate, to strengthen with field-works points of real impor
tance ; and to establish a transport service, which, in a grazing
country like Ireland, might, it was supposed, be organized
without much difficulty. "Mais, monsieur," writes D'Avaux
to the sagacious Louvois, " tout cela a 6te en vain, car on s'est
amus^ k discourir de cent autres choses, et nous sommes
s^par^s sans rien resoudre."
Alas ! with James all was ad referendum. He staved off
every project ; he demurred to every suggestion. But he pro
posed no alternatives. As the Irish officers, naturally enough,
were rather jealous of their French comrades — considered they
took too much on themselves, so did the King by no means
relish D'Avaux ; he chafed under the ambassador's expostu
lation, not proffered, perhaps, in the 'bated breath congenial
to royal feelings. He did not fancy General de Rosen ; his
brutality shocked him. And so. Lord Dover was sent to
Versailles, to explain from "the castle" stand-point the King's
straits and need of arms. He must endeavour also to pro
cure " 6,000 of the old troops of our dearest brother," whose
drill and discipline would present a wholesome example to the
recruits now being fused into regiments. He was further
instructed to solicit, "with all imaginable softness, the recall of
the Marquis de Rosen as one, after having done what he did
at Londonderry, incapable to serve us usefully." *
Tyrconnel did not encourage opposition to D'Avaux's views.
" Un homme safis deguisement qui a fort k cceur les inter^ts de
son Roy et de son pays," as the vigorous Frenchman describes
him, he perceived their soundness. But for the moment, ill-
health had got the better of Dick Talbot. A disease of the
spleen lowered his once buoyant spirit, and made business

' D'Avaux, '' Negociations," &c.
' "Instruction to Lord Dover."— Macpherson, Original Papers.

198

MEASURE FOR MEASURE.

irksome.' Hence Melfort, busy, shallow, and presumptuous,
got the upper hand :
" What ? that thing of silk
Sporus ! that mere white curd of asses' milk ?"
With discordant counsels, then, with soldiers of fiery valour,
but for the most part untrained and without cohesion, the
Irish nation ventured upon another act of the war.
' D'Avaux, " Negociations."

XXI.
THE ANGLO-GALLO-DUTCH IN ULSTER.
1689.
RAVING raised the siege of Derry, the Jacobites
left some garrisons in Ulster. Sir Charles Carny
watched the Bann with two regiments. Major-
General Buchan quartered at Charlemont with an
infantry regiment and some dragoons. Brigadier Maxwell,
with two regiments of foot " in bad condition," one troop of
horse, and a few " ill-armed dragoons," had charge of the dis
trict lying between Belfast, Carrickfergus, and Newry. The
bulk of the late army of the north were now recruiting and
reorganizing, as best they could, around Dublin.'
During the investment of Derry, William prepared for the
invasion of Ireland. He laboured with a heavy heart, and
under fire of reproaches for neglecting that portion of the
empire. He was no longer an idol. People, lately noisy in
admiration, now derided his leanness and small stature, made
mirth of his asthma, and dubbed him " Hook-nose." Military
difficulties of various kinds confronted him. The English
troops, raised by James, could not be relied upon : orders
were therefore issued for the formation of twelve new regi
ments of infantry, and five of horse or dragoons. These were
speedily in the flesh, for, as Dalrymple shrewdly observes,
" England by a long peace was filled with men impatient for

Clarke, "Life of James II."

200 THE ANGLO-GALLO-DUTCH IN ULSTER.
war, because they loved its glories and knew not its miseries."
As soon as the recruits were clothed they were sent to Chester,
where they tasted drill and discipline, but the officers being
mostly ignorant younger sons, whose commissions constituted
sops to reconcile the squires, their fathers, to the foreign
dynasty,' the levies made poor progress. Of such crude stuff,
indeed, the expedition did not wholly consist : three admirable
French, and two veteran Dutch battalions paraded by the
side of five old English regiments, from whose ranks Catholics
had been rigorously extruded.
At the very outset, jobbery cropped up. Shoes, tents, pro
visions, turned out of the worst Mr. Harbord, paymaster of
the forces, was also purveyor. He came in for serious accu
sations. Shales, who succeeded him in the latter department,
was not purer. Incomprehensible orders respecting the routes
of regiments unnecessarily fatigued the soldiers, and imposed
needless expense on the public. A sufficient number of
transports had not been collected. The artillery-train was
still dispersed. Such the concordia discors that greeted the
famous Schomberg when he assumed command. Hale, despite
his eighty years, and of vast experience, for he had fought'
everywhere, changing friends into foes and foes into friends
with the easy conscience of a good-humoured man of the
world, the old soldier was not unfitted to the task before him ;
a task difficult but richly gilded : WilUam of Orange present
ing a dukedom garnished with the garter, and the Commons
voting ;^ 1 00,000.
When the condition of Ireland first began to excite British
murmurs, Schomberg proposed to march an army to Port
Patrick in Scotland, whence it might be transferred to the
north of Ireland in the course of a few hours. He expected
two results from this plan — first, the crushing of Dundee ;
second, the speedy abandonment of the siege of Derry. But
official differences of opinion provoked so much loquacity,
such administrative inertness interposed, that nothing was
done ; and, at length, to use William's own words, " KiUie-
' " Memoirs of Great Britain."

CARRICKFERGUS. 201
crankie rendered a Scottish expedition needless, the war
ended with Dundee's life."
After a fortnight spent at Chester in shaping the awkward
squads, the ex-Marshal of France bundled some 14,000 men,
chiefly infantry, into ninety ships, and then, with Count Solms
as second in command, set sail from High-gate on the 12th of
August. The gross of the cavalry and the main portion of
the artillery would follow as soon as transports were forth
coming. Next day the fleet cast anchor in Bangor Bay, and some
troops landed. They bivouacked in the fields that night, and,
says Chaplain Story of Gower's, " if the adjacent garrisons
had then attacked the Duke, it might have bred him no small
disturbance."' No doubt The Jacobite officers, however, must
not be severely blamed for want of energy. Their garrisons
were wide asunder, the prestige of Schomberg was immense,
and his power exaggerated.
The Duke rested some days at Bangor, reconnoitring the
Irish. On the 15th, Belfast being reported clear, was occupied
by Wharton's regiment ; for Brigadier Maxwell, too weak to
oppose the EngUsh, had retired to Newry, after throwing 500
men of the regiment, Charles Mac-earthy More and Cormac
O'Neil, into Carrickfergus, with instructions to delay the enemy
as long as possible.
On the 17th Schomberg entered Belfast, and two days
afterwards five regiments of foot left for Carrickfergus. Next
morning they were joined by seven other regiments, some
guns and mortars, under the General-in-chief himself The
fleet was ordered up. The town was now completely block
aded. Crowning a rock on the northern shore of Carrickfergus
Bay, the place, if tolerably armed and fortified, might have
been of importance, but its works on the land side were con
temptible, and the citadel looking on the sea, old and mould
ering. Refusing to parley with Mac-earthy More, Schomberg opened
' Rev. George Story, " Impartial History of the Affairs of Ireland."

202 THE ANGLO-GALLO-DUTCH IN ULSTER.
fire. Wanting ammunition, and only supplied with lead by
stripping the roof of the castle, the Irish, nevertheless, replied
to the rain of shot and "bombs which soon smothered the
town with dust and smoke," and damaged not a Uttle the
Protestant burghers. On Sunday, the 25th, breaches yawned,
but the besieged repaired them during the night, and when,
despite all their exertions, the main aperture became prac
ticable in the course of the following day, they hit (we are
told) upon an ingenious device for closing it. Collecting a
herd of cattle, they drove it as far up the jagged gap as
possible, and then, a number of the poor brutes being killed
by the hostile fire, their carcases were covered with earth,
stones, and planks — thus arose a fresh rampart.
But four Williamite batteries now playing with violence,
and the men-o'-war blazing hot upon the crumbling castle,
Mac-earthy More hung out the white flag. Glad to be rid of
the business, for he was losing men, uneasy concerning James's
movements, and perhaps honouring the intrepid defence —
made by an officer not only inexperienced himself, but with
out an engineer to advise, gunners to work the pieces, or a
surgeon to tend the smitten ' — Schomberg granted better
terms than he had previously intimated : the garrison should
march out with all the honours of war, the CathoUc clergy and
country folk, who had sought shelter within the walls, should
receive safe-conducts, debts owing to Protestants were to be
paid, the sick and wounded Irish would be cared for.
Having stood a siege of seven days with open trenches, lost
150 men, inflicted (as Williamite writers confess) equal damage
on the English, being reduced to their last powder-barrel, and
a single shot, the garrison, " lusty strong fellows, but ill clad,"
quitted Carrickfergus, and went for Newry. Soon did the
poor townspeople discover that the capitulation was honour
able only on paper. Almost every clause of it was violated.*

' D'Avaux k Louvois.
' " Without regard to age, or sex, or quality, the English disarmed and
stripped the townspeople, forcing even women to run the gauntlet stark
naked."— Macpherson, Original Papers.

IGNORANCE AND ROGUERY. 203
The commander who, when in difficulties, strikes out of the
beaten track of regulation, is pretty sure to be a man of
mark. The commonplace Horse Guards proteg^ sticks stolidly
to routine, and falls a martyr to rule of thumb. At Carrick
fergus, Schomberg showed that he was not too old to conceive
an idea. It was necessary to discover the enemy's doings in
his neighbourhood. Cavalry alone could perform this service ;
but the horse had not arrived. What then t He mounted a
number of French officers belonging to the three Huguenot
"regiments — Cambon, la Melonniere, and la Caillemotte. These
gentlemen, being practised soldiers, formed an excellent corps
of dclaireurs, which, striking terror at Lurgan, Portadown, and
the parts adjacent, collected the requisite information.'^
It is interesting to note what so distinguished a general as
Schomberg thought of his men. His letters to WilUam III.
apply no flattering unction to national pride. Writing at
Carrickfergus on the 27th of August, he complains that he has
been obliged to assume " the burden " of the provisions, trans
ports, cavalry, and so forth. He describes the artillery officers
as being not only " ignorant and lazy," but withal " timorous."
The ordnance department teems with " roguery," to which he
suspects Mr. Henry Shales has contributed much. And how
un-English this : " even the miners could not be got to fix
themselves to the walls ; an officer and four French miners
did it, and succeeded ; three of them were wounded by our
own people."*
The renowned foreigner's strictures teach us that a com
bative nature is of itself insufficient to ensure military efficiency,
and that sanctimonious up-turning of eyes may mask vile
unrighteousness. " Le scandale du monde est ce qui fait I'offence,
Et ce n'est pas pdcher, que pdcher en silence."
Leaving a battaUon at Carrickfergus, the General-in-chief
returned to Belfast, where his own regiment of French horse,
' " Memoires de Dumont de Bostaquet."
" Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain " (Appendix).

204 THE ANGLO-GALLO-DUTCH IN ULSTER.
500 strong, and some infantry, joined him from England. On
the last day of August the army mustered ; and four regi
ments of horse, one of dragoons, eighteen of foot, at least
15,000 men in all, twenty pieces of artiUery and six mortars,
paraded more or less brilliantly.
But we must not neglect the weaker side. The news of the
invasion created consternation in DubUn, where wrangling
talk instead of rapid action had been engrossing the ener
gies of the Government The peril, however, stirred James's
blood. With the concurrence of Tyrconnel and several of
the French officers, he decided to face the foe. To this end,
Carny was ordered to quit Coleraine and hasten southward.
The Duke of Berwick pushed to Newry with 1,000 foot and
600 dragoons. Escorted by lOO Horse Guards and 200 of
Parker's dragoons, the King rode into Drogheda on the 26th
of August Tyrconnel remained at Dublin to assemble the
dispersed forces, and forward them to the front. Unpopular
Melfort would be got rid of, by sending him to Versailles to
look after Lord Dover. " God speed him ! " was the universal
but equivocal comment on his diplomatic exile.
It is Berwick's opinion that Schomberg conferred a favour
on the Jacobites by tarrying before Carrickfergus. Had he
marched forward " sans s'amuser," he might have entered
Dublin without hindrance ; such, at first, was the wild con
fusion at headquarters.'
Most of the artillery horses being still at Chester, the Mar
shal sent the greater number of his guns to Carlingford by
sea, and proceeded southward with a few Ught pieces only.
On the night of the 3rd of September his army encamped at
Dromore, where, a few months before, Hamilton had routed
the northerners. The soldiers now discovered what war
meant. The autumnal rains had set in ; the transport service
being ill done, provisions often ran short ; and then, to hungry,
weary lads plodding through slush and floundering often in
bogs, what a spectacle did the country present ! Sheer and
ghastly desolation. As Protestant had fled from the face of
' " Mdmoires du Duc de Berwick."

WASTE AND WILD. 205
Hamilton, so did Catholic hurry off before the Anglo-GaUo-
Dutch advance. " Flee, flee, for your lives ! " twice-told cry
of misery. Instead of browsing herds, the festering carcases
of slaughtered beasts poisoned the air ; cut corn rotted in
the fields ; potato gardens ravaged, cabins gutted, and still
smoking. Thus did Irishmen make ready for the English
epicures. What they could not carry away, they destroyed.
At Loughbrickland three regiments of Inniskillen horse
came in. Their mien displeased the sensitive eye of the old
French captain ; but he made use of them. He sent them to
the front as scouts, a duty they could well perform. Like the
conscientious " Special" of to-day, the Rev. George Story im
mediately " interviewed " the reinforcement. He marvelled to
behold the terrible yeomen very roughly mounted and ac
coutred ad libitum — garrons their chargers, swords and pistols
of the rustiest, hanging anyhow. " Multitudes of their women"
accompanied the uxorious champions of the faith. Pointing
to the Irish videttes, the pugnacious divine advised his new
friends " to go and beat them off." But they answered rue
fully : " We are under orders to go no further ; we shall never
thrive so long as we are under orders." Strange doctrine, and
yet we can conceive the curb of discipline being mighty vex
atious to amateur warriors, glowing with Puritan fervour and
itching for Catholic loot Captain de Bostaquet tersely de
scribes these fellows as serving well, "s'ils n'dtaient point si
picoreurs (freebooters) sur lesquels on pourrait faire fonds."'
Now, as we are aware, Berwick lay at Newry with a small
force. He could not hold the town ; his duty was to detain
the English as long as his means permitted. Accordingly, he
caused a report to spread that Newry would fight to the last
gasp. The trtwarrf perplexed cautious Schomberg. He thought
the Duke must be strong, or else that the place was tenable.
Hence, strict injunctions to the Inniskilleners not to advance,
and careful reconnaissance of the position. But Berwick,
keeping only a small reserve in hand, had studded the hills in
his front thickly with videttes and pickets, causing all his
' Memoirs.

2o6 THE ANGLO-GALLO-DUTCH IN ULSTER.
trumpeters to blow incessant fanfares. The dodge told. Con
cluding that the post was strongly occupied, Schomberg de
tailed 1,200 picked infantry, a mass of cavalry, and some field-
guns under Colonel Wharton to attack the Jacobites posted
(as it was supposed) in a church and some defensible houses
in the suburbs. Wharton was to march at 3 A.M. next day ;
the rest of the army to follow three hours later ; that night
Berwick evacuated Newry. Carrying off much that might
profit the foe, setting fire to the buildings likely to shelter
them, he hastened to Dundalk, and from thence to Drogheda.
The flames evoked threats of dreadful vengeance from the
English general, to which replied a pungent reference to the
violated capitulation of Carrickfergus.
Placing a detachment of seventy men in the tower of
Newry, Schomberg passed on through the wild district called
" O'Hanlon's Country " to Dundalk.'
Here the WilUamites encamped " on the moist ground "
about a mile north of the town and river, thus obtaining easy
communication with England by sea. Slow as their progress
had been, the young soldiers suffered so severely from the
rain, bad roads, and scant victuals that, on the day of their
arrival, fatigue parties from every regiment. Brigadier Kane
tells us, had to be sent to the rear to hunt up the stragglers,
who by hundreds had fallen out of the ranks.
Next day Kirke's, Hanmer's, and Stewart's marched in,
which made the army fully 16,000 strong.
' " Chief among the Tories of Down, Tyrone, and Armagh, was Red
mond O'Hanlon. His principal haunt was the Fews mountains, over
hanging Newry ; for more than ten years he kept the three counties in
subjection, so that none dare travel without convoy or his pass. This man
was a scholar and a gentleman, the son of an estated gentleman, who had
lost his property through the Court of Claims." — Prendergast, Tory
War of Ulster.

XXIL
THE GRIEFS OF SCHOMBERG.
1689.
^^, HE Jacobites were astir. Gathering soldiers from
all points, Tyrconnel hurried them to Drogheda.
Still — such is the force of prestige — Rosen did not
fancy an encounter with his ancient comrade. Un
derrating the military worth of the Irish, he over-estimated the
efficiency and numbers of the British. On the other hand,
Schomberg, out of humour with the English levies, supposed
his opponents to be not only numerous, but into the bargain
fairly disciplined troops.
On both sides, then, extreme circumspection. The octoge
narian grew wary to a fault. De Rosen — despairing to defend
the Boyne with the force at his command, croaking indeed of
a WilUamite landing in his rear at Dublin — again urged the
King to abandon offensive operations ; and, by withdrawing
to Athlone, be content with holding the line of the Shan
non. But the flash of courage was still alive in the royal
breast : James declared he would not uncover the capital.
He considered that a retreat to the west would dishearten the
whole country, and cause the newly raised rank and file to
dwindle away to nothing. Admitting, for argument's sake,
the cogency of his general's reasoning, he doubted the re
sources of Connatight being adequate to the maintenance of
a large force for a period of two months. Consequently, he
adhered to his intention of facing the English; and, Tyr
connel having joined, the army, now about 20,000 strong,
advanced to Ardee, a town on the Dee between Drogheda

2o8 THE GRIEFS OF SCHOMBERG.
and Dundalk : the infantry, with few exceptions, raw and ill-
supplied, the artillery only ten field-guns badly equipped, a
portion of the cavalry, however, in excellent condition.'
Finding the enemy halted, Rosen felt considerably relieved.
" Schomberg wants something," he knew for certain. There
fore the royal headquarters moved on to Tallanstown, and the
Irish host, formed in two Unes, occupied the hilly ground
overlooking the Fane near Knockbridge, and within three
miles of Dundalk. In a wretched hut at Tallanstown lodged
James. He could not stand upright in his chamber, the Duke
of Tyrconnel and Comte d'Avaux being worse housed still.
Even so, Schomberg " wanted " much ; so much, that instead
of challenging to battle he intrenched his camp on the front,
and on the right flank, posted the French and Dutch in the
most exposed places, and thrust his pickets within 500 yards
of the Jacobite outposts.
With the Newry mountains closing the rear, and the sea
protecting the left, the military posture of the British camp
was good ; but, in a sanatory sense, it could hardly be worse.
The swampy ground, stirred into pudding by incessant rain,
bred fever. The food and beer, usually indifferent and often
scarce, induced both dysentery and dumps.
Grumbling over their shovels in the muddy trenches were
Englishmen on the morning of the 21st of September; when,
lo ! suddenly pouring over the Fane, the Irish formed up in
two lines, the right of the first line standing within cannon-
shot of Dundalk. For a wonder, the sun shone out in fullest
glory, the royal standard rustled in the gentle breeze. King
James rode amid a brilUant cavalry, and with derisive shouts
and gleaming eyes the eager Celts longed to lay about the
hated Saxons.
Not less ardent the WilUamites. Many of the sick, who for
the last week had been lying disconsolate in the tents, arose
and proudly shouldered firelocks. But Schomberg would not
' D'Avaux acknowledges there were a few regiments of foot " parfaite-
ment bons ;" certain cavalry corps he distinctly commends. For example :
" On ne peut voir de meilleur regiment que celuy de Tirconnel, et celuy de
Galmoy, et il y a quelques dragons, en fort bon estat." — D'AvAUX d.
Louvois.

A PLOT. 209
fight at the enemy's bidding on disadvantageous ground. He
would await events, ensconced. The gunners had orders on
no account to fire unless the Irish came within musket-shot of
the lines. " Let them alone, we will see what they will do,"
reiterated the sententious veteran to excited officers inco
herently pleading for onset.
As the EngUsh remained on the defensive, the Irish generals
declined to play the adversary's game by hurling detachments
over the cut and boggy intervening ground to dribble broken,
out of breath, and in disorder against intrenchments. Neither
side would give up his point of vantage. Accordingly, after
three hours of defiance, the Jacobites returned to camp ; and,
forage becoming scarce, withdrew on the i6th of October to
Ardee, which they strengthened with field works.
The exasperating blasts of the CathoUc trumpets had barely
died away before a conspiracy transpired among some French
Papists who had enlisted in the Huguenot corps. A letter to
D'Avaux, found in the pocket of a grenadier preparing to
desert, showed that one Du Plessis, formerly a captain of
horse in France and now a private in Cambon's regiment, had
settled with divers of his comrades either to go over to the
enemy, or, a favourable occasion presenting itself, to prove
themselves Jacobites within the lines. Immediately Du Plessis
and five other ringleaders were hanged, and CathoUcs, to the
number of about 200, weeded out of the different regiments,
went prisoners to England. The Test, too, came briskly into
play. Officers who had not taken the sacrament according to
the Anglican rite received orders to do so on the next Sunday.
A melancholy profanity then deemed a pious precaution.
Resolved to venture nothing the Marshal kept his youngsters
grinding at the goose-step and the platoon exercise. Tire
some but needful culture, sometimes enlivened by speeches
from Lieutenant-General Douglas " about pay," which. Story
significantly observes, " pleased the soldiers mightily, but not
so the officers."
As time wore on, things went harder and harder with the
flabby boys, whom Schomberg tells us, " the colonels thought
to have at a cheaper rate than grown men." Weakened by
P

210 THE GRIEFS OF SCHOMBERG.
bad fare, fever spread widely amongst them. Dreary inaction
helped to depress spirits already drooping. They stared list
lessly at the Irish dragoons foraging under their very noses.
Moreover, so audacious, so greedy for plunder were the Ulster
raparees, that except in bands the English dared not overstep
their trenches. The Creights only wanted tolerable weapons
to be more than a match for their Inniskillen rivals ; toughest
of irregulars they could sleep on the bare hills, heedless of
straw." They kept body and soul together with barbarian
simpUcity. But once amid the flesh-pots nothing was too
hot or too heavy for their digestion.
No wonder, then, if the Englishmen murmured at the
foreigner set over them. He was past his work. He
favoured the French and Dutch. But the old soldier, disdain
ing their gibberish, stuck closer than ever to his defensive
tactics — to drilling his raw material, to making crooked things,
if possible, straight His, indeed, was a heavy load. Disease
daily assumed an uglier aspect. Medicines were scarce, for
the imbecile administration could think only of surgeons'
knives. To such officials, campaigning is, and ever will be,
mere cut-and-thrust romance.
Announcing their readiness to fight, the English refused to
do aught else. Wallowing in filth they sulked in their miser
able tents. To such a depth of demoralization did they sink
as actually to complain when the festering corpses of their
fellows were carried off for burial." " The dead men," they
snivelled, " sheltered them from the cold wind, and were ser
viceable to sit or lie upon."* Not a whit better the officers.
Great as their incapacity, their want of application and lazi
ness Schomberg pronounced greater still.' " They take no
care of their troop horses, they allow arms to be broken before
their faces." They clamour unceasingly for leave of absence
on urgent private affairs. They cheat their men. They drink
' " Gens tellement durs k la fatigue, qu'ils couchent dans cette saison
(December) sur la terre, sans paille, et sans aucune chose." — D'AVAUX,
au Roi.
" Story, " Impartial History."
' Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain " (Appendix).

INACTION. 211
so hard that quality folk like Sir Edward Dering, Sir Thomas
.Gower, and Colonel Wharton die through neat poitin.'
The French and Dutch did better. Practised hands, they
began betimes to hut themselves, and so became compara
tively comfortable. Commanded by officers who knew their
business, the health of these veterans remained pretty good.
Schomberg's bide-awhile system producing universal dis
content in England, William anxiously pressed for offensive
operations ; but the Duke replied that the country lying
between himself and King James was peculiarly ill suited to
manoeuvring ; in fact, that it seemed to be a vast morass tra
versed by one or two execrable roads ; how hazardous, there
fore, advance against an enemy numerous and firmly posted !
As for cavalry, his French horse alone could be reported effi
cient. His transport service was bad ; the victualling con
tinued to be most unsatisfactory ; in brief, he would not —
could not — stir : but he demanded the Danes, long promised
him : he comprehended not why the English and Dutch
fleets made no demonstration along the Irish coast.
On the other hand, the hardier Irish — perfectly acclimatized,
less dependent on copious meals, and camped on higher
ground — suffered to a less extent.
Well informed by spies of the wretched condition of the
enemy, several officers recommended James to seize the op
portunity for assailing Schomberg. Never remarkable for
dash, the King preferred pinning the old warrior in his
" poisonous rat-hole." He may not have been far wrong. The
obstacles, interfering with the Marshal's advance, were re
doubled against a forward movement of the Jacobites. Their
battaUons must have trickled across a wild bog up to an
intrenched camp. The Irish artillery was far inferior to that
of the WilUamites. The cavalry — the strong arm — could avail
little on such ground. If beaten from before the trenches,
the young soldiers would probably be disorganized. Pat,
indeed, is naturally fitted to attack, but then John Bull is
famous for obstinate resistance. The example of the French
' Harris, " Life of King William III."

212 THE GRIEFS OF SCHOMBERG.
and Dutch veterans would certainly rouse the EngUsh recruits
from their apathy. The King's position was too delicate to
be treated hap-hazard ; and to reproach him with timidity for
not venturing upon what his illustrious adversary declined to un
dertake is absurd. A passive attitude is sometimes good mili
tary policy, especially when disease runs riot in the hostile ranks.
The armies, then, at a dead lock, and the coming winter
presaged by heavier rains and chilly winds, the King broke up
his camp on the 3rd of November. Leaving at Ardee six
battaUons and a few squadrons under De Boiseleau, he retired
to Drogheda, sending detachments to Navan, Trim, and
Kells, to maintain the line of the Boyne. On hearing that
Schomberg had quitted Dundalk, he returned to Dublin,
reduced certain of the outstanding posts, and distributed the
army in winter quarters.
Right gladly Duke Schomberg followed suit. Transferring
his headquarters to Lisburn, he scattered the troops among
the northern towns. As they crawled to their destinations,
the sufferings of the soldiers —
"living carcases design'd
For death " —
were enough to melt the heart of a raparee. Whether crammed
in ships bound for Belfast (where the general hospital reeked
" of mortal change on earth "), jolting along the horrible roads
in country carts, or falling exhausted out of the ranks, their
wayfaring was equally dreadful. It is estimated that of the
16,000 men who had reached Dundalk, 8,000 perished of
disease, under canvas, at sea, or in the Belfast lazar-house
within the space of a few weeks.' How true the old doggrel —
"Whom fire spares, sea doth drown ; whom sea.
Pestilent air doth send to clay ;
Whom war 'scapes, sickness takes away."
' Brigadier Kane says, " more than | of our EngUsh were carried off by
distemper." — Memoirs ofthe Campaigns of King William. Duke Schom
berg writes to William IIL, "The English nation is so delicately bred,
that as soon as they are out of their own country, they die the first cam
paign in all foreign countries, where I have seen them serve." Ina similar
strain Louvois to D'Avaux : " Les maladies qui se mettent ordinairement
parmi les troupes nouvelles, dont les Anglais sont plus afflig^s que d'autres."

XXIIL
AUTUMN FORAYS.
1 689- 1 690.
jLTHOUGH grand manoeuvres were mutually
shirked, minor affairs of more or less importance
enlivened the autumn. Towards the end of Sep
tember an Inniskillen force, under Colonel Lloyd,
(" the little Cromwell ") had a successful brush with an Irish
detachment proceeding to the west. But the rejoicing thus
occasioned among the EngUsh soon turned to mortification.
Sarsefield, on hearing of Lloyd's exploit, marched from the
Boyne on Jamestown ; the garrison of which fled, on his
approach, to Sligo. Sending forward Colonel Henry Luttrel
with some dragoons to seize a pass north of this town, Sarse
field followed with infantry and two or three guns. At sight of
Luttrel, Colonel Russell, who commanded in Sligo, retreated
to Ballyshannon. However, Lloyd with twenty Inniskillen
men, and Captain St. Sauveur with eighty French Grenadiers,
after a slight skirmish with Luttrel, threw themselves into two
Uttle forts outside the town. Wanting provisions, it is said,
Lloyd quitted his post soon after dark, and got clear away.
St. Sauveur remained. Expecting a night attack (Sarsefield
was now up) the intrepid Frenchman hit on an ingenious
device for divulging its character. Heaping a quantity of deal
planks, smeared with pitch, upon a convenient spot, he set the
pile on fire ; as anticipated, the flames exhibited the Irish
advancing with a strange apparatus called a " sow," pregnant
with picked musqueteers. Presenting the form of a huge

214 ^ UTUMN FOR A YS.
timber tube, strengthened with iron hoops, and covered with
hides to render it ball-proof, the " escalader " lumbered along
on wheels, Uke a fire-escape, towards the walls of the fort.
Thanks, however, to his bonfire, St Sauveur shot the engineer
in charge; a hitch thus occurring, the "sow" was brought
prematurely to bed of her uneasy offspring, and perished in
flames. Profiting by the confusion, the French sallied, cap
tured a gun, and slew several men. Nevertheless, food lacking,
they were soon obliged to surrender on honourable terms, and
a few of them enlisted with Sarsefield. The brave St. Sauveur
died of fever shortly afterwards at Lisburn. A first-rate officer,
Schomberg deeply deplored his loss. The possession of Sligo
was of great importance to the Jacobites ; it secured Con
naught, and menaced "the English in Ulster.'
Early in 1690, this feat was partially counterbalanced.
Hearing that the Irish were gathering at Dundalk, Schomberg
proceeded to Dromore, and sent La Meloni^re on reconnais
sance. That excellent soldier reported all quiet at Dundalk,
but mischief brewing westward. Now, Belturbet (which
Wolseley had lately seized) was, from its central position, a
suitable basis for annoying the Anglo-Dutch posts in southern
Ulster. To retake it, the Jacobites would do their best The
Duke of Berwick, therefore, at the head of 1,500 foot and 200
horse, marched from Kells to Cavan, which he reached one
stormy evening. As Colonel O'Reilly, in command of the
place, promised that his pickets would keep good watch, the
Duke's drenched troopers made themselves comfortable in
their billets. But Wolseley, apprized of Berwick's movement,
determined not only to checkmate it, but to surprise Cavan,
as he had recently surprised Belturbet. Thus bent, he quitted
the latter place with regular infantry and 300 Inniskillen
horse, the very night on which, unknown to him, the young
Duke rode into Cavan.
Wolseley made sure of being before the town ere the
sun rose ; but, as often happens, sufficient allowance had not
been made for bad roads and sore feet. It was broad day-
' Story, " Impartial History." D'Avaux, " Negociations, &c."

SURPRISING. 215
light when he sighted the Irish outposts. Somewhat tardily,
it would appear, they gave the alarm ; still, Berwick had time
to draw up his men near a mud fort to the right of the town,
ere the Inniskilleners' advanced guard made a rush. Coming
boldly on, the Protestant yeomen were fiercely charged by
the Irish horse, and driven in confusion on the British infantry,
which, fearing to be ridden down, poured z, volley into their
worsted comrades. Having pursued too far, the Jacobites
suffered severely on retiring, from the fire of Kirk's and
Wharton's. Now the fight became general. For some time
the English regulars made little impression upon Berwick's
line. At length. Brigadier Nugent and several officers of his
regiment falling, an unaccountable panic seized the Irish.
The foot bolted into the fort ; the cavalry galloped to the
rear. The Inniskillen men began plundering the town. In
the midst of the marauding a band sallied from the fort.
Again, Inniskillen had the worst of it, but on the English
reserve doubling up, the Irish retired. But so little did
Wolseley like the look of affairs, that he set fire to the town
and drew off. Berwick, whose horse was shot under him
in the fray, remained a few days at Cavan, striving to re
store order. He then went to Dublin. In this sanguinary
puzzle, where both parties intent upon surprising were therh-
selves surprised, the Jacobite loss reached 500 and many
officers, the WilUamites had about 300 kUled and wounded.
Thus ended the design on Belturbet
The undecided character of the combat may be attributed
to the rawness and consequent unsteadiness of the soldiers on
both sides. Recruits commanded by inexperienced officers
cannot be depended upon. And yet at Cavan, as elsewhere,
we have evidence that both WilUamites and Jacobites had
within them the making of good troops. Neither Berwick nor
Wolseley might claim a victory. As the latter sheered off, a
sort of barren honour remained with Fitzjames, the fame of
whose courage and capacity had by this time reached Scot
land. In February, 1690, we have " the chiefs and officers of
clans now in arms " declaring to the King their determination
to hazard all that is dear for his restoration ; " but," they add.

2 1 6 A UTUMN FOR A YS.
" we must let your Majesty know that his grace the Duke of
Berwick will be most acceptable to all honest men in this
kingdom, but particularly to us, and the sooner he comes the
better." Major General Buchan, too (lately arrived in the
Highlands from the north of Ireland), writes privately to
James : — "The Earis of Errol, Strathmore, and Panmure and
some others desire commissions, but these people will never
rise till the Duke of Berwick comes over."' His share of the
blood royal doubtless quickened the interest with which the
Scots regarded him ; we have a right, however, to infer that
the ability he often displayed had a good deal to do with the
favour enjoyed by the young soldier. Otherwise, why should
the "Grand Prior" (his brother Henry Fitzjames's title) fall
flat, while " Berwick" resounded a household word .''
Judging from a report which d'Avaux sent to Louis XIV.,
the Grand Prior was a worthless and disagreeable personage.
This is the Count's story : " One day the Duke of Berwick
and his brother entered a room where Lord Dungan (son of
the Earl of Limerick) and four or five sparks of the army
were cracking a bottle of claret. Presently an officer blamed
the Grand Prior for having broken a certain captain of his
regiment. Henry Fitzjames replying offensively, Berwick
good-humouredly suggested that instead of wrangling they
should drink to the health of all true Irishmen, and confusion
to Lord Melfort, who had well-nigh lost them the kingdom.
Whereupon the Grand Prior angrily protested that Melfort
was a right good fellow, and a friend of his, and if any one
dared drink such a toast, he would pitch a glass of wine in his
face. Some of the gentlemen retorted in terms more or less
disrespectful to Melfort, but Dungan carelessly remarked that
Fitzjames had no business to fall into a passion if they chose
to drink the toast ; and then, raising an empty goblet, made
the usual reverence. Instantly the ill-conditioned Prior flung
his wine into Dungan's face, the glass cutting his lordship's
nose in two places. The bystanders rushed between the
parties. However, Dungan, though a high spirited young
' Macpherson, " Original Papers."

RAWNESS. 217
man, treated the insult with contempt. " Never mind," quoth
he, " the Prior is not only a child, but the son of my king."
On hearing of the scandal, James desired that Henry Fitz
james should give the outraged Dungan satisfaction ; but he
preferred that, having treated the youth d' enfant, the King
should do so too. Accordingly James administered a sound
rating to his surly offspring. D'Avaux thinks the scolding
will have small effect, for M. le Grand Prieur is a most profli
gate boy, gets fuddled every day of his life, and his debauched
habits have prevented him mounting a horse all the summer. '
" II n'y a si bonne famille qui n'ait son pendu."
To revert to graver matters. Notwithstanding his private
predilection, James could, in fact, spare Scotland nothing more
efficacious than his prayers. His army amounted to about
50,000 men ; but, as he expressly states, he had only 1 8,000
tolerably effective troops. Most ofthe soldiers wanted shirts,
stockings, even shoes. Not only was the supply of firelocks
inadequate:, but many muskets obtained from France or found
in store had been spoiled by the heedlessness of the rank and
file — heedlessness the officers were too ignorant or too care
less to prevent ; and next to impossible was it to repair the
incessant damages, for armourers, scarce in the land and to a
man Protestants, took care to make bad worse. As the old
army of Ireland consisted of some 7,000 men, more than
40,000 of the present troops were mushroom levies ; the
"wild anarchy of chaos," then, is by no means wonderful.
The soldier cannot be extemporized. He is of gradual growth.
The officer is, d fortiori, of slower development still. To
provide cadres for the large force he had raised, Tyrconnel was
obliged to give commissions to young gentlemen, in the
majority of instances without the slightest professional know
ledge. Hence, a medley of recruits larded with a set of un
trained officers. * Little marvel, surely, if the wild privates
misused their weapons without stern remonstrance from their
' D'Avaux au Roi.
' The prototype, on a small scale, of Gambetta's difficulties in 1870-71.

2 1 8 A UTUMN FOR A YS.
good-natured devil-may-care colonels and captains. Nor was
such mischief confined to the Irish quarters. In letters to King
WUliam, Schomberg describes a similar nuisance. His captains
cheat their men, his colonels are so remiss that half of the
pikes, fusees, and muskets are broken : — " I never was in an
army where there are so many new and lazy officers. If all
were broke who deserved it there would be few left."
With a proper proportion of experienced officers, the orga
nization of recruits may proceed with facility ; but when
officers must be trained as well as soldiers, when the nucleus
of a war administration is absent, when trumpery'tokens ape
hard cash — then, the construction of an army is an arduous
if not impossible business. Looking fairly at the situation, we
should be surprised at what the Irish effected, rather than at
what they failed to do. They held at bay a British army
(supported by a considerable body of foreign veterans) under
the orders of a general celebrated throughout Europe. Surely,
no mean achievement.
In the spring of 1690 fortune began to turn against the
Jacobites. True, James was expecting a French auxiliary
corps ; but being bound to furnish Louis, in exchange, with a
corresponding Irish force, the assistance was neutralized to a
considerable extent. The departure, too, of Rosen was a loss.
If disagreeable to the King and generally unpopular, he under
stood war, whereas his successor possessed no military quality,
beyond the lowest— bravery. " This court jester, without
talent, without heart, without shame, this Lauzun"' owed his
appointment to a concurrence of circumstances ; viz, to the
gratitude of Mary of Modena, whom he had escorted to France ;
to the arts of Madame de Maintenon, who hated Louvois ;
and to Louis's increasing aversion to that great statesman.
Mary acted imprudently, for she was generous and impulsive ;

' Antonin Nompar de Caumont, Comte, afterwards Duc de Lauzun, was
a singular specimen of fashionable life. Of him La Bruyere said : " Sa
vie est un roman : non, il lui manque le vraisemblable. II n'a point eu
d'aventures, il a eu de beaux songes, il en a eu de mauvais ; que dis-je ?
on ne reve point comme il a vdcu."

A COURT GENERAL. 219
Madame de Maintenon interfered maliciously, because she
knew Louvois designed the command of the French in Ire
land for his son de Sourrd, and because, in wounding the
Minister of War, she gratified his enemy, Seignelay, Minister
of Marine, now rising into high favour at court.' The King
lent an ear to the intrigue, because the dictation of the bluff
Marquis, grating every day more painfully on his self-esteem,
he was well pleased to unite with the public in attributing
the recent misfortunes on the Rhine to the nonchalance of the
War Office. " Pour un ministre des plus grands.
La belle pr^voyance
De laisser tant d'honn^tes gens
Sans poudre dans Mayence !
Qu'est devenu votre bon sens ?
Cela se faisait-il du temps
De Jean de Vert ? "
In the crisis of his fate, then, James was rid of a soldier of
respectable ability. Worse still, D'Avaux would depart
Being on ill terms with Lauzun, this sagacious counsellor
refused to serve with him ; consequently, in place of two
efficient supporters, one harum-scarum old dandy.
' Marquis de Seignelay, son of the great Colbert, a young man of talent
and energy. Under his able administration the French navy acquired re
markable efficiency.

XXIV.
REFURBISHING AND REPLENISHING.
1690.
>)N March the regiments Zurlauben (Swjss), Biron,
Bouilly, Tirlon, and Ch^merault landed at Kinsale ;'
not famous old corps, like Auvergne, Picardie,
Champagne ; but after the reverses of the German
campaign and the personal annoyance arising out of the
Lauzun job, it was not Ukely that Louvois would dispatch the
best regiments to Ireland. Moreover, that astute' personage,
so little counted upon James's ultimate success as to speak
thus plainly to Louis : — " Tout ce que je puis dire par ad
vance k Votre Majesty c'est que si Dieu ne fait un miracle en
faveur du Roi d'Angleterre, je crains bien que le Prince
d'Orange ne fasse la conquete de I'lrlande avec beaucoup plus
de facilite qu'il ne se I'imagine."
Why, at the pinch, money and material arrived in insignifi
cant quantities from France is easy to understand. Not only
had Louis, what d'Avaux calls, " une grosse guerre sur les
bras," but to supply the sinews for carrying it on the beautiful
plate of the kingdom was going bodily to the mint. Princes,
politicians, grand seigneurs and grandes dames, patriotically
followed the example of Le Roi Soleil, in throwing exquisite
specimens of artistic skill into the furnace. Not even the
ornaments of the Dauphiness were spared, and Louvois
' " 341 officers and 6,751 soldiers. There came also 61 artillerymen, 6
commissariat officers, 27 surgeons, and hospital attendants." — RousSET,
Histoire de Louvois.

THE IRISH BRIGADE. 221
earnestly exhorted the bishops to convert the superfluous
silver vessels of their churches into ecus.
Shortly after the arrival of the French at Cork — ^where, by
the bye, scant preparation for their reception had been made —
5,800 Irish soldiers, under the gallant Mountcashel, sailed for
Brest. Constituting at first five regiments, they were speedily
re-organised into three — Mountcashel, O'Brien, and Dillon.
Thus sprang into life the renowned Irish Brigade in the service
of France. In less than two months these brave fellows joined
Catinat in Italy, and were posted to the division commanded
by Saint-Ruth. After relating how that brilliant officer had
beaten 1,200 Piedmontese strongly intrenched, the Marquis
Dangeau observes : — " les Irlandais qui 6taient k cette
action-Id ont fait des merveilles, a ce qui Saint-Ruth mande ;
et milord Mount-cashel qui les commandait a k.ti dangereuse-
ment bless6." Touching pages those which record the exploits
of Irishmen in foreign uniform. Pages glorious for Ireland,
honourable to France, and mournful to England.
" Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might'' Common sense of this type James disdained. De
spite the difficulties besetting him in Ireland, at his wits' end
for ways and means, the enemy in refreshed strength before
him — he listened to twaddle about an invasion of England.
On this subject good advice emanated from Versailles. " It
is right," writes Louis to D'Avaux on the 4th of January, " to
impress upon him (James) that the surest method of strength
ening his party in England and in Scotland is to prevent his
enemy conquering Ireland. The more I desire to see him
again on the throne, the firmer grows my conviction that the
advice to cross over at once to England is tinctured with the
craft of the Prince of Orange, who would gladly entangle him
in so false a move — fix him fast in a snare which has been
artfully laid for him."
" True ; the English pear was not yet ripe."
While the armies faced one another, Dublin was anxiously
regarded on both sides. The Protestant townsmen, rich,
numerous, supphed with concealed arms, and in secret com-

2 22 REFURBISHING AND REPLENISHING.
munication with Schomberg, constituted a thorn ready to
rankle in the Jacobite rear. But in Colonel Simon Luttrel
the city possessed a vigorous and watchful governor. EngUsh
cruisers occasionally appeared in the bay, but insurrection was
firmly and not harshly repressed. The inefficiency of the
British na"vy, at this period, is striking. Nominally far more
powerful than the French navy, it secured not the empire
of the seas ; EngUsh commerce suffered from the raids of
French privateers ; French soldiers landed harmless in Ireland ;
Irish troops crossed over to Brittany unmolested.
As everything, sooner or later, went astray with King
James, he had now to lament the loss of his solitary man-o'-
war. While convoying transports to Belfast Sir Cloudesley
Shovel heard that this poor remnant of a once noble fleet lay
in Dublin Bay, loading with hides and wool for France. So
he sailed thither, and on the i8th of April sent two sloops
of war and some long boats to cut out the Jacobite frigate,
The approach of the WilUamite ships being reported to the
King, he jumped to the pleasant conclusion that some of his
misguided subjects were returning to their duty, and, at the
head of his guards, hastened to welcome the repentant
sinners. However, the roar of cannon surprised him, and he
reached Ringsend in time to behold Captain Bennet run his
vessel ashore, and take to the boats to escape a fire-ship
which was bearing down upon him. The crew got off with
their lives ; but, on return of the tide. Sir Cloudesley carried
away the unlucky "Pelican," to the horror of an immense
crowd and divers regiments thronging the beach — " all
eager," says Story, rather sardonically, "to slay those bold
fellows at sea, who durst on Good Friday perform so wicked
a deed." When the Williamite interest is concerned the
reverend historian scruples not to subscribe to the doctrine —
Better the day, better the deed.
To turn to the adversary. His affairs were mending. In
their winter quarters the soldiers regained health. Recruits
poured in from England. Attenuated battalions were con
solidated. ' In March 7,000 Danes landed at Belfast — "aU
' Captain Parker, " Military Transactions in Ireland."

THE WILUAMITES IN QUARTERS. 223
lusty fellows* well clothed and armed." Dutch, Branden
burghers, fresh British quickly followed. Guns, mortars,
powder, clothing, and provisions came abundantly. Amongst
the artillery were " four new invented wheel engines which
discharge 150 musquet barrels at once, and, turning the
wheel, as many more ; they are very serviceable to guard a
pass." ' Nothing new under the sun ! the mitrailleuse. We
are nowhere told how the machine worked in the field.
In the early spring Schomberg commanded a formidable
army, notwithstanding the discordant elements of which it
was composed. But, however efficient under arms, the soldiers
were sad backsliders in quarters — strong Protestants, but loose
moralists. The worthy old general strove hard to reform his
unrighteous scratch-pack. He ordered regular attendance at
church ; the incessant swearing of both officers and men he
emphatically rebuked ; and, to bring his naughty followers to
more Christian behaviour, he solemnly protested that the
misery of the past winter was Heaven's judgment on their
transgressions. It is to be feared that subsequent successes
cannot be traced to the prevalence of a purer virtue in the
polyglot ranks.
It is a favourite assumption that the conduct of the
Williamite troops presented a wholesome- contrast to the
license of their Jacobite opponents. An honest witness sum
moned from the Anglo-Dutch camp may refute an impression
mainly propagated by Archbishop King. Dr. George Gorge,
secretary to Duke Schomberg, in a letter to Colonel Hamilton,
makes the following remarkable statement : — " You cannot
forget who affirmed that the Protestants of this province
(Ulster) ought rather to be treated as enemies than friends,
and that the best of them had either basely compUed with
King James and his party, or cowardly left and deserted their
country ; that the goods and flocks of Protestant inhabitants,
once seized by the enemy, were forfeited and ought not to be
restored, but given in encouragement to the soldiers ; that all
Papists ought to be plundered and none protected ; that reli-
' Luttrel, " Brief Relation of State Affairs."

224 REFURBISHING AND REPLENISHING.
gion was but canting, and debauchery the necessary character
of soldiers. If to these you add the pressing of horses at
pleasure, quartering at pleasure, denying the people bread and
seed of their corn, whereby multitudes of families are already
reduced to want of bread, and left only to beg, or steal, or
starve ; these being the principles and these the practices
(and both as well known to you as to me), can it be wondered
that the oppressed Protestants here should report us worse
than the Irish ; or can it be wondered that God should pursue
us with his dreadful judgments, who have so provoked Him
with our daring sins } "
After this charming sketch of his own party, the Doctor
goes on to aver that James maintained a far stricter discipline
among his troops, " forbidding all plundering on any pretence
whatsoever under pain of death without mercy." ' Had Sir
Robert Walpole Ireland in his mind when he exclaimed,
" Don't talk to me of history, that I know to be false .'"
As we are already aware, the savour of death at Dundalk
and Schomberg's inactivity, had augmented William's un
popularity. Just then, his position was irksome indeed.
" A comprehensive scheme for reconciling Anglicans and
Protestant Dissenters " had broken down, as plans assuming
human nature to be what it is not, are pretty sure to do. His
sister-in-law, the Princess Anne, did not contribute to his
peace of mind ; his friends, the Whigs, were kicking bitterly
against the pricks ; lastly, came the Irish fiasco, inconceiv
able to British self-esteem.*
The Commons fastened on Dundalk. Assured that the
army had seldom been 14,000 strong, although 23,000 men
appeared in the pay-lists, they insisted on Commissioners
' See Plowden's " Review ofthe State of Ireland," pp. 150-153.
° No mean cause of William's unpopularity was his retirement at
Hampton Court In " Memoires des nouvelles venues d'Angleterre, 26
Juin, 1682," we read," Le prince d'Orange est toujours k Hampton Court,
et jamais k la ville, et le peuple est fort mal satisfait de cette manifere
bizarre et retiree." Sir John Dalrymple also mentions the anger of the
citizens " at the desertion of their sovereign and the loss of the usual fes
tivities and pomp of the Court."

PARTY STRIFE. 225
being sent to Ireland to investigate the condition of the troops.
For the miscarriage yonder, whom shall we hang .' General
Count Solms pointed to Mr. Henry Shales, the purveyor-
general. The Rev. George Walker, hero of Derry, and now
Uon of the London season, similarly advised. Parliament
accordingly demanding the arrest of Shales, he was made
prisoner at Beffast, and sent to London. But no further evil
befell him ; " Possibly," surmises Harris, " he had powerful
confederates, who went shares with him in the profits of his
corrupt management, and whom he threatened to detect in
order to screen himself" ' Quite possible ; such men gene
rally sin in good company.
Besides, a spoke clogged the Government wheels. Supply
had not been voted. In this dilemma. Whig greed over
shooting the mark, afforded the King a transient relief from
trouble. Their Corporation Bill, if passed, would virtually
exclude the Tories from the borough representation for seven
years. In anticipation of such a danger, the latter prostrated
themselves before the de facto throne, crying aloud for assistance
to defeat the obnoxious clauses. On the other hand, the
Whigs, alarmed for their places, promised William to treat
him better in the future. The storm hushed for a while :
WilUam was himself again — a ruler of men. But how easily
are the sharpest wits deceived ! At Lady Marlborough's
instigation the prickly question of the Princess Anne's revenue
— in other words, her independence — started up in debate.
King, Whig, and Tory forthwith floundered in hot water.
WiUiam perceived that out of such a kettle of fish, cunning
cookery could make nothing. His embarrassment was painful.
At first, he affected a desire to quit ungrateful Britain. He
would reUnquish to the Queen the task of governing the fickle
English. However, the crocodile tears of certain "poUtical
friends " dissuaded him. Another card should be played. Let
the Commons be sent about their business. Let there be
peace with the adversary. Mary nestling under the Tory
wing, WilUam might betake himself to the Irish wars.
' " Life of King William III."
Q

2 26 REFURBISHING AND REPLENISHING.
Whig place-hunters summoned the Dutch Prince to Eng
land. Whig " Parliament-men " crowned him. A year passes.
The place-men are ousted. St. Stephen's knows the Parlia
ment-men no more. The nation elects Tories. The new
King embraces them. Such the vicissitudes of Revolution !

XXV.
THE O'REGAN AT CHARLEMONT.
1690.
^CHOMBERG opened the campaign with hostili
ties against Charlemont, a fort well situated on
the Blackwater, about five miles S.E. of Dun.
gannon. Built in the reign of Elizabeth by Lord
Deputy Blount, as a check on the O'Neil, it was now of
great importance to King James. The last strong place left
him in Ulster, it enabled the Catholics to harass the WilUam
ites occupying the province. Its possession, therefore, was of
considerable moment tp the English.
Covered on the N. and W. by the river, on the S. and E.
by bogs, Charlemont could be approached only by two roads,
which the Irish had made nearly impassable. And, that the
English might find no shelter for their attack, the hamlet
straggling in the shade of the ramparts had been levelled. A
wing of Gordon O'Neil's, under Colonel Teague O'Regan, a
stout but eccentric old soldier, quartered in the citadel, or
rather tower, within the walls.
The place had been watched during the winter by La
Caillemotte, with a force comprising his own regiment, Du
Cambon's, and a detachment of St. John's.
Early in March, after a smart skirmish. La Caillemotte
captured a village within two miles of the ditch, and on the
1 2th of the same month a picked French band, led by
himself, rowed in three boats up the river, for the purpose of
destroying, the wooden bridge, and thus stopping the ex-

228 THE O'REGAN AT CHARLEMONT.
cursions of the garrison towards Dungannon. Landing about
a mile from their desrination, the Grenadiers marched silently
on. But they were perceived, and a scrambling fight in the
dark ensued. The French prevailing, burned the bridge,
seized the tete-de-pont, and forced a redoubt near the
Armagh Gate. Day being about to dawn. La Caillemotte
withdrew, with a loss of five or six privates. Of the numerous
officers attending the party. Major de Laborde was killed,
Lieutenant-Colonel Belcastel and Captain Rapin (afterwards
historian of England) being wounded. The Irish suffered
more heavily.
But for weeks, during which the WilUamites received re-in-
forcements, nothing came of this expedition. Indeed, so
strong was his position, O'Regan's prime anxiety lay on the
score of food. Unexpectedly the hungry soldiers obtained a
temporary supply. Colonel Mac Mahon, with a body of
Ulster irregulars craftily trotting the bogs, on the 2nd of
May, brought in some ammunition and a little store of
rations. Du Cambon, who commanded the Huguenot out
posts, being informed that the Ulster men would depart
whenever their job was over, divided his troops into three
parts, which he disposed in a manner calculated to intercept
the issuing Creights. The event occurred according to his
expectation. Mac Mahon's ill-armed partizans were twice
flung back into the place, as they endeavoured to debouch.
Whereat Teague waxed wroth. He swore " if they could not
get out, they should have no entertainment nor lodging
within." And, words meaning deeds with this sturdy veteran,
the poor fellows had to hut themselves as best they could in
the dry ditch. Meanwhile, Schomberg kept hurrying men,
guns, and mortars to La Caillemotte, for he hugely coveted
the fort, and the Governor's answer to his summons had
breathed hard knocks. " Tell your master," said O'Regan to
the Duke's emissary, " he's an ould knave ; and, by St Patrick,
he sha'n't have the place at all." Relishing the joke, the
Marshal retorted good humouredly : " He would give Teague
greater reasons to be angry in a little while."
No courage, no tenacity is proof against starvation. Sooner

"RUGGED AS A SARACEN." 229
or later, a place strictly blockaded must fall. Girt by well
disciplined troops — more Dutch, fiery Cutts with his English,
just imported Brandenburghers being up by this — Charle
mont verged on its last crust ; only a " very little dirty meal
and part of a quarter of musty beef left." No chance of
relief Grim Teague must bend. He dispatched an offer of
surrender. His terms were accepted — for the nut was cer
tainly hard to crack, and the Marshal longed to finish the
business before William's arrival.
On the 14th of May the garrison evacuated Charlemont
in two divisions, each about 400 strong.' They marched
proudly with their arms, bag and baggage, drums beating,
colours flying, lighted matches, bullets in their mouths, clothes
in rags, famine in their eyes, and yet true men of war.
Driving over from Legacory, Duke Schomberg overtook them
about a mile from the fort, on the Armagh road ; no dainty
popinjays, they were "chewing pieces of dried hides, with
hair and all on." Attention I They draw up in review order ;
about 200 women and children jostling open-mouthed in the
intervals of the battaUons.
Brave O'Regan is described as cutting a figure careless of
the Graces. Bestriding a vicious spavined old stallion, he
shouts his orders. A red coat of bygone fashion puckers
about his hump-back. A full-bottomed, weather-soiled wig
garnishes the resolute, wizened face ; jauntily cocked thereon
is " a little narrow white beaver," and, the heat of the day
notwithstanding, a big muff hangs before him. Eager to
salute en rkgle, Teague coaxes his charger to advance, but the
pestilent brute sets to kicking and squealing, which sertds the
choleric grognard cursing and spurring like mad. Rare fun !
the poor Celtic soldiery relished the humour of the scene, we
may be sure.
Schomberg inspected the troops ; and, as he passed down
the ranks, the men, with native courtesy, made him, we are
told, " a great many legs" (bows k I'lrlandaise), and in sonorous

Including Mac Mahon's "Creights J'

230 THE O'REGAN AT CHARLEMONT.
whispers debated whether the genial old gentleman could be
the " Shambear," of whose ferocity they had heard so much.
" No wonder provisions came speedily to an end," said the
Marshal, pointing to the numerous ladies on parade. " There
was no help for it," replied Colonel O'Regan ; " we Irish are
naturally hospitable, ahd so all of us fared alike. Faith, the
boys wouldn't have stayed at all without the girls." " More
love than policy there," observed the Duke with a smile. No
doubt of it. The Irish are usually more successful in love
than in politics. Impulse and passion, triumphant in the
courts of Venus, tend to grief in the struggle of life.
To protect them from the scouring Protestant marauders,
an article of the capitulation stipulated that the garrison
should be escorted to Dundalk by a party of English horse.
Now, among the retiring Irish were two priests ; and, during
a halt, one of them began arguing with a Williamite trooper
on transubstantiation, The controversy grew hot ; and, Mile
sian blood being soon at boiling point, his reverence boxed
the soldier's ears, whereupon he got a cruel thrashing. News
of the quarrel and the drubbed ecclesiastic's report of his
bruises reached O'Regan while he was dining with the British
officers at Armagh. The shrewd grey-beard (who seems to
have been a sort of Charles Napier — odd, competent, and
valiant) only growled out that " he was glad to hear of it :
what the divil's business had Father Pat to dispute religion
with a dragoon ! "
The humane Schomberg ordered every Jacobite a loaf of
bread from the Armagh stores, and the officers having been
seasonably entertained, all went their way, " pleased with the
general and praising the army."'
Courtesy to the fallen — who delights not to read of it .' Is
it quite certain that we have gained in good manners during
the last 200 years .-• At any rate, musty professors and swag
gering junkers could not give a lesson in chivalrous bearing
to Armand Fr^d^ric de Schomberg.
' Story, " Impartial History."

XXVI.
"MOVING NIGH IN SLOW BUT FIRM
BATTALION." 1690.
"In courtly balls and midnight masquerades"
AD Dublin spent the winter ; the Duchess of Tyr
connel (" la belle Jennings ") swaying society with
the haughty grace of her sister Sarah of Marl
borough.
•' Brilliant with peers and dukes, and all their sweeping train,"
redolent with pretty coquettes, crowded with daring sparks,
the beautiful city kept continual holiday ' —
" Singing, laughing, ogling, and all that."
How merrily human nature makes ready for calamity !
But James displayed neither levity nor self-indulgence. His
transgressions were of another complexion. He stuck close
to routine business. He looked after trade, he strove to con
ciliate the Protestant interest ; he meant well, but he fumbled
in the fire with too many irons. An obstinate man, he yet
yielded his judgment to specious talkers, who, dangling before
his longing eyes the Melfort bait of an expedition to England,
led him to distrust common-sense politicians, who insisted on
making sure in Ireland before indulging in knight-errantry.

O'Kelly, " Excidium Macarias."

232 "MOVING NIGH."
Financial deficit, combined with sectarian animosity, hin
dered the clothing and equipping of the troops. Against the
vis inertice of indigence there is no contending. To appease
the religious rage of Protestant tradesmen with copper tokens
was impossible. The defective military administration re
mained without essential repair. Notwithstanding the urgent
representations of D'Avaux, so little had been done in the way
of supplying the army with regular transport, that when the
French division marched into Dublin and took the Castle-
guard, their guns and materiel still tarried at Cork clamouring
vainly for draught
Highly coloured reports of ParUamentary dissension and
popular estrangement in England had induced King James to
question his nephew's real intention of coming to Ireland. To
a prince who would have cast the Green Isle loose on the mere
chance of setting foot in England, ridiculous seemed the idea
of the enemy troubling himself about Erinn, when Britain
growled ominously. The news, then, of William's actual
arrival bewildered him.
Under the Dutch screw the resources of England were
showing well. On the 6th of June, Count Mesnart de Schom
berg, general of cavalry, disembarked at Belfast with a for
midable train of artiUery, arms, ammunition, and 200 arti
ficers; and, on the 14th of the same month, WilUam of
Orange landed at Carrickfergus, attended by his despised
relation Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Ormond, Earls
of Oxford, Manchester, Scarborough (nominally "volunteers,"
really hostages), and divers notable Dutchmen.
After a glance at the shattered town, William drove to Bel
fast in Duke Schomberg's coach-and-six. Next morning he
was taken to church to be hailed by an imaginative minister
as one " who through faith subdued kingdoms and wrought
righteousness." The aptness of the text is questionable.
Among the great Nassau's virtues a faith equal to removing
mountains is not discernible. In richness of faith the sup
planted James was certainly his superior. But from a popular
preacher holding forth before royalty, historical accuracy is
not to be expected ;

WILLIAM AT WORK. 233
" Ah, spare your idol ! Think him human still,
Charms he may have, but he has frailties too."
On the day following, the Rev. George Walker (whom
over-officiousness was rendering odious to the King) intro
duced a number of Episcopalian clergy, fraught with the
inevitable address of congratulation. Just in the same key,
we may recollect, their southern brethren had welcomed
James to Ireland. Without contesting the piety of the Ulster
divines, we may regret that their loyalty was so fulsomely
expressed. The mighty man of this world before whom they
knelt was not likely to esteem the worthy rectors the better,
for their clumsy peal of applause. Of course, the Presby
terians followed suit, but history has neglected the eloquence
of their deputation.
Impressed with the gravity of the situation, naturally averse
from words, the Dutch Prince must have groaned in spirit
under clerical torture. As soon as possible, he was hard at
work. An inquiry into the discipline of the army caused the
issue of a Proclamation advising Protestants and Catholics to
keep quiet, forbidding the pressing of horses, and " command
ing officers and soldiers upon no pretext whatever to rob or
plunder the country people." This done, William started for
Lisburn, where he dined with Schomberg. In the evening he
was at Hillsborough. Impatiently informing some dilatory
staff officers that " he didn't come to let the grass grow under
his feet," he ordered the concentration of the army at Lough
brickland ; a brigade under Kirke being already at Newry. No
wonder, his eagerness to be doing ; intelligence of the French
fleet having sailed for the Channel had reached him.
On the 22nd he separately inspected the different battalions
encamped at Loughbrickland, which "pleased the soldiers
mightily." And no less an architect than Sir Christopher
Wren having contrived for him an itinerant wooden house,
which, carried in pieces on two waggons, could be quickly
fixed up, he placed himself, like a true general, in the midst of
his men. As Marechal Marmont so well says : " II y a un
sentiment de fraternity qui fait naitre tout naturellemcnt entre
gens de guerre, la communaut^ des dangers, des privations.

2 34 "MOVING NIGH"
des fatigues, et qui n'a rien d'incompatible avec les regies de
la hierarchic, et le maintien de la discipline." '
With inferior numbers and inadequate appliances, the Jacob
ites also closed their ranks. Leaving DubUn in charge of
Colonel Simon Luttrel and the militia, James joined the
division under Lieutenant-General de Girardin at Castletown-
Bellew, on the i6th of June. A few days afterwards, Lauzun
and the French came up. At this time English reconnoi
tring parties were often out, but on such service, the Irish
cavalry often asserted their superiority. One day they sur
prised sixty dragoons of Levison's (now 3rd Hussars) and 200
foot patrolling between Newry and Dundalk. The WilUam
ites bled freely, and their infantry captain, Farlow, being
taken prisoner, had to give information to King James, instead
of imparting good news to the Dutchman.
Understanding that the enemy would forthwith advance to
Dundalk, and deeming his own position there perilous, James
retired to Ardee, and on the 28th fell back on the Boyne.
As to the wisdom of trying conclusions with the Anglo-
Dutch, the Jacobite officers differed. Taking into account
the numerical inferiority of the Irish, their' ineffective artillery,
stinted equipment, and defective training — certain authorities
again pleaded for Fabian tactics. They would occupy im
portant strategic points, withdraw the mass of the cavalry to
the Shannon, and (avoiding serious combats) keep up a war
of out-posts, until the squadron, covering the Williamite left,
rejoined the British fleet now actually threatened by Admiral
de TourviUe. The protecting frigates gone, what was there to
prevent Seignelay sending a swarm of privateers into the
Irish sea, and thus breaking-up the transports attending the
English army? The idea was plausible, for the destruction
of the store-ships would have separated the Orange force from
its English base, and therefore placed it at the mercy of those
terrible autumnal rains whose fatal effects Britain was still
mourning.

' Esprit des Institutions Militaires."

THEOLOGY IN THE RANKS. 235
But the plan ignores morale} The desertion of the capital
would have disgusted the CathoUcs ; retreat would have
lowered the buoyant spirit of the soldiery. The food resources
of the west might have proved insufficient. In fact, the Stuart
cause must have perished under such a regimen. Deprive
poor humanity of a stimulant, and it flags at once. As a
matter of policy, then, James decided to stand fast and trust
to Irishmen.
We must now rejoin the WilUamites. All things in gear,
they quitted Loughbrickland, and Cloudesley Shovel's squad
ron sailing within sight on their left, marched warily forward.
They entered Ardee on the 27th. Here outlying detachments
being called in, the troops were massed. English, Dutch,
Germans, Swiss, Swedes, Danes, and French composed the
motley army which, we are told, " was in all respects as well
provided as any kingdom in the world had one for the
number of men." * On the point of quantity, we shall speak
presently. On the 30th, the final touch being put to arrangements, the
host was again en route. A striking illustration of the kind of
feeling animating the mongrel legions occurred on the march.
A French soldier of one of the Huguenot regiments fell out of
the ranks through sickness. , Believing death near, the poor
fellow took out his beads and began to pray, for he was a
Catholic. The while, a Danish corps passing by, one of the
privates, furious at such Popish superstition, " without further
ceremony," says Story, "shot the Frenchman dead." A hideous
crime, one might think, but the chaplain relates it without
disgust, and coolly proceeds to tell how none of the Irish were
anywhere to be seen, save " a few starved creatures scratching
like hens amongst the cinders (of their homes .') for victuals."
What callous hearts reUgious hatred makes ! Much to his
credit, the Calvinist Captain de Bostaquet beheld Irish misery
' " La force morale m'a toujours paru au-dessus de la force physique ;
on la prepare en dlevant I'ame du soldat, en lui donnant I'amour de la
gloire, I'honneur rdgimentaire, et surtout en rehaussant le patriotisme dont
le germe est dans tous les coeurs."— Le Marechal Bugeaud.
' Story, " Impartial History."

236 "MOVING NIGH"
with a tenderer eye. " Enfin," he wrote, " nous arrivdmes k
Carlingford — nous trouvames cette ville absolument bruise,
et deserte, n'y ayant pas une ime : nous vJmes cela avec
douleur." Next day, the last of June, the army advanced with ex
treme caution, William himself riding with the advanced
guard under Sir John Lanier. Having come within two miles
of Drogheda, he viewed, from the rising ground of TuUyallen,
the Irish camp on the southern bank of the Boyne. Incapable
of rapture over the lovely blending of hill and dale, sparkling
water, and summer verdure, his austere eye scanned with
professional interest the river rolling in full tide below him,
the grey towers of Drogheda standing sheer in the clear sky
on his left, the double Une of tents glistening yonder in his
front. Statesman, more than soldier, he fully realized the
political hazard of the die now inevitable. To-morrow would
make or mar him.
Presently, Schomberg, Scravenmore, Solms, and other
foreigners clustering around, the King intently examined the
ranks and position of the foe. Intending to play the courtier,
perhaps, Scravenmore derided cette petite arm^e! But the
chief, too sensible to be blind to unpleasant probabilities,
observed drily, "Many more men might be easily quartered
in the town, or concealed by the undulating and scrubby
ground." Riding slowly in the direction of Drogheda, William care
fully noted every peculiarity of the Jacobite position. After
a while, retracing his steps, he came to a pretty knoll, some
what to the east of the deep gorge now called King Wil
liam's Glen, and opposite the village of Oldbridge. Here he
dismounted and ordered luncheon. But the enemy had
perceived the reconnaissance. During the royal pic-nic a
brilliant band of officers eagerly watched what was going on
along the northern slopes of the river. Tyrconnel, Berwick,
Sarsefield, Parker, De Lauzun were there — soldiers smarter
and more chivalrous than the rugged adventurers collected
from the highways and byways of Europe for their ruin, but
in the art and practice of war wholly inferior.

SCHOMBERG AFFRONTED. 237
Ere long, some desultory shots fired by the Irish pickets
provoked similar splutter from the English advanced guard.
The noise brought a troop of Galmoy's dragoons to the
water's edge. After observing the English for half-an-hour,
the party retumed to camp, leaving behind a couple of field
guns, which an opportune hedge completely concealed. By-
and-by, WilUam and his staff, again in the saddle, offered
temptation to the Irish gunner. Suddenly a six-pounder shot
plunges amid a squadron about 100 yards from the Dutch
staff. Down go two horses and a trooper. And another,
skimming the river, it glances upward, just grazes the shoulder
of royal Nassau, spoils his coat, and causes a contu.sion.
Instinctively he ducks upon his charger's mane. A mighty
shout from the Irish. "The Prince of Orange slain," flies
with mouth-to-mouth electricity to Dublin. Thence to Paris,
where bonfires blaze incontinently. Le feu ne vaut pas la
chandelle. The wound was not of the slightest consequence.
A little dressing enabled the Prince to be again on horseback,
inspecting the troops as they marched in. About 3 p.m. the
artillery arrived, and two heavy batteries being planted on the
brow of the hill overlooking Oldbridge, a cannonade, as noisy
as it was fruitless, opened.
At the council of war held that night, WilUam announced
that he would pass the Boyne next morning. Schomberg de
murred ; but, finding his objection distasteful, recommended
that a mixed corps should proceed at once towards Slane
Bridge (distant about three miles from the British right), in
order that the Irish left might be turned at dawn and their
retreat southward compromised. For some reason, unknown
to us — possibly the uncertainty of night expeditions, possibly
because he distrusted some of the English officers — King'
William set aside the suggestion, and the rebuffed General
withdrew to his tent in no pleasant humour. After his exit,
it was decided that early next morning 10,000 men should
proceed to Slane and, as soon as headquarters received
notice of their being on the enemy's .flank, his front should be
assailed. To the aide-de-camp who handed him this resolu
tion, the affronted Marshal remarked, with affected uncon-

238 "MOVING NIGH."
cern : " It was the first order of battle ever sent him" — and the
last At midnight WilUam of Orange was again riding amongst
his soldiers, thus assuring himself that the arrangements for
the morrow were being properly carried out. Particularly did
he inquire whether the men had wherewithal to fill bellies as
well as pouches. The baggage, knapsacks, and great-coats
were to remain under a guard in the rear. The word was to
be " Westminster." Every man would wear in his hat a
green leaf or sprig (an ugly fact for modern Orangemen) to
distinguish him from his Irish foe, who, in graceful compUment
to the French, sported the white cockade. We may safely
conclude, then, with valiant Fluellen : " There is no tiddle-
taddle nor pibble-pabble inPompey's camp; I'll warrant you,
you shall find the ceremonies of the war, and the cares of it,
and the forms of it to be otherwise."
The determination of the nephew had no counterpart in
the uncle's breast. That night, too, a war council sat in the
Jacobite camp. But where the spirit lately stirring the
Stuart? For long, we know, James had hankered after an
expedition to England. In vain his ablest advisers argued
that the chances of success were not proportionate to the risk
of failure. The King remained unconvinced. Sometimes,
indeed, the gallant bearing of his troops reviving the Duke of
York, he pronounced for conflict But his mind, waverino"
between diverse propositions, could bide nowhere. In such a
humour news reached him, that the French fleet was in full
sail for the Channel. The inteUigence was important, for De
TourviUe once master of the sea, how could the WilUamites
be supplied from England ? Per contra, the enemy turned
out to be far more numerous, far better disciplined than he
had expected. All things considered, then, would it be wise
to fight a decisive battle in Ireland ? And so, he turned to
the scheme he had lately rejected. He now saw prudence in
protracting the war by skirmishes and counter-marchings,
until the effect of the French naval operations was disclosed.
and wet weather told on the British effective.
WhUe James was languidly debating, Dutch promptitude

HALF-MEASURE. 239
deprived him of the alternative of retreat without fighting. A
powerful army lay within cannon-shot of his outposts. The
dilemma produced a mihtary half-measure, coupled with an
error of political judgment so egregious as to resemble per
sonal cowardice. Anticipating great things from De Tour
viUe, James imagined that his own presence at Versailles
would prodigiously serve his cause in England, he therefore
wrote privately to Sir Patrick Trant, ordering a ship to be
ready at Waterford to convey him to France. So much for
his state-craft, now for his generalship.
A fighting retreat was invented. Six guns (the entire artil
lery only amounted to twelve pieces) and the heavy baggage
were hurried to the rear. The troops would make; a show of
holding the breastworks defending the fords; when drive;p
out of them they were to fall back on the scattered houses
and the village immediately in rear ; forced thence, they
would occupy the hedges and copses behind ; afterwards the
line of hills further south furnished excellent ground for a
stand. Finally, the army must close in upon the defile of
Duleek, which a rear-guard would defend till the grand mass
had passed through and were well on their road to DubUn.
Foreseeing the likelihood of the WilUamites crossing the
Boyne in force near Slane, and thereby endangering the line
of retreat, Richard Hamilton advised the King to watch the
shoals near Drogheda with a dragoon corps, and for the pur
pose of making sure of Slane, to dispatch thither eight regi
ments of horse with all the infantry of the left wing. Thus
was the capital importance of that point attested on both
sides. Singularly enough, as William was at variance with
Schomberg on this subject, so did James dissent from Hamil
ton. Neither could see the need of urgency ; the one postponed
the movement to a more convenient season, the other would
have split the difference with his lieutenant by marching fifty
dragoons tO Slane! "Hesitation and half measures ruin
everything in war," said the great Napoleon. In the closet,
James II. would probably have applauded the maxim with
the gusto of Napoleon IIL ; but, Uke the luckless Bonaparte,
he forgot all about it before the enemy.

240 "MOVING NIGH"
A few words concerning the relative power of the belli
gerents. That the Anglo-Dutch had the superiority of num
bers is certain. Story says that on the 27th of June at Dun
dalk, " where the whole army joined, we made in aU not above
36,000, though the world called us a third part more." The
Huguenot, Chevalier, whose history of King William was
published at Amsterdam in 1692 avec privilege, wrote— "II
(WilUam) se rendit a I'arm^e et la trouva composd de 62
escadrons de cavalerie, et de dragons, et de 52 bataillons d'in
fanterie. Cela pouvoit former environ 40 a 50,000 hommes."'
De Quincy gives the same number of squadrons and bat
taUons— "le tout faisant environ 40,000 hommes."* The
Duke of Berwick puts the enemy at 45,000. Narcissus Lut
trel, writing in May, says that "48,600 are designed for
Ireland." Bearing in mind Story's habit of underrating the
numbers of his friends and exaggerating those of his foes, we
may fairly assume that the WilUamites amounted to 42,000
effectives, whom another Huguenot writer, cited by Mr.
O'Callaghan, describes as "les meiUeurs et les plus belles
troupes du monde." This army was attended by a powerful
artillery of " at least fifty pieces and several small mortars."
Turning to the other side, we find the Irish (Story loquitur)
" not above 27,000 at the Boyne, besides the French." Putting
the latter at 5,000, we get a total of 32,000. These, however,
are higher figures than the Jacobite authorities admit King
James states in his "Memoires," that "he had not above
20,000 men." Berwick confesses to 23,000. We should pro
bably be near the mark if we set down the Irish army, in
cluding the French contingent, at about 25,000, which gives a
difference in favour of the English of 17,000 men. Moreover,
we must bear in mind that the Irish artillery consisted of only
twelve field-guns, and (as previously mentioned) six of these
were sent to the rear on the morning of the battle.
To sum up : a well equipped army of superior strength,
conducted by eminent generals, covered by well-served cannon.

' Excidium Macarise (note by Mr. O'Callaghan).
" " Histoire Militaire de Louis XIV."

OMINOUS.

241

will encounter a numerically inferior army, mainly composed
of half-drilled, ill-armed recruits, unsupported by artillery,
commanded by a perplexed generalissimo, and manoeuvred
by officers of brilliant courage but of slight experience.

XXVII.
THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
1690.
Beginning our survey ofthe battle-field at New
Grange, we see the Boyne flowing northward,
till it reaches the woods of Townley Hall ; there,
it turns sharply to the south-east, and so on to
Drogheda. In this way an elbow is formed on the right bank.
Within this angle the ground rises in easy undulations from
the water-side to the hill of Donore, the summit of which is
distant about an EngUsh mile from the river. A mile and a
half east of Donore stands Drogheda. Another mile, and we
reach the sea. The western flank of Donore observes the
precipitous bank of the river, now bristling with the planta
tions of Farm. Three miles to the rear of the hill, we come
upon the pass of Duleek, opening a road to Dublin. Six
miles north-west of Donore, on the northern bank, is Slane.
Although no bridges cross the Boyne between this place and
Drogheda, it may be forded at low water at several points ; it
is shallowest near the islands, facing which stood, on the
southern bank, in 1690, the village of Oldbridge.
Now, the Irish army, retreating into Leinster, marched
through Drogheda and pitched their tents between Oldbridge
and Donore, on the slanting bulge just referred to. Their
cannon were originally placed in two batteries — one upon an
elevation behind Oldbridge, so as to command the adjacent
ford ; the other, in advance of the Irish right, watched Yellow
Island. Breastworks skirting the waterside strengthened the
village.

THE POSITION. 243
It follows, then, that the tidal but fordable Boyne flowed
along the Irish front, that their left flank was also deceptively
covered by the river, that their right leant upon Drogheda,
that the rear was supported by Donore, where the staff had
taken up quarters, and in the ruinous chapel on the summit,
James tried to sleep on the 30th of June.
The situation seems hazardous, not only on account of Irish
inferiority in numbers and artillery, but mainly, perhaps, in
consequence of the strategic posture of Slane, which offered
the means for turning the Jacobite left, and intercepting their
retreat to the south.
Crossing over to the northern bank, we notice that the
heights stretching from Townley Hall towards Drogheda trend
to the water's edge. Bordering the Townley domain a deep
glen, now called King William's glen, opens within three
hundred paces of the river. In this ravine large bodies of
troops may be massed, not only out of harm of shot, but out
of sight of an enemy posted on the opposite bank.
The Anglo-Dutch took up ground along the northern slopes
of the TuUyallen ridge. Their right dipped into KingWUUam's
Glen, their left held another pass at the eastern extremity of
the eminence. In a few minutes, therefore, they could debouch
under shelter upon the Boyne; their camp, too, being per
fectly screened, preparations for attack were made in secret.
On the contrary, the Jacobite lines lay naked, as on a map.
The Williamite batteries on the steeps of TuUyallen thundered
upon Oldbridge, and occasionally threw shells amid the Irish
tents.' On the 1st of July the sun rose Uke a god. The drums and
trumpets of both armies sounded the riveil. The camps were
instinct with life. Here, the ardent Celt munched a meagre
breakfast as he sharpened his pike. There, the seasoned ad
venturers of all Europe coldly buckled on accoutrements. The
beat of the gMrale was nigh.
The WilUamites made the first move about six o'clock A.M.
' I am chiefly indebted for the above description to Sir W. Wilde's
" Beauties of the Boyne and Blackwater."

244 THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
on that memorable Tuesday. Sure information respecting
the fords near Slane having been imparted by Inniskilliners
acquainted with the locality, a mixed corps of 8,000 men
marched thither. Lieutenant-General Douglas commanded
the detachment;' Count Mesnart de Schomberg led the
horse ; Lord Portland and Auverquerque (afterwards Eari of
Grantham) were brigadiers of foot Veiled by the copses of
Townley Hall, they proceeded without being perceived till the
high ground near Knouth was reached. Here the manoeuvre
struck the Irish eye, and on the spur of the moment, steps
were taken to meet the danger.
At Knouth the British separated ; the infantry went on to
Slane Bridge, while the cavalry made a short cut for the ford
of Rosnaree. Crossing there, a combat ensued between the
Dutch horse and the regiment of Sir Neil O'Neil, which (in
stead of " fifty troopers ") had been sent overnight to watch
the neighbouring shallows. For a time — until the Williamite
guns arrived indeed — the Irish dragoons held their own man
fully. Ultimately they retreated with a loss of sixty men,
their gallant colonel. Sir Neil, being mortally wounded. Pre
sently, Douglas's infantry, having crossed by Slane Bridge,
joined Count de Schomberg. The re-united corps would now
have pushed for Duleek, but observing an Irish band striding
to meet him, Douglas halted, drew up in two Unes, and sent
for more foot.
While the Anglo-Dutch were thus doing, De Lauzun
hastened with his French column and the rest of the Irish

' This General Douglas, " a very considerate and sober commander,"
says Evelyn, used to profess much attachment to his old patron. King
James. One day, towards the end of March, 1689, he chanced to be
dining in Edinburgh with some Jacobite gentlemen. One of the party,
Captain James Creighton, shall narrate what passed. " Dinner was no
sooner done, when we heard news that King James was landed in Ireland ;
then Douglas, taking a beer-glass, and looking around him, said, ' Gentle
men, we have all eat of his bread, and here is his health,' which he drank
off on his knees, and all the company did the same ; then, filling another
bumper, he drank damnation to all who would ever draw a sword against
him." — Memoirs of Captain Creighton (Swift's Works).

ADVANCING. 245
left wing to cover Duleek. The peril, too, drove King James
from his observatory at Donore down to Oldbridge. Ordering
the heavy baggage and the six guns (already withdrawn from
position over against Yellow Island) to start for Dublin, he
removed the remaining battery, from its station behind Old-
bridge, to the reserve under Sir Charles Carny. With these
troops — Purcell's horse and Brown's foot — he hurried after
Lauzun, leaving behind him instructions that large draughts
from the Irish right wing should follow with all speed. So it
happened that not a single gun remained to dispute the
passage of the river, and that the troops charged with its
defence from Oldbridge to Drogheda were reduced to eight
battalions under Richard Hamilton, and the cavalry of the
right under the Duke of Berwick.
Meanwhile, the Williamite centre and left were being dis
posed for attack in the TuUyallen gorges. And information
coming in that Douglas was across the Boyne, William de
cided to profit by the confusion visible around Oldbridge ; for
the hasty withdrawal, under a heavy fire, of troops from that
quarter had necessarily caused disorder in the weakened Irish
ranks ; indeed (to use an expression of Brigadier Kane, who
served with the British that day), "their order of battle was
broke." But Story confesses that, although incessantly
pounded by round shot, the detachments stepped off in good
order. Creditable this to young soldiers, most severely tried.
At 10 o'clock, then, the celebrated division, composed of
Solm's Blue Guards (three battaUons), two Enniskillen and
two French regiments, Hanmer's brigade, Count Nassau's
Dutch, Colonel Cutts and the Danes, received orders to
advance. To resist such a coming on, how was Oldbridge prepared ?
One battalion occupied a house or two and such portions of
the breastwork as had escaped the search of the British can
nonade. Masked by the rising ground between the village
and Donore were the horse and dragoons of the right, together
with seven battaUons of foot. Ailing with gout and distressed
by corpulence, the once impetuous Tyrconnel had nominally
the chief command, but on Richard Hamilton, who led the

246 THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
infantry, and on Berwick, who was at the head of the
squadrons, the active work devolved.
And rough work too. Suddenly the batteries ply Oldbridge
with augmented bitterness, and with the awful rub-a-dub of
fifty drums, the Dutch Blue Guards pour forth from the ravine,
and passing rapidly over the intervening space, plunge by
sections of ten abreast into the Boyne. The Irish thinly
lining the breastwork withhold their fire till the Hollanders
are half-way across ; then a volley ; but as usual when bad
tools are in unpractised hands, trifling execution follows. As
their sections gain footing on the Meath bank the guards
form up. Now, the cannon cease to roar, and a sufficient
body of Solm's men holding together, a cruel file-firing rakes
the Irish. The resistance slackens. The constantly increasing
fire puts a finishing stroke to the unsteadiness previously
wrought by shot and shell ; the young soldiers flinch, abandon
the line of defence, and scamper into an adjoining field, where
the officers rally much diminished ranks.'
While the Blue Guards were thus fastening upon the ground,
the rest of the division were taking the river by separate corps.
On the left flank of the Dutch the two regiments, Enniskillen
and Londonderry, went in ; a hundred yards lower down,
the French Huguenots and St. John's. About two hundred
yards from their left, Hanmer's brigade were wading ; and fur
ther away, Jack Cutts and Count Nassau would soon enter
the stream. In rapid succession the Boyne was crossed by
10,000 picked troops.
But before Solm's veterans were entirely formed, Tyrconnel
sent a squadron of his own horse thundering upon the flank
of the 3rd battalion as it emerged disjointed from the river.
Many a stout foreigner was cut down ere Tyrconnel's could
be repulsed. About the same time, Richard Hamilton noticed
the French pushing painfully through deep water,
" With arms held high and powder dry."
Ordering Lord Antrim to assail Hanmer's flank as he arose
' The Duke of Berwick states that this regiment "y perdit 150 hommes
tuds sur la place." — Mimoires.

THE IRISH HORSE. 247
from the river, Hamilton rushed with a brigade of infantry
against the Huguenots, now close to the right bank. But
although the officers and old soldiers of Dorrington's foot
guards displayed the utmost bravery, even dashing into the
Boyne to engage the Frenchmen, a considerable number of
the recruits decUned the bright example, and Hamilton was
compelled to draw off with the loss of several officers and
much rank and file. Again, the Jacobite cavalry showed
itself equal to the emergency. Before the regiment, La Caille
motte, had closed up on the southern side, three squadrons
were upon it The French being without pikes, and in the
confusion consequent on scrambling up a steep rough bank,
one of their companies was ridden clean through, many officers
were sabred, and La Caillemotte received a mortal wound.
An heroic spirit ! As the drummers bore their commander
away he kept cheering on the shaken column — " A la gloire,
mes enfants, a la gloire !"'
Continuing their career, the troopers fell upon the Dutch
brigade now advancing in the open fields beyond Oldbridge.
With steady file-firing this disciplined infantry scattered the
charge, but not before many a grim guardsman rolled in the
dust. Nowise disheartened, fresh troops hurled at Solm's,
but the French and Tiffin's Inniskillen men (now 27th Foot)
being by this en bataille, riddled their flank. The Hollanders
smote them point-blank, and the dragoons went about, heavily
hammered. While this fighting was going on in the centre, a fierce
struggle convulsed the right. Antrim's regiment swerving
before Hanmer, the Duke of Berwick came up with his horse-
guards and charged the English brigade as it was re-forming ;
when the Duke retired not a few tawny ribbons of Beaufort's
musketeers were bloody and bemired. Soon afterwards, in
formed that some Danish horse had crossed, Berwick, being

' Pierre de Massue de Ruvigny, second son of the Marquis de Ruvigny,
bom in Paris Jan. 4, 1653. As was usual among younger sons ofthe no
blesse, he assumed one of the family titles, and was styled Sieur de la
Caillemotte.

248 THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
re-inforced by a squadron of dragoons, rode at them with such
vehemence that the Danes broke and repassed the Boyne
helter-skelter. Along the whole line, then, the conflict was " so hot, that
many old soldiers said they never saw brisker work."
A great captain was down. Schomberg had remained on
the northern bank to superintend the passage of the support
ing brigades, but seeing the French and Dutch smartly
engaged by the Irish horse, the fighting impulse seized him.
Without waithig for helmet or cuirass he dashed into the
Boyne and reached the regiment La Caillemotte, just as his
dear friend, its colonel, was being carried, dying and undaunted,
to the rear. With the cry, "Allons, mes enfants, rappelez
votre courage et vos ressentiments, voil^ vos pers^cuteurs,"
the illustrious warrior placed himself at the head of the
Huguenots. A burst of enthusiastic cheering, and then with
heads down and teeth set the refugees rush into the hurly-
burly of smoke, din, and death.
But like a whirlwind Tyrconnel's horsemen came slashing
to and fro. As they galloped. Sir Charles Tuke and Exempt
O'Toole of the horse-guards cut at Duke Schomberg, con
spicuous from his streaming white hair and blue ribbon. The
Irish sabre dealt gashes ugly but not mortal. A moment
afterwards, however, a Williamite bullet, shot wildly from
behind, struck him in the back of the neck.
Schomberg fell without a word, and his aides-de-camp,
Montargis and Faubert (wounded in the attempt) extri
cated the corpse with difficulty from the mel6e. Doing the
work of a simple field-officer, died one of the foremost generals
and kindliest gentlemen of the time. Always changing sides,
he made no personal enemies. Soldiers honoured him because
his skill in war none could dispute ; they loved him, for he
was just and merciful —
" Vir bonus praeliandi peritus."
While the cavalry of Tyrconnel, Parker, and Berwick were
thus brilliantly protecting the retreat of the infantry, a
manoeuvre similar to that of Douglas on the left, was unfold-

THE FRENCH CHARGE. 249
ing on their right. Directed by William in person, the left
wing of Orange horse (mainly consisting of Dutch and Danes,
but with Schomberg's French and Wolseley's Inniskilliners
in the van) edged slowly through the defiles running from the
easterly extremity of the British camp towards Drogheda.
The Jacobite chiefs having their hands full between Old-
bridge and Donore, this fresh division effected an easy passage
of the river. A Danish brigade. Jack Cutts showing the way,
forded a little higher up, and with their fire swept Berwick's
vedettes from the southern bank. Had Tyrconnel been
enabled to defend the point with a battery and a few
squadrons, the advance might have been dangerous, for the
river being deep thereabout the horse had to swim for it ; the
bank too was steep, and the neighbouring ground so swampy
that barely was King William in Meath before his charger
stuck fast in the bog, from which it could not be extricated
without the rider dismounting. Many are the chances in war
which either cannot be utilized through want of means, or are
not comprehended at the proper moment.
Sufficient numbers no sooner across than William placed
himself at their head and marched toward the retreating
Jacobite infantry. But Berwick, who was on the point of
charging the Anglo-Dutch foot, perceived the intention.
Halting for a moment to decide what should be done, he fell
back slowly on Donore. Thinking the game their own, the
WilUamites quickened the pace. Suddenly, however, wheel
ing to the front the Irish troopers rode so fiercely upon the
foreigner's advanced guard, that notwithstanding the presence
of their king, they broke into wild disorder. Things looked
serious. Galloping up to the Inniskillen men, WilUam eagerly
inquired, " What they would do for him ? " But Jacobite
fury and Irish steel had made so deep an impression that, on
his turning aside to allow the Protestant horsemen to attack,
they went about and followed their leader to the rear. Now
shone forth the value of old soldiers at a pinch. Schomberg's
French horse trotted up, and dashed upon the foe. The arena
— notched and cut with ditches — suited not the blow ; M. de
Belcastel too was rash, and sprinkled behind a hedge some

2SO THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
Irish grenadiers kept up a nasty fire. And so it came to pass
that the two red and blue squadrons averted disaster from
their friends ; but, dislocated by the impediments presented
by the ground, had ultimately to retire with great loss. Colonel
de Belcastel being mortally wounded.^
Shielded, then, by their redoubtable cavalry, the Irish foot
continued to retire towards Duleek.
On the extreme Williamite left, another body of horse under
Godart de Ginkel were likewise beaten, their noted chief being
nearly ridden over by his own troopers in their frantic gallop
rearward. Here is another illustration of the worth of disci
pline. Detachments of Cunningham's and Levison's dra
goons dismounting, threw themselves into a slated house, and
occupied a hedgerow skirting the lane down which the Irish
were chasing Ginkel's troops. And the Anglo-Dutch horse, by
this time strongly re-inforced, rallied. Presently, the Jacobite
cavaliers returning blown from their charges, received the
shots of the lurking EngUsh. The hustling was dreadful, and
many a saddle was emptied. But Berwick interposed, other
wise few might have escaped the sabres of the advancing
Orangemen. At this juncture, Richard Hamilton (who did
his duty nobly throughout) having conducted the infantry
safely to Duleek, took command of the horse. Once more the
troopers joining Berwick's horse-guards with loud shouts,
struck at the Dutch. Ho"wever, the entire Williamite left had
passed the river, and the Jacobite cavalry, exhausted by their
desperate efforts, must give way before overwhelming odds —
" Though Hamilton still charging cheers,
The field's beyond retrieving."
But not until Berwick and bold Sheldon had horses killed
under them ; not before Hamilton was made prisoner in the
fray. Immediately paraded before WilUam, this able officer
was asked whether the Irish would fight any more. " Upon
my honour, sir, I believe they will," replied Hamilton.
" Your honour ! your honour," sneered fhe sententious prince,
' " Mdmoires de Dumont de Bostaquet."

MAKING FOR DULEEK. 251
referring of course to Hamilton's mission to Tyrconnel at the
breaking out of the war. If General Hamilton evinced more
patriotism than candour on that occasion, the Dutchman's
treatment of his uncle scarcely warranted sarcasms at other
men's honour. It is unwise to bandy gibes with kings in
arms, otherwise the keen-witted Irishman might have returned
the illustrious Nassau's compliment with interest.
Leaving Berwick's horse, after the conflict at Platen, to
retire upon Duleek with such hardy countenance that the
more numerous Dutch squadrons attempted not to molest
them — let us return to Lauzun and the French. We last saw
James strengthening his left with Carny's reserve ; and, on
the other side, Douglas anxious for more foot. Before long,
re-inforcements from the centre having joined Lauzun, and
Trelawny's brigade bringing up Douglas's division to " above
10,000 men," the enemies fronted one another at half musket
shot distance.
In this posture, an aide-de-camp brought intelligence that
the British centre had forced the Boyne. Whereupon James
whispered to Lauzun that there was no time to lose ; the
English must be attacked before the bad news spread among
the soldiers. Accordingly M. de la Hoquette took post at the
head of the French, and the dragoons, having dismounted,
fell into the gaps between the squadrons of heavy horse, but
just as Lauzun was about to order the advance, Sarsefield and
Maxwell, who had been reconnoitring, rode up and reported
the intervening ground boggy, intersected with double ditches,
and cut by a rivulet.
While the staff discussed this information Count Schom
berg's dragoons were seen to mount, and almost immediately
Douglas's division moved in the direction of Duleek. Their
purpose was unmistakable. Grumbling and cursing, for their
fighting blood was up, French and Irish marched for the same
point Watching each other, the adversaries strode in parallel
columns for the vital defile. The emergency was pressing.
The Boyne passed, the Orange centre and left pushing steadily
onward, Douglas's flank movement threatened to enclose the
Jacobites between two fires. On, then, for your very lives !

252 THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
As the Franco-Irish strained to anticipate the enemy, cruel
witness of the defeat at Oldbridge presented itself; wounded
men limped up with ghastly tales of the overthrow, riderless
horses tore madly to and fro, the war din at Donore grew
louder and nearer.
Now it was (so the royal memoirs assure us) that, fearing
the King might fall into his nephew's power, De Lauzun
advised him to start at once for Dublin. James declares that
the proposition was distasteful to him, but on the Frenchman
reiterating the recommendation, nay, urging him not to tarry
in DubUn, but even to proceed to France, that he might con
cert measures with Louis XIV. for continuing the struggle,
— the King yielded, and, escorted by Sarsefield's horse, departed
for the Liffey.
De Lauzun, presently joined by Tyrconnel, outstripped
Douglas, and with the loss of a few laggards and one field-
piece inextricably bogged, traversed Duleek in steady order.
Just as the French rear-guard was well through, Berwick and his
cavalry reached the northern extremity of the defile, followed
at a respectful distance by the Dutch squadrons. Taking the
pass at full gallop, the Irish gain convenient ground on the
southern side, and draw up in line with the French battalions.
The enemy halt, bring up some guns, and idle smoke follows.
The Jacobites recommenced their march, sluggishly dogged
by the Dutch horse. Bent on mischief, Ginkell and his fellows
were yet afraid to strike, for whenever the ground or other cir
cumstances invited, the rear-guard of French and Berwick's
men, facing about with firm discipline, showed a front which
tempted not closer inspection. In this way the retreat con
tinued till nightfall, when the WilUamites abandoned the
semblance of pursuit, " glad enough," the Duke of Berwick
thinks, " to furnish a golden bridge." The languor of the
chase he attributes to Schomberg's death. With every respect
for blood royal, he considers the ex-Marshal of France a
better general than " all-conquering William."
Without being disturbed, the Irish army marched for Dublin
next morning.
The Jacobites were heavy sufferers. Their right, as we

KILLED AND WOUNDED. 253
have seen, bore the brunt. Accounts, as usual, differ respecting
the losses ; some say " 1,000 slain," others estimate " between
1,000 and 1,500 kUled and wounded." Many officers fell, the
Earl of Carlingford, the Marquis de Hocquincourt, the gallant
Lord Dungan, Sir Neil O'Neil, Vaudreuil of the Guards (Ber
wick's old " governor"). Sir Charles Tuke, Major Meara, and
many another brave gentleman shall fight no more.
On Tyrconnel's and Parker's horse the hardest blows fell.
The latter had its colonel wounded, Lieutenant-Colonel Green,
Major Doddington, and several other officers killed. So
roughly handled was this regiment, that of its two squadrons
there came off only about thirty sound men.'
The Williamite casualties were less, but how much less ?
that's the question. Story admits " nigh 400 were killed."
Of the wounded he says nothing. Captain Parker writes:
" We had not above 500 killed and as many wounded ; the
enemy had not quite 800 killed, and about as many taken."*
Prejudice deals slap-dash with figures. The death of Schom
berg was indeed calamity to his friends. His fidus Achates too,
La CaUlemotte, left a blank in the list of distinguished soldiers.
De Belcastel survived the hurts got at the head of Schomberg's
horse only twenty-four hours. More than twenty officers of
this renowned corps were killed or wounded.^ A warUke
man of peace also perished. Dr. Walker, just promoted to
the see of Londonderry, but pugnacious as ever, insisted upon
wading with Mitchelbourne's Derryites. He was shot in the
belly, and, we are informed, " stripped immediately, for the
Scots-Irish that followed our camp were got through already,
and took most of the plunder."* Sinister connections those
Scots-Irish ! The profound politician in whose interest the
bishop had so stoutly contended did not display much con
cern at his quietus. When he heard that Dr. Walker had
been kiUed at Oldbridge, William inquired with cold good
sense, " What brought him there ? "

Clarke, " Life of James II." = " Memoirs."
" Mdmoires de Dumont de Bostaquet."
Story, " Impartial History."

254 THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
In a military sense the First of July is over-rated. Two
kings contended in person, hence rare historical interest. The
fall of Duke Schomberg appealed to the sympathies of
Europe. Incidents so captivating were not lost on Protestant
ascendency. It pronounced the Boyne water the type of
Protestant prowess.
That the victory had a great moral effect is indisputable.
A happy augury of the future, it stimulated the WilUamites,
and depressed the natives. But, as we have seen, it was by
no means the decisive affair so often supposed. Errors indeed
abound concerning the engagement. In the north, for in
stance, it is imagined that Irish Protestants gained the day.
No ; to the trained might of foreign mercenaries the success
was due. The Inniskillen and Londonderry infantry took a
minor part in the struggle. The Inniskillen horse was beaten.
The EngUsh battalions mostly advanced in the second line.
French and Dutch veterans, able foreign generals, overpower
ing artillery, and superior science turned the scale that
memorable Tuesday.
Writers foremost in ascribing the glory to Anglo-Irish
valour, have branded the Jacobite troops with cowardice. A
mistake. The behaviour of the Irish horse was heroic.
We may perhaps compare their devotion with the devotion of
the French cuirassiers at Waterloo. " Nous ne laissames pas
de charger et recharger dix fois," writes the Duke of Berwick.
" All because your troopers had drunk half-a-pint of brandy
apiece," answer the Williamite critics. O, candid critics,
" averse alike to flatter or offend."
The foot, indeed, did not stand at Oldbridge. But it must
be admitted the infantry of the right and centre (for the most
part raw levies) were sorely tried. Captain Parker affirms
that the British front was bodily over the river, before the
Irish had recovered from the disorder into which the hurried
withdrawal of several battalions had thrown them. A change
of disposition under fire is enough to fluster the best troops.
It is certain to dishearten recruits. Napoleon laid it down —
good infantry is the main spring of an army, but first-rate in
fantry becomes demoralized, and is destroyed, if it contend

THE CAUSES OF DEFEAT. 255
against very superior artillery. With this axiom in mind, con
sider that on the Boyne the Jacobite had no guns wherewith
to reply to the batteries pounding their marching and counter
marching foot. With naked pikes wielded by amazed peasants
must the fords be defended.
Over and above the foregoing causes of disaster, may be set
the vice of the bulging declivity held by James's army. The
tidal Boyne gave a delusive air of strength to a position in
reality very dangerous. By way of Slane the Irish left might
be turned. Ten thousand men swung into their rear at Duleek,
the success of the Irish centre and right at Oldbridge could
not have saved the day.
That the Jacobite officers did bravely there is no denying.
Tyrconnel was as active as gout will allow an obese gentle
man to be. Richard Hamilton showed himself an excellent
general of division. Harris confesses that "he kept the
victory in suspense till he was taken." ' The Duke of Berwick,
Domenic Sheldon, and the rest led their men with brilliant
daring. De Lauzun, coxcomb as he was, seems to have be
haved respectably. And, though James's conduct does not
call for panegyric, still it is unfair to depict him (as hostile
writers love to do) aghast on Donore, and thence flying to
Dublin, when we have seen him riding with the corps opposed
to Douglas up to the moment he started for the capital, appa
rently at Lauzun's suggestion.
A consideration of the various peculiarities of this action
would lead us to be surprised not at the Jacobite defeat — that
was inevitable — but at the slowness with which the Anglo-
Dutch followed up their advantage. How was it that with
superior numbers, armament, and organization, WilUam suf
fered his enemy to escape with the loss of one gun, and a few
stragglers ? ' " Life of King William III."

XXVIII.
THE SHANNON, HO!
1690.
^OON after sunset, King James rode into Dublin.
At the Castle gate he was received by the Duchess
of Tyrconnel. On her inquiring when he would
sup, the unhappy Prince remarked with bitter
humour, that his breakfast had been of a kind to leave him
but poor appetite for another meal. Solace, however, was in
store. Major Wilson had just arrived from Saint-Germain
with a letter from the Queen, and intelligence of the French
victory at Fleurus.
After digesting these crumbs of comfort, the King sum
moned the civil and military authorities of the city. He
made them a speech not in the best of taste ; as
" Great commanders only own
What's prosp'rous by the soldiers done."
The blame of the defeat was laid on the Irish troops. With
better taste and feeling, he desired his hearers to exert them
selves to prevent any attempt on the part of the enraged
soldiers to burn or plunder the town. He then consulted with
the Privy Council, who, we are told, were unanimously of
opinion that his Majesty should leave Ireland.
As day was dawning, " an honest and discreet clergyman,"
Father Taaffe, appeared with a message from Tyrconnel. It
urged the King to start for France, and also to order the
troops then in Dublin to Lexleip, where Lauzun and he pro-

AWAY BETIMES. 257
posed to rally the army. Therefore, James directed Colonel
Simon Luttrel, the governor, to despatch thither all the
regulars, excepting two troops of horse told off for his escort.
Accompanied by some French officers, James quitted
DubUn at 5 A.M., and riding hard, gained Duncannon Fort at
sunrise next morning. Here he went on board a vessel, oddly
enough named the " Lauzun," and sailed for Kinsale, where
lay a little squadron of French frigates. Embarking in one
of these, he landed at Brest on the 20th of July, and then
away to Versailles to submit his woes and theories to
Louis XIV.
Most of us being wise after the event, perceive at a
glance how gross an error the King committed in thus pro
ceeding. But such competent counsellors as Chief Baron
Rice and Sir Richard Nagle concurring with Tyrconnel and
Lauzun, we may fairly assume that there were reasons for the
departure more cogent than mere courtier concession to
flights of royal fancy. Considering the difficulty in which
Luxembourg's triumph at Fleurus, and Tourville's cruise in
British waters (his victory off Beachey Head was not yet
known), placed William of Orange, the Jacobite statesmen
may have concluded that James would be better employed
at Versailles, soliciting succour for the Irish army, or, should
circumstances so incline, representing the feasibility of a
diversion in England, than with unsettled mind and shaky
hand personally contending with the wily adversary.
We left the Irish retreating under the shelter of an intrepid
rear-guard. Though large numbers of the latest levies dis
banded during the night, the mass kept staunchly together.
At midnight a body of cavalry entered Dublin, according to a
Williamite authority, " in very good order with kettledrums,
hautbois, and trumpets."' Early next morning the Duke of
Berwick's horse, the French brigade, and a division of Irish
infantry marched in. After halting for refreshment, the troops,
rather discouraged to find that the King had left them in the
lurch, went on to Lexleip.
' "Journal of His Majesty's Royal Campaign in Ireland."
S

2S8 THE SHANNON, HOI
There was great agitation in DubUn: tradesmen closing their
shops, the principal Catholic citizens hurrying off with scared
wives, wondering little ones, and big boxes. In the evening
Simon Luttrel evacuated the city. Authority at an end, ter
rible rumours prevailed. In the crisis the Honourable Robert "
Fitzgerald escaped from confinement in the college,' and took
up the cudgels of order. Lucky the forthcoming of so resolute
a gentleman, for Luttrel's back no sooner turned, than the
Protestant scum rose, ravenous for Catholic spoil. Sarsefield's
mansion was broken into — worse threatened. But before the
mob had been long at work, Fitzgerald was in their midst,
vehemently expostulating, and when necessary endorsing his
remonstrances " with sword and cane." Not without dang'er
— for every rascal believed he was privileged Dei gratid to
ransack Papists' houses — " his honour's " courage and infiuence
restrained the roughs till the arrival of some Dutch troops
ensured subordination.*
The Irish would now take up the line of the Shannon.
With this object, Tyrconnel, to whom James had entrusted
the chief command, ordered the army to repair to Limerick ;
each colonel to conduct his own corps thither separately, and
by the route he might judge the most suitable. Again the
French under Brigadier Zurlauben would take the rear-guard.
The movement does not present a symmetrical appearance,
but it answered its purpose, and the soldiery behaved very
creditably. To return to the Anglo-Dutch. The day after the battle,
Brigadier de la Meloni^re summoned Drogheda, threatening
both troops and townsmen with the sword if they resisted.
After parley, the garrison surrendered on condition of being
allowed to march for Athlone with arms and baggage.
Not before the 5 th did the Orange forces encamp at Fin-
glass. The next day, being Sunday, William went to St.
Patrick's Cathedral for Dr. King's sermon, but returned to
his wooden house in the field for dinner. On the 7th he sent
' Son of George, i6th Earl of Kildare.
•¦' Harris, " Life of King William III."

THE REBELS LANDS. 259
forth "a declaration to all our people of our kingdom of
Ireland." Gushing with promise to the lower classes, it only
aspired to disarm them. Affecting conciliation, it meant con
fiscation. On the 8th, William got intelligence of the defeat
¦(on the day before the Boyne) of the united English and
Dutch fleets by De TourviUe.' Serious news at any time,
but grave indeed in conjunction with Waldeck's overthrow in
Flanders. To a politician of the Dutchman's mark, the suc
cess of the 1st of July must have seemed a poor set-off against
the perils gathering around : England malcontent, Scotland
seething with conspiracy, France mistress on sea and land,
Ireland struck hard but still combatant.
But for the moment it was pecuUarly important to acquire
a safe harbour for the English transports. On their service-
ableness depended the very life of the Williamite power.
Hence, the new king decided to make for Waterford.
Ere he went a lucrative Une of business was chalked out.
He appointed a " commission to inquire into, seize, and secure
all forfeitures to the crown by the general rebellion of the
Irish nation." At any rate, Irish history repeats itself Ac
cording to precedent, the ancient aristocracy suffered for
adhering to king and faith. Irish loyalty, if a noble prin
ciple, was a very bad speculation.
On the 9th the army was divided. The main body marched
to the south, while a corps consisting of three regiments of
horse, two of dragoons, ten battalions of infantry, twelve guns
and two mortars (about 8,000 men), under Lieutenant-General
Douglas, proceeded westwal"d to Athlone, where the dispersed
Irish were reported rallying in large numbers.
' The defeat off Beachey Head created constemation in England and
exasperation in Holland. The Earl of Torrington was tried by court-
martial and acquitted, but William denied him his presence. Luttrel
gives us some idea of Dutch feeling. He says : " The effigies of the Earl
of Torrington is made in Holland riding on a dog with two women riding
on his back, one combing his perruque, the other fiUing his pockets with
French gold, with the motto, in capital letters, over his head, ' The Dutch
got the honour, the French the advantage, and the English the shame.' "
— Brief Relation of State Affairs.

26o THE SHANNON, HO t
Ten days afterwards William dined at Kilkenny Castle
with the Duke of Ormond, and on the 22nd, Major-General
Kirke summoned Waterford. It surrendered on condirion
that the garrison retired with arms and baggage to Limerick.
Duncannon Fort submitted on similar terms. Thus, the
English got possession of one of the finest harbours in Europe.
Wexford, abandoned by the Irish troops, fell into the hands
of the Danish brigadier Eppinger.
These advantages attained, the royal commander was
minded to return to England. Some troops were also told off
for the same destinarion. Count de Solms was to be general-
in-chief. But on arriving at Chapelizod, WilUam found more
satisfactory news from London than he had expected. Beyond
burning a few houses at Teignmouth, the French fleet had
lain upon its oars ; the invasion panic was consequently sub
siding. On the other hand, despatches announced formidable
preparation at Limerick. These circumstances induced the
Prince to rejoin the army. However, before quitting Cha
pelizod he issued two fresh proclamations : the one offered
passports to foreigners forsaking the Stuart cause ; the other
commanded "all persons of the Popish reUgion" to deliver
up their arms and gunpowder, on pain of being abandoned
" to the discretion of his soldiers ;" a nice prospect, considering
many of the worst ruffians in Europe stood in the foreign
ranks. Further, he ordained a fast to be observed every
Friday during the continuance of the war. This injunction,
suggested no doubt by the bishops, offended the Protestant
laity. It had such a Romish look ! Of course, it was a dead
letter, Irish Protestantism seeing no virtue in abstinence by
beat of drum.
On the 4th of August, William rejoined headquarters at
Golden Bridge near Cashel. On the 7th the army moved to
Cahirconlish. Here it was strengthened by Douglas's corps
from Athlone, and amounted, says a contemporary authority,
to 38,500 effectives.' But, many garrisons being dispersed
throughout the land, this is probably an exaggeration.
' " Journal of the Siege of Limerick."

ATHLONE. ' 261
We will notice for a moment Douglas's movements. Setting
out for the west on the 9th of July, the expedition halted on
Sunday, the 12th, at Clonard Bridge. Alas ! the soldiers
preferred plunder to prayer ; they did not stick at murder.
The peasants who had staid quietly at home, on the strength
of the proclamation, were despoiled — sometimes massacred ' —
the chief culprits being the Inniskilleners, who. Story affirms,
" were very dextrous at the sport" *
Five days afterwards, " abhorred and execrated," the corps
d'arm/e came in sight of Athlone. It is situated partly in
Westmeath, partly in Roscommon ; the Shannon divides it ;
bogs surround it. The eastern portion, called " English town,"
being hardly defensible, had been burnt, the garrison retiring
into " Irish town," which boasts a castle, built in the reign of
John, and repaired under Elizabeth. Sir Henry Sidney's
"fair stone bridge" connecting the two towns was broken.
Close by, redoubts projected. A battery and breastwork de
fended a ford north of the castle. Three regiments of foot
and a squadron or two of horse, under an old but intrepid
officer, held the place.
In his prime. Colonel Richard Grace had fought against
Cromwell ; afterwards, he was distinguished in the French and
Spanish services. A descendant of Raymond le Gros, the
Governor of Athlone inherited all the noble qualities, but very
Uttle of the splendid possessions, of the Norman Graces.
Having come within range, Douglas despatched a drummer
to summon the town. Grace replied with spirit Firing his
pistol in the presence of the trembling envoy, the veteran
exclaimed : " These are my terms ; these only will I give or
receive. When my provisions are consumed, I will defend
the place till I eat my boots." ' Such emphasis stirs a soldier's
blood. It discomposed Douglas : he prepared, however, to force an

' Leland, " History of Ireland."
' Tiffin's and Wolseley's Inniskillen regiments, and Mitchelbum's Lon
donderry regiment accompanied General Douglas.
' Dalton, " King James's Irish Army List."

262 THE SHANNON, HO!
entrance. In the course of a few days he had six guns in
battery near the bridge, but they made slight impression upon
the castle. After three days' bombardment, news came that
Sarsefield was advancing with 15,000 men to raise the siege.
Fearing to be cut off from his base, confessing his coup had
failed, Douglas straightway sent the sick and wounded away,
and called a council of war. As usual, it voted retreat. And
so the British decamped before daylight on the 25th.
Friendly accounts state that they lost thirty men and the best
gunner by fire, and four hundred from sickness " and other
accidents." Douglas halted four days at Ballymore for orders. The
marauding which disgraced the troops, and which seems to
have been winked at by their " sober commander," now bore
fruit. The unhappy Catholics, mercilessly robbed, tumed
rapparees,' and retaliated on stragglers; stripping all and
slaying some. The communications of the English suffered.
Bread grew scarce The soldiers, staggering under loads of
booty, fell sick by sections.
If Irish foes fared cruelly at WilUamite hands, Irish friends
had no cause for rejoicing. " The poor Protestants," writes
Story, who accompanied the expedition as a chaplain, " were
now in a worse condition than before, for they had enjoyed
the benefit of the Irish protection till our coming thither, and
their showing themselves friends to us, put them under a
necessity of retreating with us, which a great many did, leaving
all their harvest at that time ready to cut down, and yet were
hardly treated by our own men." From this we infer that
the Protestants actually got fairer play from their " Popish
persecutors " than from their Protestant "deliverers ! " Excru
ciating problem for the Orange mind.
On the 30th Douglas received orders to join the army now
marching on Limerick. By way, then, of Roscrea and Holy
Cross, he made for Golden Bridge. His rascals rummaged
the flesh-pots of that fertile country ; they fleeced the Protes
tant and Catholic farmers impartially. Horses, sheep, and
' So called from the Irish name for the halfpike.

IN SIGHT OF LIMERICK. 263
cattle followed the troops in such droves as " to make the
detachment look as big, nigh hand, as the other part of the
army." Harassed by the hapless wretches, whom rage and
ruin had made rapparees, the soldiers saw a cut-throat in every
native. And so, "poor harmless country people were daily
killed in vast numbers up and down the fields, or taken out of
their beds and shot immediately, which many of the Pro
testants did loudly attest" In his answer to Archbishop King
thus says Dr. Leslie, himself a Protestant
At length these bloody columns came up with the army at
Cahirconlish, six miles from Limerick.
On the 8th of August a strong body of cavalry, under Lord
Portland, pushed on reconnaissance towards the city. They
descried it as the sun rose, and skirmishing ensued between
Schomberg's French horse and the musketeers garnishing the
hedgerows. During the brush, Scravenmore made notes.
What he saw did not soothe a temper ruffled by early rising,
for he swore "he would have done better in bed than out there.
Cannon must be brought up to disperse the rabble."
As Bentinck's horse were retiring, they met William, Prince
George of Denmark, and other notables, bringing up a re
inforcement of dragoons and infantry. With slight opposition
the party now advanced within two miles of the city. The
native outposts were so near that, as an English eye-witness
politely expresses it, " we could hear them talk with their
damned Irish brogue on their tongues."
A council of war held that night decided that the army
should close on Limerick next morning. The reconnaissance
having ascertained that the intervening ground was thickly
enclosed, and that the orchards, coverts, hedges, and ugly
ditches would probably be disputed, the strictest regularity
during the march was enjoined.
At 5 A.M. the columns were in motion, preceded by an
advanced guard consisting of three squadrons, and 1,000
grenadiers picked out of all the regiments, EngUsh and foreign.
The pioneers having in many places to cut down hedges and
level ditches, the troops made slow progress. At length they
reached a strip of land forming a sort of pass between two

264 THE SHANNON, HO!
bogs. Here, smart skirmishing; the Irish sharpshooters,
backed by dragoons, stoutly defending three lanes which
trickled through the labyrinth of gardens and paddocks. They
were ultimately dislodged by artillery. Still the Anglo-Dutch
were in trouble. Befriended by the ground, the Irish no
sooner lost one defensive position than they found another.
An anecdote related by Story shows the tedious character of
the advance, and the careless sang-froid of the British private.
While the pioneers were clearing away, the worthy chaplain
saw English rank and file " sit them down, asking one another
whether they thought they would have any bread to-day."
Such indifference made the Danes, drawn up hard by, " with
all the care and circumspection in the world," imagine that
John Bull had no stomach for fighting ; but a way no sooner
open, and shots singing in the Britons' ears, than up they
jumped, and dashed at the hedges whence the bullets pro
ceeded, some of them shouting, " Ah ! ye toads, are ye there ?
we'll be with you presently." After a tussle of this kind for
two hours, the Jacobites were driven under the walls, abandon
ing Ireton's fort, which the Dutch advanced guard occupied
with four guns.
About 5 o'clock P.M. the WilUamites encamped just within
range of the city. In front of their left was Ireton's fort. A
house covered their right.' In rear of this flank lay the pass
betw'een the bogs, and to the west flowed the Shannon.

' The Chevalier Folard, who, however eccentric, was an officer of great
talent, is strongly impressed with the defensive value of houses. He
writes : " Quelques mauvaises et efl apparence m^prisables que soient les
maisons, soit dans les villages ou en pleine campagne, soit qu'on se soit
mis en tete de les d^fendre pour se couvrir contre I'ennemi, ou qu'en s'y
trouve surpris ; quelques mauvaises, dis-je, qu'elles soient, I'insulte ou I'at-
taque de ces sortes de postes n'est pas, k mon sens, la chose du monde la
plus ais^e. Je crois au contraire qu'elles sont plus dangereuses qu'en ne
pense."

XXIX.

BRIGADIER SARSEFIELD.

1690.

Duke

)|T is time to rejoin the Irish whom we left on the
road to Limerick. Speedily some 20,000 infantry
were collected within the walls, only half of whom
were passably armed. The cavalry under the
Berwick, numbering about 3,500 troop horses,
encamped in Clare, about five miles from the city.
According to Colonel O'Kelly, a contemporary Jacobite
writer, certain of the chiefs were averse to continuing the war.
He accuses Tyrconnel of intending to treat with William, the
slowness of whose movements was designed, in the colonel's
opinion, to enable the viceroy to gain over accomplices. But
the influence of Sarsefield, and the high spirit of the field
officers, thwarted the scheme' This view of the matter is un
supported by evidence, and it is likely that O'Kelly belonged
to the party which, on Tyrconnel's elevation to the supreme
command, began to cabal against him.
That Dick Talbot — no longer the ruffling blade every idle
spark adrnired and copied — saw no great chance of ultimate
success, is possible. The recent defeat had unreasonably de
pressed him. Nor was intimacy with the French commandant
calculated to relieve the despondency of the corpulent and
gouty duke, for De Lauzun, luxurious old trifler, detesting

' " Excidium Macariae."

265 BRIGADIER SARSEFIELD.
the rough service he had engaged in, only wanted a decent
excuse to be off. To a man exercising so strange a fascina
tion over charming women, bog-trotting must have been
horrible penance'
Still, whatever may have been Tyrconnel's misgivings, he
did not at this moment express them ; and it is certain that
to the vast majority of the Irish nation any compact with the
usurper was revolting. Loud through the land rang the old,
old rhyme : — " Ne'er with an Englishman in friendship be ;
Should'st thou be so, 'twill be worse for thee ;
By treachery he'll destroy thee, if he can ;
Such is the affection of an Englishman."
A dullard he who seeking a loop-hole fails to find one.
After glancing at the outworks, Lauzun pronounced Limerick
indefensible — so weak, i' faith, that his master would take such
a place with roasted apples. Responsible to Louis for the
French soldiers, could he venture to shut them up in such
a rotten trap ? With the exception, then, of M. de Boisseleau,
captain in the French guards and marechal de camp, chosen
commandant of the fortress, the foreign division was ordered
to Galway on the way home.
Morally and materially a loss to the cause. Barring the
Irish foot-guards, the French battalions were the only solidly
disciplined infantry in line. Their services during the retreat
from the Boyne had been most important. Their departure,
therefore, at this juncture elated Orange sympathizers in
England,^ while it sickened fervid patriots in Ireland.

' Thus neatly the Duke of Berwick hits off the Gascon courtier : " II
avait une sorte d'esprit qui ne consistoit pourtant qu'k toumer tout en
ridicule, k s'ingerer par tout, k tirer les vers du nez, et k donner des godans.
II dtait noble dans ses mani^res, genereux, et vivant tr^s-honorablement.
II aimoit le gros jeu, et jouait tres-noblement. Sa figure ^tait fort mince,
et l'on ne peut comprendre comment il a pu toe un homme k bonne for
tune." — Mimoires.
" Lord Marlborough (afterwards the famous duke), writing from London
(Aug. I2th, 1690) to William's Irish Secretary of State, observes: "Your

THE DEFENCES. 267
No sudden thought, probably, was the withdrawal. Louvois
had always opposed James's interests. He had no faith in
his savoir faire. He derided the incapacity of Lauzun, and
he hated his supporter De Seignelay. Besides, yearning for
the boudoirs of Versailles, Lauzun fostered discontent among
his officers and men. It is curious that the prime cause of
dissatisfaction was the scarcity of bread, which, indispensable
to Gallic health and comfort, was a matter almost of indiffer
ence to the Celtic soldiers, who willingly roughed it on oat-cake
and milk.' To gauge the depths of Jacques Bonhomme's
distress, we should picture to ourselves the British Grenadier,
beerless and void of " bacca : "
" Quoi qu'en dise Aristote et sa digne cabale,
Le tabac est divin, il n'est rien qui I'dgale."
The site of Limerick, then the second city of Ireland, is
peculiar. The mighty Shannon putting forth a circling off
shoot, an island is created. Upon this arose " English-town,"
linked with the main land by two bridges. The first,
Thomond Bridge, crossed the river on sixteen arches into
Clare, where it was completed by a tete-de-pont and field-
works. The second bridge connected English-town with the
sister portion of the city, called " Irish-town," planted on the
southern bank. English-town is strong by nature. Two
hundred years ago, the embracing stream afforded a good de
fence, to say nothing of the ancient castle. But Irish-town
was merely girt with mediaeval walls flanked with weak
bastions. It had no ditch. The garrison, however, had con
structed a covered way, and thrown up a ravelin in front of
the principal gate. In the event, then, of Irish-town (the
present point of attack) falling, the stronger English-town
might still hold out.
nuse of the french having left Lymerick was very wellcome, sense it can
but make the business much easier." — Excidium Macarice (note).
' Writing to Seignelay on the 9th of September respecting the siege,
Lauzun remarks : " II n'y avoit ni hopital, ni chirurgeon ; les soldats bien
blessds se retiroient mourir sans se plaindre. Je n'ai jamais connu des
soldats si propres k patir."

268 BRIGADIER SARSEFIELD.
On the fortieth day after the Boyne, William confronted
Limerick. Informed by deserters, eager to curry favour, that
dissension tormented the garrison, reminded by courtiers,
often dangerously pleasant, that forty years before, treachery
had opened the door to Ireton— he expected capitulation.
His summons produced discussion, but no thought of sur
render. If Tyrconnel seemed to hesitate, Berwick and Sarse
field were unshaken. Troops and citizens were venturesome.
Governor de Boisseleau, therefore, replied as became a soldier
and a gentleman — that to be besieged by so great a prince as
WilUam of Orange was an honour he would deserve by doing
his duty to King James.
Straightway the town guns opened fire. The same evening
British dragoons, reconnoitring a ford about two miles above
the place, found it watched on the Clare side by a detachment
of horse and foot commanded by Berwick. Early next morn
ing 5,000 cavalry and infantry under Ginkell crossed the river
there with some difficulty, for the water was rather high. The
Irish fell back slowly before them, destroying the forage as
they went. The Dutch, however, did not venture far, and
made no attempt to surround the city. But to secure the rear
of their army they maintained a hold upon the ford.
In the expectation that perfidy would do his work, William
had advanced with field batteries only. His siege artillery
still lumbered in the rear. Hence, a French bombardier who
deserted to the Irish not only indicated the disposition of the
British forces (and so enabled the Irish gunners to dislodge
the enemy's head-quarters), but imparted how their battering
train, pontoons, reserve ammunition, and store of provisions
were on their way from Dublin. By order of Tyrconnel (says
the Duke of Berwick) Brigadier Sarsefield at once quitted the
town with 800 chosen horse to cut off the convoy. Passing
the Shannon at KUlaloe he reached Silvermines at daybreak,
and halted for reports from his scouts. Now the dragoons, on
their march through Clare, had been seen by a Protestant
squire, one Manus O'Brien. Anxious to bask in the rays of
the rising sun, he galloped with the news to the English camp.
But the Dutch generals would barely listen to him. Bentinck

CANNON SEIZED. 269
sneered at his tidings as bagatelle.^ However, they omitted
not to question him concerning the whereabout of " a prey of
cattle," in which they showed so strong an interest that the
incensed O'Brien blurted out : " he was sorry to see general
officers mind cattle more than the King's honour." Somehow
he contrived to see William, who ultimately ordered Sir John
Lanier to proceed with a few squadrons towards Cashel to
meet the crawling cannon. The detachment was to be ready
by nine o'clock that night, but Schomberg's French alone
were mounted at that hour, and not before two o'clock A.M.
on the 1 2th did Lanier march.
On the preceding evening, the train travelling up from
Cashel under escort of two troops of Villiers's reached Bally-
nuty, a ruined castle near CuUen, fifteen miles in rear of the
British position. Green sward invited repose. The officers
were heedless ; and, tents being pitched, horses turned out to
graze, a few sentries posted — the troopers were soon snoring.
Guided by faithful peasants through the paths twisting
about the Keeper mountain, Sarsefield was now lurking in the
hills hard by. Before dawn on the 12th he burst upon the
slovenly foe. Shouts from startled sentinels, an hysteric bray
from a stray trumpet, and the surprise was complete. A
momentary scuffle, in which every man resisting was cut down
— sixty soldiers and waggoners, it is said, were killed — and
now quick work with the spoil. Being set muzzle downward
in the ground the siege guns were fired. Many of them burst
The pontoons were broken to pieces ; the provisions which
could not be carried away, burnt. The ammunition, ignited
by a slow match, exploded. How portentous to Lanier, now
leisurely approaching — the flash and rumble. Galloping for
ward, he was in the midst of smoking ddbris and shattered
tumbrils, a few scared half-naked soldiers, and divers bewailing
carters. Nothing left but to intercept Sarsefield. But that
brilliant officer, knowing how the land lay to an inch, baffled
Lanier, and recrossed the Shannon with glory and a fine
" prey " of troop horses.
" Mdmoires de Dumont de Bostaquet."

270 BRIGADIER SARSEFIELD.
Consternatloa in the British lines. Even William's angular
features could not conceal disquietude. Many ascribed the dis
aster to the haughty Bentinck. As usual, " treachery " was
the favourite conclusion : King James's old follower, Lanier,
had cunningly played into Jacobite hands ; and many of the
shrewdest opined that to the superior officers the war was too
profitable to be quickly terminated.'
His exploit being in every mouth, we must revert for a
moment to Patrick Sarsefield. Paternally descended from an
old Anglo-Norman family of the Pale, his mother was a
daughter of Colonel Roger O'More, chief of the sept of that
name, and a leading patriot of 1641. On the death without
issue of his elder brother William, he succeeded to the patri
monial estate of Lucan, co. Dublin, then worth ;£'2,ooo a year.
Patrick drew the sword betimes, first serving in France as an
ensign in Monmouth's regiment, and afterwards as a lieutenant
of Life Guards in England. With the chivalry of a fine gen
tleman he followed King James to France in 1688, and, in
the ensuing year attending him to Ireland, was appointed
colonel of horse, brigadier, and privy councillor. He lived
nobly and uprightly. Generosity and valour made him the
darling of his soldiers. In his lofty stature, handsome face,
and genial manners, men saw the beau ideal of the Irish
dragoon. An Israelite indeed in whom there is no guile, we
shall meet him often.
But Sarsefield's dash did not arrest the siege. Two of the
profaned cannon proved to be uninjured ; two other big guns
and a large mortar were ordered up from Waterford. So weak
were the fortifications of Limerick, that the destruction of
ammunition and the loss of horses constituted William's prin
cipal embarrassment. Every day saw artillery placed in battery
against the place, and both horse and foot soldiers were busy
making fascines, a task rendered easy by the many orchards
and hedges round about.
At first, the country folk had brought provisions into camp
readily enough, but greed and brutality soon interrupted the
' Harris, " Life of King William III."

PLUNDER AND PRICES. 271
practice. Either robbed of their merchandize, or of the money
which represented it, by soldiers lying in wait, the peasantry
shunned the lines ; whereupon marauders went forth in bands.
pillaging right and left. The inevitable result followed : the
prices of food rose enormously ; for example, bread gained
300 per cent in value ; beer mounted proportionably.'
Worse and worse. Not content with ordinary cruelties,
some vagabond soldiers tried to popularize a crime for which,
to its honour, the Irish language had no name* Thicker and
thicker, therefore, the rapparees, whose doings in the Dutch
man's propinquity speedily waxed so vexatious that Colonel
Caulfield marched with 300 infantry to CuUen, for the purpose
of keeping open the communications with Dublin and Water
ford. The presence, too, in Clare of the Irish cavalry (among
whom Tyrconnel had established his headquarters) menacing
the Williamite right, it was necessary to secure Castle Connel,
a village on the Shannon, about four miles above Limerick.
Colonel Stuart having brought up artillery against it, the
little garrison surrendered prisoners of war.
Military exigencies were not the foreigner's sole care. The
parsons loudly complained that they got no tithes. Just
master of the ground h^ stood upon, William, at present, could
assist his depleted friends with nothing better than a " procla
mation " commanding the CathoUc inhabitants to pay the
Anglican ministers "according to the laws and customs of this
our realm of Ireland." James, we do not forget, had directed
that Catholics and Protestants should respectively support
their own clergy, and some of us may venture to think that
the decision of the " tyrant " Stuart savoured more of human
equity than did the judgment of " enlightened " Nassau.
But— " La raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure."
' " Mdmoires de Dumont de Bostaquet."
" O'Driscol, " History of Ireland."

xxx.
LIMERICK VICTORIOUS.
1690.
^ROUND was broken on the night of the 17th,.
under the eye of Du Cambon, the quarter-master-
general. Heavy guns having arrived from DubUn
and Waterford, the trenches were gradually ad
vanced, and the feeble outworks captured one by one, but not
without copious blood-shedding on both sides. Sarsefield's
cavalry omitted no opportunity of sallying ; and when the
main redoubt fell, so fierce was the fighting that, in a troop of
Schomberg's French particularly engaged, only one man and
horse came unscathed out of the fray. Even the Williamite
writers admit a loss of 272 men and 121 horses. Among the
lost was Cornet Couterne of De Cussy's troop. Badly wounded,
he lay on the ground three days and nights. During a truce
for the burying of the dead, the poor gentleman was dis
covered still breathing, although crushed under his slain
charger: he died in hospital the same night — "un joli cavalier
et bien fait." ' Such is war, about which those who know the
least speak most lightly.
Now for a pleasanter story. Just after the capture of the
fort, an EngUsh chaplain observed a soldier stretched, groan
ing, on the sod. Naturally supposing him to be sorely hurt,
his reverence sped to afford ghostly consolation. The pair
being in devout communion, the Irish sortie bursts forth. The

¦ Mdmoires de Dumont de Bostaquet."

BOMBARDMENT. 273
British horse press forward to repel it. In his scamper to
avoid the trampling squadrons, the clergyman tumbles. Up
jumps the object of his solicitude. In a trice the coat is all
but off the good man's back. " Explain yourself, in God's
name," he cries. " I beg your pardon," replies the light-fingered
malingerer, " but I thought you were killed, and therefore
felt bound to take as good care of your clothes as you did of
my soul." The anecdote cheerfully suggests how seductive,
on service, is a chance of plunder. I remember a soldier-
servant excusing himself for cutting the embroidery off his
slain master's coatee by pleading that, as Colonel  was
dead, he could have no occasion for lace. The fellow's impu
dent logic might perhaps be better appreciated by modern
philosophers than it was by the old-fashioned moralist before
whom he shook.
A battery of eight 24-pounders being erected in front of
the captured work, two towers soon crumbled into dust.
Bombs and carcasses plumped plentifully into the town. A few
houses were set on fire, a hay store was burnt, but the men
and women of Limerick remained undaunted. By the 25 th
all the besieger's batteries were complete : thirty-six cannon
and four mortars thundered upon the city. On such defences
such a storm must tell. A breach in the wall near St. John's
Gate yawned ; the greater part of the palisades had already
been torn away. The English working parties, plied with
drink, toiled hard, and the trenches were rapidly driven within
thirty paces of the covered way.
Well directed by the brave and skilful De Boisseleau, the
Irish were not idle. Twenty guns scouring the breach at
short range, it was impossible to repair damage effectually ;
the besieged however endeavoured to stop the gap with wool
sacks, and close behind threw up an intrenchment
On Wednesday, the 27th, the trenches were only a few
paces from the ragged paUsades. Although Du Cambon re
ported the breach practicable, it was resolved at a council of
war to enter the place by mining, as a preliminary to which a
lodgment would that day be made on the counterscarp. Five
hundred picked grenadiers, and a hundred French volunteers

274 LIMERICK VICTORIOUS.
led by Colonel Cutts, filed quietly into the advanced trench.
Seven choice battalions stood in support A strong body of
cavalry, ready to mount, brought up the rear. General
Douglas assumed command. William would view the opera
tion from Ireton's Fort. At half-past 3 o'clock P.M., a gun
fired three rounds. With the last boom, the grenadiers and
Frenchmen sprang from their lair. A volley of musketry, a
shower of grenades, and — the distance being very short — the
stormers were slap-dash upon the counterscarp. Taken un
aware, the Irish deserted the covered way. Notwithstanding
their cannon soon began to speak, many of the defenders fled
the walls in panic. On this an EngUsh company, in the mad
excitement of such moments, not only scrambled into the very
breach, but some of Lord Drogheda's men, mingled with
French, actually penetrated into the town. But orders being
strict that beyond the counterscarp the troops must not pro
ceed, and two guns, which De Boisseleau had placed in
battery behind the breach, proving murderous, the helter-
skelter rush was not seconded : the supporting battalions
halted at the covered way. Thus vanished a grand oppor
tunity. Brigadier Talbot, who commanded in the demi-lune de
fending the main gate, showed himself prompt of spirit. Fol
lowed by a hardy band, he ran along the wall, swept aside
stragglers trying to wriggle into the place, and occupied the
breach. Now fell the gallant youngster, Martel, crying,
" Ville gagnee ! " The crisis was come. The Irish rallying,
turned savagely with their pikes upon the British bewildered
in the street. Not a grenadier escaped death, wounds, or
bonds. Then arose the shout, " To the walls ! To the waUs !"
Immediately with bold civilians, nay, with enthusiastic women,
was Talbot re-inforced. Lively fighting. The EngUsh work
ing at the lodgment were smitten hard and fast with shot. In
hysterical frenzy outstripping the males, women hurled broken
bottles and all manner of domestic crockery, screaming the
while cruellest taunts respecting the foulness imputed to the
Orange soldiery. Honest, delirious, unsavoury anathema !
Staggered by this electric shock, the WilUamite generals

THE REPULSE. 275
lapsed into the defensive. To hinder a further move upon the
British flank, the vehement Cutts rushed at the ravelin,
whence Talbot had issued with such effect. The valour and
experience of this renowned officer just sufficed to curb the
Irish at that point. But the duty cost him a wound, and
many of his men were struck down.
From right to left a frantic struggle. The Brandenburg
regiment, pushing into the black battery, achieved nothing,
for the Jacobites sprang a mine, and by legs, by arms, by
shapeless trunks went most of the Germans flying through
the air.
Though blood continued to flow, danger to Limerick was
past. In vain, British grenadiers shouted for more scaling
ladders. The pick of EngUsh and foreign regiments were
dying without a chance. On the other side, with every awful
moment Celtic valour mounted.
To the rescue ! Berwick's horse are galloping into the
town. Imagine the acclamation.
At 7 o'clock P.M., the failure seemed utter to WUUam's
practised eye. Therefore, a command to draw off — a delicate
manoeuvre in front of the excited enemy. No sooner EngUsh,
French, Danes, and Dutch retiring to their camp, than a sally,
cheered on by Berwick, Sarsefield, De Boisseleau, broke upon
their rear. At the height of the bloody sport, beamed forth a
ray of benevolence. The English field hospital catching fire,
many Irishmen relinquished the intoxicating chase, stayed
their eager pikes, and assisted the enemy to quench the flames.
The story is apocryphal, but there is nothing about it out of
harmony with the impulsive nature of Erinn.'
That the butchery was considerable is indisputable. As
usual, however, the accounts are conflicting. Story declares,
"we lost at least 500 upon the spot, and had 1,000 more
wounded ; " but . the Williamite secretary at war for Ireland
reports the total Anglo-Dutch loss, including " 400 Branden
burghers blown up," at 2,148.^ The Blue Dutch and the
' Sir John Dalrymple tells the tale approvingly on the authority of
O'Halloran, the historian of Limerick.
' "Excidium Macarise" (note by O'Callaghan).

2 76 LIMERICK VICTORIOUS.
French of Cambon and Belcastel were the heaviest sufferers.
During the twenty-one days of hostilities before the place,
5,000 men are stated to have been killed or wounded in the
British ranks. On the Irish side also, precise information is
wanting. "The Relation of the Raising of the Siege of
Limerick," a Jacobite official account, affirms "during the
siege 1,062 soldiers and 97 officers have been killed or
wounded in the troops of the King of Great Britain." The
Duke of Berwick, never rash in arithmetic, believes there were
" less than 400 slain " in repelling the assault so daringly sus
tained for three hours.
This disastrous repulse led to the raising of the siege : a
council of war alleging as motives — scarcity of ammunition
and dread of the wet season. How does the first reason tally
with the tardy process of sap and mine ? and is it not singular
that, while WilUamite writers attribute the draw off to " the
vast quantities of rain that had fallen for several days
together," i Berwick says there had not been a drop for a
month previous to the retreat, nay, that it did not rain till
three weeks afterwards. How difficult is it to get at the
truth I In this case, we have Berwick and Burijet at issue ;
whom shall we trust, — the conscientious officer on the spot, or
the political prelate in the closet ?
By degrees, the siege artillery was removed from battery ;
the sick and wounded were sent away to Clonmel ; and, on
the 30th of August, masked by a great power of cavalry, the
downcast columns retired into Tipperary.
Sick at heart, William sped for Duncannon Fort, and there
embarked for England. Count Solms assumed the command
in chief. Viscount Sidney, Sir Charles Porter, and Mr. Co-
ningsby were appointed Lords Justices in Ireland.
Only those acquainted with Ireland and the Irish can con
ceive the outburst of joy in Limerick when it was discovered
that the illustrious Dutchman had turned his back. Despite
worm-eaten ramparts, an unseasoned garrison, dearth of
matiriel, De Boisseleau had overthrown troops d'elite. The
' Narcissus Luttrel, " Brief Relation of State Affairs."

BERWICK'S PLAN. 277
fact requires no comment ; it assures us that if the French
governor was able and resolute, the native soldiers were brave
and patriotic. What a contrast to the shirking De Lauzun,
this stout De Boisseleau ! and how happily did Louis XIV.
express approval of his conduct : " Vous avez travaill^ pour
votre gloire particuli^re, et pour la gloire de la nation ; je vous
fais brigadier."
When the Anglo-Dutch marched off, only fifty barrels of
gunpowder remained in the town magazines, and the Duke of
Berwick says that the portion of Ireland still under home rule
could not have furnished an equal quantity. Sarsefield's raid
had diminished the Williamite supply ; hence, supposing hos
tilities protracted to the extinction of the villanous saltpetre,
the fighting must have continued by poke of pike and blows of
bludgeon — a simple system of tactics very favourable to the
Irishman, ever deft with the shillelagh, and, when disciplined,
amorous of I'arme blanche.
During those three weeks of fire and fury, Berwick and the
cavalry fretted inactive in Clare. Eager for service, the young
Duke made a notable suggestion to Tyrconnel. He proposed
to cross the Shannon at the head of 3,500 horse, sweep into
the enemy's rear, and do his best to destroy their magazines,
especially the reserve stores in DubUn. Energetically carried
out, Berwick thought the coup would compel the abandonment
of the siege ; nor did he consider it to be dangerous in the
doing, for the towns on which he had his eye were open ; and
after the devastation he believed he could push northward,
and return to the Clare camp by way of Sligo. The scheme
was plausible, but too audacious for official approval. Talbot
shook his head with polite regret. That a smack of jealousy
had something to do with the refusal is Berwick's suspicion :
deeming a partisan rdle unbecoming his rank, and painfully
conscious that his figure was ill fitted to alacrity in the saddle,
Tyrconnel grudged his subaltern a stroke of work which might
make him the popular idol. And yet, it must be admitted,
the Viceroy had fair grounds for his refusal. Had an officer
of twenty experience enough for an undertaking which, if
successful, might accomplish great things ; but, if a failure.

2 78 LIMERICK VICTORIOUS.
would probably occasion disaster irretrievable ? Moreover, in
the first alternative, to whom the honour ? — To James Fitz-
James, King's son, and dashing dragoon. In the second, on
whose shoulders would rest the blame i" — On Lord Deputy
Tyrconnel's ; obese desperado ; ay, cunning traitor ! In the
full tide of adversity, men are anything but fair reasoners ;
and to spirited youths with blood-royal in their veins, oppo
sition often seems injury.

XXXI.
LORD MARLBOROUGH. 1690.
HE egotism and incapacity of the French general-
in-chief neutralized the valour and conduct of the
French Governor of Limerick. At a crisis when
the training of Lauzun's battalions would have
been beyond price, ships hove in sight to convey them to
Brest. M. d' Amfreville, who commanded the squadron, writing
on the 9th of September to Seignelay, strips the old Gascon
Lothario to the very shirt. He says : " Je crois pouvoir
prendre la libertd de vous dire quel'ordreque j'aivu de M. de
Louvois pour le rembarquement des troupes, en a et6 envoyd
sur des raisons plus pressant qu'elles n'^taient ici, et je sais
meme secr^tement que le Marquis de Tressau, aide-de-camp,
qui avoit 6t6 envoye en France, avoit ordre de dire surtout que
les affaires ^taient ddsespdr^s, ce que je ne vols point, par le
peu de lumi^re que j'ai, s'il y avoit ici un g^n^ral, de meme un
homme ordinaire, qui n'etit pas la rage de retourner en France,
et qui n'insultit pas ces gens-ci sur leurs conseils, sans leur en
donner jamais." ' The sailor's simple words cut" to the bone
of the Lauzun imposture. Well does this petit marquis in
high command illustrate the passion of governments for
putting weak hands on heavy work. In this respect, warnings
avail not : " On se sent parfois decourag^ d'ecrire I'histoire en
voyant combien peu ses le9ons instruisent et combien les

' Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."

28o LORD MARLBOROUGH.
memes artifices r^ussissent toujours. C'est toujours de la
meme mani^re que l'on trompe, et que l'on est tromp^." '
With the French went Tyrconnel. Hurt by Louis declining
to entertain his hobby of a descent on England, James had
lately ordered the Viceroy either to come over to France, for
the purpose of soliciting, vivd voce, aid for Ireland ; or else, if
he judged matters irremediable, to make the best bargain
possible with the enemy. Tyrconnel accordingly betook him
self to Saint-Germain, leaving the Duke of Berwick nominally
captain-general, in his stead, with a council of twelve to ad
minister civil affairs ; and a board of officers, Sarsefield being
one, to direct military operations.
A nice situation for a boy not yet of age. At once dissen
sion broke out among the cliques which invariably disfigure
Irish patriotism. But before meddling with the domestic
strife we must follow the path of war. Berwick and Sarse
field not being men to stand idle in the market-place, deter
mined to push their frontier beyond the Shannon. Scarcely,
then, were the French ships clear of the coast, before a corps,
variously stated at from 5,000 to 8,000 horse, foot, and
dragoons, with four guns, crossed the river at Banagher under
the command of these officers. On the 14th of September
they were in front of Birr. But the comparatively strong
castle being garrisoned by a detachment of Tiffin's regiment,
and the maladroitness of the Irish gunners proving excessive,
hopes of an early surrender vanished. Having got wind of
the Jacobite design, Major-General Kirke with seven bat
taUons and six regiments of horse marched to relieve the
beleaguered castle. But hearing that the Irish were in con
siderable force, he halted at Roscrea and sent to General
Douglas, then at Maryborough, for more troops. Douglas
rapidly brought up re-inforcements, and the British, now more
numerous than their opponents, again advanced. Thereupon
the Irish retired to a good position about two miles north of
Birr, and on the 19th, after smartly beating in the English
outposts, recrossed the Shannon. And yet the WilUamites
' Ampere, "L'Histoire Romain k Rome."

BEFORE CORK. 281
gained little in a military sense. The expedition distressed
the soldiers ; and the main object, the breaking of Banagher
Bridge, had to be relinquished owing to a tower playing well
the part of tete-de-pont, and to the firm posture of Jacobite
soldiers on the Connaught bank.' Some field works having
been thrown up around the open town, Douglas and Kirke
went their way, but not without stripping and spoiling the
unhappy Irish " that had got protections."
A well-graced actor now steps upon the stage. During the
operations before Limerick, the Earl of Marlborough, hearing
that the French fleet was being laid up for the winter, pro
posed to swoop on Cork with certain regiments lying idle in
England. William assented ; and a large detachment of
cavalry and infantry from Solms's army was ordered to co
operate as soon as Marlborough landed in Ireland.
With all the despatch possible in those days, a force of from
5,000 to 10,000 men and a strong artillery train embarked at
Portsmouth.^ Their destination was a secret. The pubUc,
however, continued not long in suspense. On the 21st of
September the expedition sighted Cork Harbour. Three days
afterwards guns were in battery against the town.
On his return to Limerick from Birr, Berwick received in
telligence of his celebrated uncle's appearance in the south,
and with the view of disengaging Cork, at once moved to Kil-
mallock with about 8,000 men. But 4,000 Danes, La Melo-
ni^re's French, and Scravenmore with 1,200 good sabres being
already in support of Marlborough, that great commander
was evidently too strong to be challenged by his young
relation. Orders, therefore, were sent to Colonel M'Ellicot,

' Colonel O'Kelly states that Berwick raised the siege of Birr Castle
contrary to the advice of Sarsefield, " through having superior numbers to
the enemy." — Excidium Macarics. Be this as it may, Clarke, the Wil
liamite Secretary at War for Ireland, differs from O'Kelly on the point of
numbers. Writing from Cashel, he mentions that " Douglas would use
all means possible to fight him (Berwick), our men being so much superior
in numbers." — Notes to the above.
' Story and Harris say 5,000, Berwick 8,000, Narcissus Luttrel " near
10,000."

282 LORD MARLBOROUGH.
the governor, to burn the town and retire into Kerry. M'Ellicot,
however, being of a sanguine nature, having plenty of pro
visions and 4,000 men at his back, dreamt that he might resist
cannon and Churchill.
On the 26th the Duke of Wurtemburg joined the British,
and, with the arrogance characteristic of German princes,
claimed the chief command on the score of his " quality."
Even Marlborough's serene temper could not brook such im
pudence. The dispute rose high. At length, however, De la
Meloni^re persuaded the generals to compromise the matter
by taking the command day about. Marlborough had the
first service, and gave the word "Wurtemburg;" when the
Duke's turn came, he selected for the parole " Marlborough."
Harmony restored, the rivals set to work on the city. On the
27th a breach was apparent, and the besiegers proposed terms,
which being refused, preparations for assault were made.
Under cover of fire from land batteries, and from the ships
which had come up with the tide, a strong party of stormers,
spiced with many volunteers of rank, strode for the breach.
On approaching the shattered wall the Duke of Grafton, one
of the volunteers, received a shot in the shoulder, of which he
died a few days afterwards.' On the very point of grappling
the Governor beat a parley, and the garrison, headed by
M'Ellicot, Lords Tyrone and Clancarty, became prisoners of
war. Harshly treated, they suffered much from hunger and
exposure. The customary plunder of houses belonging to
Catholics immediately commenced, and Marlborough had to
interfere in person before the excesses of " loose " Protestants
could be restrained.
That the Governor was imprudent, as well as disobedient,
in not evacuating Cork, appears by Major-General Scraven-
more's report that, at the end of the five days' resistance, the
Irish store of powder amounted to "no more than two small
barrels." ' Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Grafton, second son of Charles II. by Barbara
Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland ; Vice-Admiral of England, and Colonel of
the ist Guards. He was a brave, headstrong young man, and a fiery Pro
testant. Mr. Croker relates that the fatal shot " is said to have been fired
by a blacksmith in the old Post-office Lane."

QUICK AND BOLD. 283
A true general, Marlborough knew the value of time. The
day Cork fell he despatched Brigadier Villiers to the important
seaport of Kinsale. But with a threat to hang the summoning
trumpeter, the Governor set fire to the town, and retired into
the forts. The torch being carelessly applied, the English
dragoons quenched the flames ; thus did a signal advantage
escape the Irish ; for, bereft of shelter, their already sickly
enemy would have perished like rotten sheep under the
merciless rains of autumn.
On the 2nd of October, Marlborough arrived and invested
New Fort, which defends the harbour on the left. Next
morning, Major-General Tetteau, with 800 grenadiers, crossed
the estuary in boats to attack Old Fort on the opposite bank.
Making a feint against the weakest part of the walls, he dis
tracted Irish attention. Then, fiercely assaulting elsewhere,
he gained possession of a bastion. Fortune continued to smile
upon him. A powder magazine exploding, forty Jacobites
were blown into the air. All was lost. Fighting on the ram
parts fell the commandant and many men. The garrison
were prisoners of war.
Respite was not allowed to New Fort. The lateness of the
season, incessant wet, increasing sickness, made Marlborough
anxious to have done. But expecting to be relieved by
Berwick, the Governor, Sir Edward Scot, boldly answered the
English summoner, " it would be time enough to talk of capi
tulating a month hence." A regular siege therefore. On the
5th of October, ground was broken in two places, guns placed
in battery, sap and mine set agoing. As the defaced ramparts
were about to be stormed, Scot unfurled the white flag. His
defence had been stubborn, and he got fair conditions. On
the 15th, his lady rode through the breach in her coach, and
about 1,200 soldiers trooped forth, with all the honours of war,
to join their comrades in Limerick.
The Churchill episode is altogether creditable. The Irish
did their duty under adverse circumstances, and the famous
Englishman proved himself prompter in action than his
foreign master. Not only were two considerable places cap
tured in a short space of time ; but Kinsale in British hands

284 LORD MARLBOROUGH.
the maritime trade between France and Ireland was crippled,
and the military communication between the countries
seriously impeded.
If generals were always aware of the difficulties awaiting
them, fewer dashing enterprises would be attempted. It was
even thus with Marlborough on this occasion. The resources
of New Fort surprised him so much, that, as he afterwards
told Bishop Burnet, " he would never have undertaken the ex
pedition in a season so far advanced if he had been acquainted
with the true strength of the place." On a kindred subject
well observes the Chevalier Folard, " II est certain que de
telles entreprises sont heriss^es de mille difficultes, mais il faut
avouer aussi que les pointes s'en emoussent ais^ment par
I'ordre, le secret, et la bonne conduite" Order, secrecy, and
good arrangement ! What man ever understood their neces
sity better than John ChurchUl ?
After an absence of thirty-seven days. Lord Marlborough
returned to London on the 28th of October. As the hand
some Englishman had surpassed the Dutch favourites in skill
and daring, there was marked popular joy. WilUam, who
loved him little, welcomed him, as the saying is, " graciously,"
and with good taste assured the courtiers, " I know no man
who has served so few campaigns equally fitted for command." '
Not a great general, but a practised officer, the King pro
phesied aright Princes are not always so clear-sighted.
They sometimes confound barrack-square pretensions with
professional parts.
The campaign of 1690 may now be considered over. The
Anglo-Dutch under the command of Ginkell, who had suc
ceeded Solms, went into cantonments, which they protected
with a concave line of frontier posts commencing at Castle-
haven in the south-west, and terminating at Ballyshannon in
the north-west. Outside, or west of this line, the Irish had
their own way. Once indeed during the winter the British
made an irruption by simultaneously crossing the Shannon at
Banagher, James-town, and Lanesborough. But thanks to
' Coxe, " Life of Marlborough."

IRREGULARS. 285
the vigour of Berwick and Sarsefield, it was a barren adven
ture. On the other hand, the Jacobites carried a desultory
warfare into their enemy's quarters. At this work, the
rapparees were the crack craftsmen. They kept the foreign
detachments in a state of chronic unrest. Knowing every
boulder on hill side, every track across bog, the hardy " tories "
mustered or dispersed without a sign. The long dark nights
favoured them, storm mattered little, raiment of the scantiest
sufficed. Any kind of food sustained their strength. Led
by old soldiers they stealthily converged by sections on some
given point, in a band struck the blow, straightway divided
the spoil ; and then, breaking up into the original atoms,
vanished. Those who had guns concealed them easily.
Muzzles and touch-holes being carefully corked, the barrels
were hid in weedy ditches or undreamt of bog-spots. Locks
would be carried in breeches pockets, or stowed away in dry
nooks, and cob-webbed crannies. Such the light infantry,
which not only harassed the English frontier throughout the
winter ; but, having glided by twos and threes into the rear
of Ginkell's posts, suddenly swarmed about the bog of Allen
in numbers that made the Lords Justices quake in Dublin.
The ill humour of Williamite writers when they refer to
these home-spun warriors testifies to their efficiency as wasps.
The barbarities laid to their charge are commented on with
pious horror. But the cruelties perpetrated on them, or on
peasants supposed to be of their kidney, by hostUe dragoons,
are related as if they were necessary, if not meritorious, acts.
The " tory '' Celt defending his morass is a knave and a cut
throat The Spanish gueriUero "supporting constitutional
interests " is a hero Uving and a martyr dead. Such is literary
justice The French franc-tireur vexing a Prussian column is
meat for instant rope, and yet Prussian regulation calls to
arms similar irregulars in similar circumstances :
" All men's intrigues and projects tend
By several courses to one end ;
To compass, by the prop'rest shows.
Whatever their designs propose."
The general condition of the island may be summed up

286 LORD MARLBOROUGH.
thus. The old nobility and gentry being outlawed, the
English King and his ParUament were already quarreling
over the forfeited estates.' Armed bands scouring in all
directions : murder, theft, and arson at every turn. The un
paid Jacobite soldier must Uve, and — such is human nature —
was indifferent at whose cost he Uved. The Williamite
trooper — English and foreign — considered himself in "an
enemy's country," and lusting after " great spoils," committed
" great outrages." But " -worse than all " (in the eyes of the
Rev. George Story) the mongrel marauders made "no dis
tinction between Papist and Protestant" ^ To the Irish then,
as to the Jews of old, Jeremiah might have spoken : " Such
as are for death to death, and such as are for the sword to the
sword, and such as are for the famine to the famine, and such
as are for the captivity to the captivity."
' Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain." ' " Impartial History."

XXXIL
EXIT, THE DUKE OF BERWICK.
1690-1691.
JOLONEL O'KELLY accuses Berwick of " mind
ing his youthful pleasures during the winter more
than the conduct of the troops." On the con
trary, the Duke affirms that he occupied himself
in visiting the outposts, reviewing the regiments, and replenish
ing, as far as practicable, the magazines. Certainly a man's de
scription of himself must not be taken for gospel. Still, so
prone is O'Kelly to carp at Berwick and Tyrconnel, that we
are bound to take his account of their proceedings cum grano
salis. An officer very young and of the highest rank may be
excused for making merry in a city proverbial for pretty faces
and good company, provided he do not dine and dance over
much ; and the solid, temperate, conscientious character of
James Fitzjames is a pledge that in his case duty was not
altogether merged in gaiety.
At any rate, he lay not upon a bed of roses. Rumours of
treason filled the air. Sarsefield is said to have discovered a
correspondence compromising Jacobites of position, and un
doubtedly, he advised Berwick to dismiss Lord Riverston from
the Secretaryship of State, and Colonel Macdonel from the
governorship of Galway. The EngUsh attempt at crossing
the Shannon in November was probably the result of an
understanding with professing patriots. Suspicion fastened,
and not unjustly, if Harris be correct, on Mr. Justice Daly,
and so he went to prison. Lord Riverston and his brother-in-

288 EXIT, THE DUKE OF BERWICK.
law Macdonel were probably guiltless, for the former was
afterwards "outlawed for rebellion against King William,"
and the latter always enjoyed a high reputation for courage
and honour. Perhaps, their grand offence was intimacy with
Tyrconnel, whose unpopularity recoiled upon the administra
tion which he had selected to act during his absence. Indeed,
a meeting of the nobiUty, gentry, bishops, and generals
pronounced the present executive illegal, and sent Sarsefield,
Simon Luttrel, and Dorrington to acquaint the Duke of
Berwick with their unanimous desire that he should govern by
the advice of a council, to be composed of two " tribunes " or
representatives from each of the four provinces ; and further,
as they distrusted the Duke of Tyrconnel, that proper persons
should proceed to France, for the purpose of disclosing to
Louis XIV. the true state of the nation. At first Berwick de
murred, but on reflection he informed the deputation that,
having no object beyond the common good, he would accede
to the wishes of the army, nobiUty, and clergy ; and proposed,
as the envoys, the Bishop of Cork, the two Luttrels, and
Colonel Purcell. The names inspiring confidence, the emis
saries departed accompanied by Brigadier Maxwell, a trusty
Scot, who was charged by Berwick to explain to James why
he had assented to a course so completely at variance with the
instructions left behind by the Viceroy, and also to recom
mend the detention in France of Henry Luttrel and Purcell,
the most mischievous agitators in Ireland. A strong measure
this, requiring for its justification very solid reasons. That
Henry Luttrel was a dangerous man is certain. Personally
brave, he had acquired abroad some military knowledge.
Peculiarly plausible, he wielded great influence over many of
his brother officers. The honest Sarsefield was for a timecajoled.
Against Tyrconnel this ingenious intriguer contrived without
ceasing. That the Lord Deputy intended to treat with the
enemy was, Ukely enough, a rumour of his coining. At all
events, we find it in circulation immediately after James
quitted Ireland. Then, Sarsefield coming secretly to Berwick
on the part of certain nobles, told him that, being convinced of
Tyrconnel's perfidy, they had determined on his arrest, and

THE ENVOYS. 289
they hoped that Berwick would assume the chief command.
But he indignantly replied that hostility to the Viceroy meant
high treason, and that unless the conspirators stayed their
hands he would reveal the plot to the King, and to the in
tended victim. This plain speaking put an end to the project,
but not to Luttrel's manceuvres, which indeed were now fast
drawing to a head. In the following year, the loud-tongued
patriot was arrested, on suspicion of connivance with the
enemy, by his former friend, Sarsefield. After the capitulation
of Limerick, the truth came out in horrid nakedness ; WilUam
conferred upon the traitor the estate of his worthy elder
brother, and a pension of ;^500 a year. A Uttle whUe, and
we have the punishment; in 17 17 he was assassinated in
DubUn. To resume, the ship conveying the deputation no sooner in
the offing than Henry Luttrel and Purcell proposed to throw
the inconvenient Maxwell overboard. But the Bishop of
Cork and Simon Luttrel (whom Berwick calls an honest
mild man) forbade such a short cut out of political embarrass
ment. While travelling to Brest, on his return to Ireland, Tyr
connel heard of the arrival of these gentlemen at St. Malo.
The precedent of Lord Mountjoy (" clapt up in the BastiUe ")
occurring to him, he suggested to James the suitableness of
lettres de cachet. Thus Berwick at Limerick, and Tyrconnel
at Brest, prescribed the same nostrum. No wonder the poor
King was perplexed. At first he would not even see the
envoys. Then, having heard their Ust of grievances, he had a
mind to relieve the lord deputy. Ultimately he stood by
him, but allowed his enemies to go quietiy home In this he
acted aright, for the detention of the " ambassadors " would
have finished the war. The popular party in the army would
not have forgiven such an insult, even from their King.
It must be confessed that in urging the dismissal of Talbot,
the emissaries were not unreasonable. That the charges
against his fidelity were false, we may be sure The Duke of
Berwick emphatically declares, " Sa fermetd conserva I'Iriande
apr^s I'invasion du Prince d'Orange, et il refusa noblement

29° EXIT, THE DUKE OF BERWICK.
toutes les offres qu'on lui fit pour se soumettre." But it is un
deniable that from age, ill health, and want of military talent,
he was unfit for so important a post. Naturally, too, they
complained of his " desponding message " after the battle of
the Boyne, which, by inducing James to forsake the kingdom,
discouraged the army.'
But if an incompetent commander, the Viceroy was no
mean diplomatist. The remains of a once noble person and
his admirable manners found favour at Versailles. Infinite
address marked his interviews with Louis. Entirely disavow
ing the pessimist opinions of Lauzun — to the rage and amaze
ment of that quondam friend — he showed that to despair of
Ireland was at least premature. Lauzun's mortification being
delight to Louvois, Tyrconnel obtained promises of support
from the Minister of War. Without delay Lieutenant-
General Saint-Ruth, Mar6chaux-de-Camp D'Usson and
Tess6, together with arms and clothing, would proceed to
Ireland. Owing, however, to the exigencies of the coming
campaign on the Rhine and in Piedmont, soldiers could not
be spared, and but 24,000 louis d'or could be extracted from
the Minister of Finance.
Thus far successful, Tyrconnel reached Ireland in the
middle of January. He brought with him a patent creating
the chivalrous Sarsefield Earl of Lucan, Viscount of Tully,
and Baron of Rosberry — a reward of merit politic as well as
gracious, for no living man held such a place in Irish affection
as this Bayard of the war.
Next month, the Duke of Berwick left Limerick by command
of James, and joined the perturbed little court of Saint Germain.
Here ends the career of Fitzjames as a British officer. Not
yet twenty-one, he had served two campaigns against the
Turks, held command during the revolution of '88, and with
courage becoming his race, and skill unusual at his age,
fronted the WilUamites throughout the memorable years of
1689 and 1690. "II n'avoit que vingt ans et sa conduite fait
voir qu'il ^toit I'homme de son siecle k qui le ciel avait accord^
de meilleur heur la prudence." Thus spake Montesquieu.
' Clark, "Life of James II."

XXXIII.
THE CAPTURE OF ATHLONE.
1691.
^ HOUGH we have scarcely to do with events in
which Berwick had no share, yet as the Duke has
in his Memoirs noticed the campaign of '91, we
may perhaps be excused for reviewing hostilities
which crushed the Stuarts, well nigh extinguished the ancient
nobility, and for two hundred years enthralled the people of
Ireland. On his arrival, Tyrconnel found the troops in wretched
plight ; pay a hazy tradition, the matMel almost exhausted.
Not merely the men, but the officers being unshod and in
rags, he was obliged to spend 13,000 louis in brogues and
breeches. In truth, all classes had sunk to a bare existence, —
" Allow not nature more than nature needs,
Man's life is cheap as beasts'."
Thanks, however, to the elasticity of Celtic nature, the
Viceroy contrived to ameliorate a state of things seemingly
desperate. He buoyed up flagging spirits with gossip about
succour from France. He wrote to James that " His Majesty
ought to sell the shirt off his back " for the purpose of secur
ing to the soldier id, a day regularly for three months. At
length, on the 8th of May, the French fleet was hailed bearing
up for Limerick. Besides Saint-Ruth, Tesse, and D'Usson,
it brought arms, clothing, provisions, and ammunition, but
neither men nor money. Nevertheless, the Lord Deputy was

292 THE CAPTURE OF ATHLONE.
thankful, and would have rejoiced, but the sight of Henry
Luttrel and Purcell ruffling in the midst of the French staff
inflamed him, as a red rag inflames an impulsive bull.
Hope everywhere revived. Te Deum sung. Irishmen fell
into the ranks. Partly by dint of hard cash, more largely
through " fair words," and " little necessaries of apparel,"
artizans were got to work, the carts and caissons necessary to
the field-guns were rapidly turned out.' In an age when
financiers are able to supply millions of money for any con
ceivable purpose, good or bad, it is difficult to imagine the
straits to which governments in the 17th century were often
driven. But knowing the difficulty of conducting war, even
when the departments have unlimited credits, we may at
least admire what our ancestors accomplished by the bare
might of patriotism.
In one respect, the Irish army was decidedly better off than
before. An able officer was at its head, and Tyrconnel had
strict orders from James not to interfere with military opera
tions. Further, Saint-Ruth having witnessed the heroism of
Mountcashel's brigade in Savoy, had a true sympathy with
the Irish soldier.
Turning to the Orangemen, what a contrast meets us. The
winter had been employed in recruiting and refitting the
Anglo-Dutch forces. At the end of December 50,000 re
gulars stood under arms. By the beginning of June, Ginkell
had concentrated a powerful army at MulUngar. An un
usually strong artillery train attended it. In new scarlet
coats, in breeches of every hue, horse, foot, and dragoons
paraded gorgeously. Officers of great repute had joined —
even Talmash, Mackay, and Ruvigny.^
The speedy subjugation of Ireland being indispensable to
William's continental projects, he had — just before leaving
' Clarke, "Life of James II."
'' The elder brother of Colonel de la Caillemotte, killed at the Boyne.
Although, fort huguenot, the family long retained the favour of Louis
XIV. ; but, on learning that Ruvigny had gone over to Ireland to oppose
Saint- Ruth, the King ordered the confiscation of his estates, Rayneval and
La Caillemotte. He was created Earl of Galway by William III.

, SAINT-RUTH 293
London for Holland — entrusted his lieutenant with a general
pardon for all soliciting it But alive to the deficiencies of
his enemy, Ginkell kept the proclamation in his pocket. Con
fiscation pays better than conciliation. The Lords Justices,
deeper read in Irish history than the Dutchman, probably
suggested the suppression. At least they connived at it.
Per contra, Saint-Ruth's necessities admitted of no strate
gical alternative ; he must rest content with the defensive ;
garrison the chief towns on the Shannon, and manoeuvre in
their support with as efficient forces as he could rapidly
organize. On the 7th of June, the campaign opened at Ballymore
fort between MulUngar and Athlone. The most advanced
Irish post eastward, it stood on the edge of a lough ; water
was supposed to secure the rear, bogs partially covered the
flanks ; feeble works defended the land front. Against these
soon thundered the English breaching batteries. Boats too
were being collected for an attack on the reverse. In opposi
tion, the besieged had only "two small Turkish guns,
mounted on old cart-wheels." We are told the Irish " did
what they could '' with such paltry means ; but surrender was
inevitable' After repairing the fortifications, and shooting
a brave sergeant who with fifteen men obstinately defended
an old tower about a quarter of a mile from the fort — Ginkell
marched on Athlone.
The formation of a respectable army corps at Ballinasloe
was Saint-Ruth's first care. But the want of bdt horses for
the road and boats for the river retarded the gathering of
stores so much that, though the indefatigable Frenchman
" rested not night or day," the 20th of June shone forth, before
a considerable body of troops fairly fit to move, was massed
on the Suck.
With 18,000 effective soldiers, Ginkell had reached Athlone

' Contemporaneous writers are greatly at variance respecting the length
of time the fort held out. According to Brigadier Kane it was " eight
days." Captain Parker says, " We took it in six days." But Story will
only admit a defence of " twenty-four hours."

294 THE CAPTURE OF ATHLONE.
on the previous day. As we know already, it consists of two
towns, " English-town " on the Leinster side, " Irish-town " on
the Connaught bank of the Shannon. A stone bridge con
nects them. The former was the immediate aim of the
British. Two i8-pounder batteries opening, a breach soon
appeared. General Mackay and 4,000 picked men were
ready to assault. A French lieutenant of grenadiers led the
stormers. First in the breach, he flung his grenade, fired his
fusil, excited his men by his heroic example, and fell dead.
The assailed resisted manfully, but they were few, at most
300 ; and so, the enemy, all veterans, well armed and com
manded, made way. After suffering severely, the Irish
bolted, and in a crowd pressing across the bridge, many were
trampled to death. Lest Mackay should break into Irish-
town pell-mell with the fugitives, its garrison blew up one of
the arches. Thus cut off, the EngUshtown men tried to
escape by swimming, for few would ask for quarter. Hence,
shooting, hacking, and drowning without stint.'
Late that night, Saint-Ruth heard of the disaster. With
the dawn, he marched at the head of 15,000- cavalry and in
fantry to within three miles of Irishtown.
Masters on the Leinster bank, the Anglo-Dutch made a
lodgment at the bridge head, and constructed a battery of
five 24-pounders and six mortars. This soon played upon
the castle with such effect that by the morning of the 23rd
the north-eastern front was in ruins. The Jacobites, however,
were not dismayed. Their position seemed strong. The
bridge remained theirs. The ford below it was difficult But
they lay under the immense disadvantage of having nothing
better than 6-pounder field-pieces to cope with the 18 and 24-
pounders. At first Ginkell proposed to throw a pontoon
bridge across the river near the ford. Irish vigilance frus
trated the design. He then attempted, under cover of fifty
heavy guns, and ten "great mortars playing furiously," to
force an entrance by the stone bridge. The situation was
singular. The foes fought from behind intrenchments in two
' Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."

ASSAULT. 295
adjacent towns. With their puny artillery the Irish could
harm the British little ; while the unceasing rush of Ginkell's
projectiles speedily crushed the flimsy huts of Irish-town into
dust, so scoured the trenches that their occupants actually
found safer shelter behind the heaps of rubbish accumulated
by the balls and carcasses ' of the adversary. Nevertheless,
the Celts were steady ; Colonel Felix O'Neil even tells Lady
Antrim that " the French generals acknowledged they never
saw more resolution and firmness in any men of any nation,
nay blamed the men for their forwardness, and cried them up
for brave fellows, as intrepid as lions." *
The barricades at the Irish end of the broken arch being
burnt by the carcasses, some English grenadiers managed to
throw beams across the chasm, and were about to plank them,
when from the other side sprang a sergeant and ten soldiers
clad in armour. They would destroy the handiwork or die.
Every man of them perished. But in a moment fresh volun
teers fastened upon the skeleton platform ; and " at the cost
of all their lives save two," succeeded in ripping it up, and
flinging it into the river. This bloody Sunday forced the
English engineers to construct a closed gallery along the
bridge At a council of war it was now resolved to cross the Shannon
next morning in three places — by the bridge, the pontoons, and
the ford, which certain Danes had just explored. Mackay
would command the troops, and, to quicken their good humour,
guineas were promised. On the 29th the soldiers fell in. But
the stir amongst the British had been reported to Saint-Ruth.
Guessing its import, he reinforced the garrison, and with his

' The English translator of Feuquifere's Memoirs thus describes the
carcasses of that period. " An invention of an oval form, made of iron ribs
and filled with a composition of meal powder, saltpetre, sulphur, broken
glass, shavings of horn, pitch, turpentine, tallow, and linseed oil, and then
covered with a pitched cloth ; it is primed with meal powder and quick-
match, and fired out of a mortar ; its design is to set houses on fire. It is
lifted into the mortar by two small cords fixed to its sides." — Excidium
MacaricE. * Rawdon Papers.

296 THE CAPTURE OF ATHLONE.
whole army approached the walls ; a decisive struggle seemed
impending. On a sudden an Irish grenade set fire to the
wooden gallery upon the bridge This disconcerted Ginkell's
intention. Sullen and dejected, the troops went back to
quarters. Nor were the officers cheerful. Provisions were
growing scarce ; and it was notorious that, making too sure
of prompt triumph, the general had neglected to secure a Une
of retreat by means of magazines and posts. When they
heard how things were drifting, the DubUn Protestants fell
into panic, and took to a promiscuous barricading of the
streets.' Up to this point the Jacobite officers and soldiers had dis
played uncommon vigour and courage. Literally fortified by
ruins, they had baffled every venture of a well-disciplined
enemy, supported by heavy artillery battering at short range.
But apparent success bred over-confidence, and over-confidence
is the parent of carelessness. Besides, while one mind directed
the Anglo-Dutch without gainsay, dissension weakened the
authority of the French chief. Saint-Ruth and Tyrconnel
were not in accord. D'Usson, who commanded in Athlone,
was jealous of his superior, and never razed the thin curtain
facing the west, as Saint-Ruth, for sufficient reasons, had en
joined. Further, with the view of hardening all the troops to
fire, the garrison was relieved daily from the camp. It might
therefore happen that one day good troops would be on guard ;
on another, bodies of recruits. The bearing of all this will
soon appear.
Aware through spies that the British wanted food and
forage — observing that cannon was being withdrawn from
battery — Saint-Ruth inferred retreat was the mot d' ordre ;
and certainly the experienced Mackay and many English
officers did recommend the raising of the siege. Through the
influence, however, of Ginkell, backed by the expostulation of
Talmash, Tetteau, La Melonifere, and other kindred spirits, the
council of war decided on again tempting fortune. The
wisdom of the resolution was confirmed by two Irish officers
' Mackay's MS. Memoirs, quoted by Dalrymple.

NAP-TAKING. 297
who opportunely deserted. They assured the anxious Dutch
man that his time was come ; two battalions of young soldiers
held an advanced position, and elsewhere a relaxation of dis
cipline was discernible. The men detailed for the abortive
attempt had been' kept off duty, and so everything was ripe
for another trial.
At six o'clock on the morning of the 30th the church bell
tolled, and 2,000 chosen men, formed twenty deep, led by
sixty grenadiers d'Mte, leaping out of the works, ran for the
ford. The cannon roared. Musketeers in the trenches main
tained a withering fire. Half-way over the river were the
grenadiers — so hot and sudden the alarum — ere the Jacobites
thoroughly recognized their jeopardy. Like men startled out
of sleep, the greenhorns jostled one another in horror. Their
pieces long since dismounted by the weightier metal of the
enemy, the Irish had nothing to support a rally. The surprise
was complete. The opposite bank gained, pioneers threw
planks across the broken arch ; the pontoons were laid.
Cheered on by La Meloniere, Tetteau, Talmash, battaUon
after battalion streamed into Irish-town — some by the bridge,
others over the pontoons.
Here and there the ill-starred recruits fought fiercely, but
without a chance ; for many days of bombardment had so
mutilated the works that, to the distress of the devout Mackay,
the Englishmen vowed with horrid blasphemies, "the rubbish
and stuff thrown down by their own cannon " to be stiffer
climbing than the riven intrenchments.' For some time, in
fact, Irish-town had been a ruin, fenced by the Shannon ; the
river overcome, nothing remained.
In a little while the defenders were flying ; Brigadier Max
well, who commanded for the day, was made prisoner. The
unsuspecting D'Usson, who had left the town on the previous
evening to attend a grand entertainment at headquarters, was
knocked down and hurt by the hustling throng as he gat
home to his post Excepting the shattered castle (which sur
rendered next day) Athlone was in Wilhamite grasp ; and
' Story, " Impartial History."

298 THE CAPTURE OF ATHLONE.
when Saint-Ruth — who heard of the danger only when dis
aster was done — hurried two battalions to strengthen the
garrison, they marched up to behold the parapet red with
EngUsh uniforms.
The Jacobites, incessantly pounded, and almost en fair, were
far heavier losers than their well-covered enemy. Among the
dead lay that brave old Grace, who in the past summer drove
Douglas from before the now-captured stronghold.
We learn from the principal Williamite account that the
operations against Athlone cost Ginkell "12,000 cannon bullets,
600 bombs, nigh fifty ton of powder, and a great many ton
of stones shot out of our mortars." ' By way of contrast, the
same authority announces that the Irish artillery consisted of
" six brass guns and two mortars in town." No wonder, then,
if Irish-town crumbled into ash-heaps ; but honour surely to
the gallant fellows who held such make-shift ramparts for
many days against puissant onslaught.
All contemporary writers, from the Duke of Berwick to the
Orangeman Parker, point out the grave mistake which the
Jacobites committed in not demolishing the walls fronting
their camp. Had Saint-Ruth's orders to this effect been
executed, columns could have been poured en masse into the
place whenever it was assailed. Thus might Athlone have
been preserved. Brigadier Kane, who served with the English,
remarks quaintly on the subject : " Here the old proverb was
verified, that security dwells next door to ruin. Saint-Ruth
thought it impossible for us to pass the river before he could
be down .with the army, and it is most certain nothing but
neglect of their (Irish officers') duty was the occasion of it ;
for they seeing their general secure in himself, thought all was
safe, which made them neglect keeping their men strictly to
their duty, and having a vigilant eye on us. Had they done
thus, it would have been impossible for us to march, but they
might easily see us from the castle, and give timely notice to
their general, which would have prevented what followed. The
great oversight St. Ruth committed in leaving the works on
' Story, " Impartial History " (continuation).

DISOBEDIENCE OF ORDERS. 299
the back part of the town standing, was the only motive that
induced our general to pass the Shannon at this place." '
Captain Parker's opinion is similar : " Had he (Saint-Ruth) de
stroyed these works, we should never have been able to defend
the town against the whole army, especially as the castle,
which still held out, was crowded with men ; for though we
had battered down that face of it which lay to the water, yet
the other parts remained entire, and had a number of men in
them."* Grieved by the sudden blasting of his hopes, and with manly
candour reproaching himself for not having enforced the de
struction of those fatal walls, Saint-Ruth fell back on Ballina
sloe, and pitched his tents with the Suck flowing between him
and the enemy.

' " Memoirs of the Campaigns of King WiUiam III."
' Memoirs.

XXXIV.
TAKING UP GROUND.
1691.
TYRCONNEL now quitted the army. His enemies
availing themselves of the recent misfortune to
embitter his relations with the commander-in-
chief, he thought the cause would best be
served by his return to Limerick. And a council of war
met to decide on a course of action. Some officers main
tained that the position on the Suck was satisfactory, in
asmuch as it barred Ginkell's road to Galway. Stung to the
quick by the loss of Athlone, and setting a high value on Irish
valour, Saint-Ruth sided with this view. But Sarsefield and
the majority " gravely " objected ; a pitched battle was too
hazardous an experiment. The WilUamites were numerous,
and well disciplined. Foreign veterans showed them the way.
Materiel of all kinds lay to their hands. On the Jacobite side,
the soldiers, ill fed, badly equipped, and without pay, were at
present discouraged. Lord Lucan, therefore, suggested that
Limerick and Galway should receive the cruder part of the
infantry, while the dite of it and the whole of the cavalry
broke by way of Banagher into Leinster and Munster. Thus,
if Ginkell laid siege to Galway (which, well manned, ought to
delay him for some days) Saint-Ruth would have time to
capture Dublin by a coup-de-main, and then — returning west
ward — relieve the beset town. Again, supposing Ginkell left
Galway alone, and followed the Jacobite Ught division, it

LINE OF BATTLE. 301
might double back on Connaught through Limerick, and by
harassing the British, encumbered with spoil and artillery
(which in those days moved with difficulty), the province would
probably be preserved through the autumn. When additional
succours arrived from France, further measures could be con
certed.' Though complicated, the scheme allured. It seemed
suitable to hardy troops vigorously conducted. The daring
Frenchman recognized its merits ; but before adopting it he
discovered in one of his gallops the position of Aughrim, which
to his practised eye seemed so advantageous, that he resolved
to make a stand there :
" In love of honour and defence of right."
His disposition was promptly made. The Irish line of
battle looking toward Ballinasloe, stretched for about two
miles along the high ground of Kilcommodon. In front was
a bog impassable by cavalry, awkward for infantry. Through
this morass, however, two passes led up to the Irish flanks ;
Urraghree, which struck the right, having a dangerous look,
the mass of Saint-Ruth's horse was posted there. The other
pass stealing to the left was a sort of causeway, in one place
so narrow that more than two troopers could not ride abreast.
It was dominated after a fashion by the ruinous castle of the
O'Kelly's, just now occupied by Colonel Walter Bourke and
two hundred men. Some dragoons were in support, but
naturally enough the general did not expect mischief in this
quarter. The army formed in two lines. The first en tirailleur
held the hedge-rows fringing the bog, the second skilfully
availed itself of the undulations, ditches, and thickets, which
diversified the front of the camp. In rear was a reserve of
cavalry. Nine brass field guns constituted the artillery. The
tents remained standing— a sign that retreat was not contem
plated. To arrive at a satisfactory conclusion as to the Irish num-

' " Excidium Macariae."

302 TAKING UP GROUND.
bers is impossible. The Orange accounts exaggerate them,
the Jacobite as certainly under-rate them. Mr. O'Callaghan,
who has collated the various statements with care, puts the
foot at about ii,ooo effectives, the horse and dragoons at
4,000 — 15,000 in all.' If this estimate be below the mark,
the figures of Story and others— 20,000 infantry, and 5,000
cavalry — no doubt exceed it.
In spite of the success, the tenacity of the Celts, and the
uncomfortable feeling that Athlone fell through accident,
filled the Dutch Baron with apprehension. He ordered up
from Dublin vast stores of ammunition and provisions. He
worked " day and night " at the repair of the devastated
fortifications. He cautiously reconnoitred the enemy. He
tried to convince the pillaged peasantry that British officers
and soldiers disregarding his " protections " should suffer
death. But the attitude of Irish-town had troubled a greater per
sonage. " By special direction and command " of William,
the Lords Justices now published a proclamation of pardon.
Bearing date the 7th of July, this document promises to de
serting privates " a free pardon for all treasons," and a reason
able price for their horses, arms, and furniture. Officers yield
ing over towns, forts, or regiments shall be pardoned, and also
restored to their estates forfeited for "treasons." Those who
had no such estates shall be liberally rewarded. Better pay
and condition would be the lot of officers and soldiers enter
ing the English service. As soon as their Majesties' affairs
shall permit them to summon a Parliament "in this kingdom,"
they will endeavour to procure for the Roman CathoUcs
" such security as may preserve them from any disturbance on
account of their religion." On the contrary, all persons
adhering to the enemy '' are admonished to consider the ill
estate whereunto they are reduced, and seriously to recollect

' " Excidium Macariae " (note). King James writes : " In this retreat
(to the Suck) the Connaught regiments grew very thin, so that the foot, by
desertion and marauding, was reduced from 17,000 to about 11,000 men."
— Clarke, Life of James II,

BIG WORDS. 303
into their minds and memory the quiet and blessed estate
and security which they have enjoyed under the English
government, and the vast difference betwixt that and the
tyranny of France." Finally, a hint as to the terrible conse
quences, if " they any longer neglect returning to their duty,
and thereby lose the benefit of their Majesties' most benign
and gracious compassion and intention towards them."
The declaration merely produced talk. Absolutely devoid
of tact, it pleased nobody. The Orange officials disliked it,
for it trenched on " forfeitures." The Irish gentry distrusted
it, not without reason, as events soon proved. Had William
III. been of a facetious turn, we might pronounce it mauvaise
plaisanterie.

XXXV.

AUGLIRIM.

effectives.

1691.
jUITTlNG Athlone on the 12th of July, Ginkell
marched, in four columns, against the Irish. The
precise strength of his army cannot be ascertained.
It is variously stated at from 17,000 to 30,000
That it was numerically superior to the Jacobite
force is probable ; that it was excellently provided for war is
certain. The Catholics prepared for the struggle by invoking the
protection of Heaven. Masses were said. The famous chap
lain of the Foot Guards, Dr. Stafford, visited every quarter
of the camp, exhorting to repentance and stimulating to
heroism : — " Resolve, my lords and loving soldiers, now
To save your King and country from decay."
On the other hand, the Anglo-Dutch ("remiss in point of
devotion," sighs the Rev. George Story) oiled firelocks, re
plenished pouches, and speculated as to the wrath and the
loot to come.
The engagement began with a cavalry brush. After a
minute examination of their position, Ginkell resolved to feel
the enemy's right Accordingly, a party of Danish horse
were ordered to drive the advanced guard out of the Urra
ghree fields which formed the entrance to the pass. At first
the Danes rode boldly, but perceiving that the Jacobites

A PAUSE. 305
stood, they went to the right about Cunningham's regiment,
however, coming up, the Irish troopers fell back upon their
supports behind Urraghree House. On pressed the elated
English, but, charged unawares, they were fain to retreat. The
skirmish was fast growing into a serious affair. Eppinger's
dragoons now tried to creep into the rear of the Jacobite
cavaliers, and so cut them off from their fellows ; but the
leader of the latter detecting the design, took up another
position on the rivulet which divided the outlying post at
Urraghree from the pass. Thus eluded, Eppinger — though
Portland's heavy cavalry were now at his back — hesitated,
and in a few minutes the column of attack had halted.
The conduct of the enemy's horse, and the character of the
ground, so disconcerted the Dutch general that, suspending
operations, he called the leaders of division together to con
sult on the situation. Anxious faces and dubious minds
surrounded him. At first it was arranged to postpone attack
to the morrow. All at once, another plan found favour. By
the advice of Mackay, the offensive would be resumed that
evening against Saint-Ruth's right, with the hope that, hard
pushed on his weak point, he would sustain it at the expense
of the centre and left
About 5 P.M. hostilities recommenced with a British brigade
marching on Urraghree. The ground certainly presented
features favourable to the Jacobites. Intricate hedges and
ditches sheltered their musketeers, and to facilitate the action
of the supports, passages had been cut through the coverts.
Ably handled by the Chevalier de Tessd, the Irish light
infantry ever and anon evacuated a hedgerow, only to take
post in another to the rear, or on the flank. And so the
English, dashing at the abandoned obstacle, fell into a trap,
for the foemen pouring through cunningly contrived aper
tures, beat them back in more or less disorder. In this fashion,
the fight ebbed and flowed for nearly two hours, neither side
obtaining any signal advantage.
But Williamite pertinacity taught Saint- Ruth the necessity
of reinforcing the menaced point ; he therefore ordered thither
horse and foot from the left at Aughrim.
X

3o6 AUGHRIM.
Mackay had expected this, and hastened to profit by it
Earl's, Herbert's, Creighton's, and Brewer's regiments were
directed upon the enemy's centre, where the intervening bog
was narrowest, and where— a guide having been " got at,"— foot
might manage to cross. The troops were instructed to halt
at the first hedges on the opposite slopes, until another divi
sion — ^which would attempt the morass a little to their right
where it was wider — could give them a hand. About the
same time, it was hoped, the cavalry of the right wing might
force a way by Aughrim Castle. The offensive would then
be unbroken from left to right.
The battalions floundered painfully through the bog without
being molested. Emerging from it, they were greeted with a
sharp fire ; still, the Irish skirmishers did not seriously dispute
the outward hedges, but retired gradually upon enclosures
behind. Thus encouraged, the assailants forgot orders and
rushed recklessly on till they came in contact with the Jacob
ite main line of battle. Here, as on the right, the different
obstructions had been pierced. Through these gaps swept
dragoons upon the British flanks. Infantry smote their front.
Fearfully beset, those soldiers ! Despite the calm courage of
Colonel Earl, they crumpled into a mob, and were driven, not
to the verge of the bog merely, but up to the very muzzles of
their own cannon, which could by no means open fire, so
commingled were flying Saxons and avenging Celts.
Colonels Earl and Herbert were taken prisoners in the rout.
Although wounded, the former contrived to escape ; striving
to break loose, the latter was killed.
Meanwhile, a strong division, in which marched the French,
traversed the bog lower down. On reaching the opposite
meadows they were received roughly, as their comrades had
been ; commanded, however, by the intrepid, clear-headed La
Meloniere, they held hard and (pursuant to orders) awaited
the countenance of the cavalry. But to show the difficulty
with which they stood their ground, we are told that the Irish
once or twice mastered the chevaux de frise that covered the
Huguenots. Eyes turned wistfully to Aughrim, ears lis
tened intently for the clash of sabres thereabouts. The

THOMAS TALMASH. 307
WilUamites surely were in danger. On the enemy's right
they made no way. In the centre they were worsted. At
Aughrim their chance seemed poor enough. Perceiving all
this Saint-Ruth exclaimed with pardonable exultation : " Now
we'll beat them back to the gates of Dublin."
Luckily a man, in whom united a singular audacity and a
singular calmness in peril, was at hand. Advancing with fresh
troops. General Talmash threw himself amid the runaways,
rallied them, told off anew the jumbled battalions,' cheered
them so heartily to the front that the Jacobites were manfully
closed with. A fierce struggle, and the Englishmen regained
their footing on the further side of the bog. The vanquished
became victors. Such the effect which " a fighting general,"
as soldiers say, may produce in a supreme moment.
While all this was doing, the right wing of the Anglo-Dutch
cavalry, under the Marquis de Ruvigny, supported by Gus
tavus Hamilton's and Kirke's infantry, were groping at the
Aughrim pass. So many the impediments there that, if
rumour tell the truth, Saint-Ruth generously remarked :
" Brave fellows those troopers, it's a pity they should be so
exposed." Owing to the site of the old Keep, the posture of
a field battery, and its native break-neckedness, he deemed
the causeway secure. And under ordinary circumstances it
was so ; but in war wise calculations are liable to be upset in
a moment by some startled commandant, or hysterical staff-
officer. The general, who had taken his measures so thought
fully and was fighting the battle with skill, knew not that the
brigadier in charge of the troops lately detached from the left
to the right had, contrary to orders, taken a regiment from
the first Une, in addition to the battalions detailed for the
service from the second line, thus enfeebling that very point
of Aughrim which required especial attention. As little too
' Brigadier Kane says : " Here we found the advantage of being trained
up in the art of breaking our battalions, which we were at this time very
expert in, so that while the horse were engaging each other, our com
manding officers soon drew their battalions out of this confusion, and
formed them in order." — Memoirs. Most officers who have served in the
field will acknowledge the value of such " expertness."

3o8 AUGHRIM.
could he divine that on Walter Bourke (who was stationed in
the castle) sending for musket bullets, a flustered official would
supply cannon balls, thereby putting the tower, which mounted
no guns, hors de combat.^
Assuming the correctness of these statements, which come
to us from King James and the Abbe McGeoghegan, Ruvigny's
ultimate success is not surprising.
The end indeed was near. Soon Saint-Ruth noticed that
" the brave fellows " had advanced almost up to the castle.
To finish them off, as they debouched on his flank, he massed
the squadrons in hand, and ordered the horse which had gone
to reinforce the right to return ventre a terre. Then this
superb soldier cantered gaily down the hill to point the fire of
the pieces bearing on the causeway. Just as he was about to
speak to the gunners a round shot struck him dead. Not an
officer of his staff, not a trooper of his guard, were touched.
The life of all others valuable was alone taken. The ruling
spirit quenched, victory abandoned Erinn.
The subordinates were paralyzed. Seeing the escort carry
ing away the corpse, the squadrons of attack hesitated. No
one promptly took command. Sarsefield, in charge of the
cavalry reserve, had been directed not to stir without express
orders, and, being on distant terms with the commander-in-
chief, did not proceed to the fatal spot to inquire the meaning
of the agitation there. The one aptest to supply the place of
the dead lounged inert in the saddle. Beyond all things
needful was a tearing rush of horse, and to lead it, who
physically and morally so fit as Lucan ? It was his strong
point. The irresolution of the Catholic chiefs, the British
officers turned to account. They re-formed the troops as they
straggled up ; and not many minutes passed before the entire
wing of cavalry lowered on the shaken Irish left.
Now, Henri de Ruvigny ventured boldly. He caused his

' The mistake may have arisen in this wise — some of the staff were
French. Boulet signifies in French cannon-ball ; balle, musket-ball or
bullet. Consequently, when Bourke applied for bullets, a foreign store
keeper might have concluded heavy shot were required.

OVERTHROW. 309
French dragoons and Oxford's heavies to file along the bog-
side till they gained ground whence they might effectually
sustain their infantry comrades struggling with the Irish
centre. Here, as on the right, the Jacobite ranks were still
firm. Rumours undefined and very evil had indeed reached
them, but encouraged by their officers, excited by the burning
words of the priests, the poor fellows looked Talmash sternly
in the face.
However, the sudden wave of French plumes within pistol
shot ' the absence of their own cavalry, the might of the re
inforced English, the vague feeling that some calamity had be
fallen — were intolerable. The young soldiers flinched. The
valiant Dr. Stafford, crucifix in hand, ran up and down the Une,
adjuring Catholics to stand fast They fought on, but as men
without hope. Even in Dorrington's footguards signs of
wavering. The heroic Stafford was slain, shouting for God
and country.
And the right, which up to this had defied even Ginkell in
person, seeing the centre falter, began to yield ground.
Defeat was not to be averted now. Deserted by the horse
men, assailed vigorously by the rallied British, crushed by
artillery, nowhere a sovereign mind to animate and command,
discipline disappeared ; retreat went at the double. Those
stalwart battalions were speedily a horrified crowd straining in
flight; at their heels savage pursuit without quarter,* the
carnage of which a stormy night alone terminated. Thanks
to the darkness, the Williamite dragoons neglected a defile
near Loughrea; and so, in disordered ranks confounded,
the troops surged onward ; Sarsefield ultimately conducting
the majority to Limerick, the rest under D'Usson makirtg for
Galway. Tents, baggage, colours, the nine brass guns, fell into the

' " The honour of this important day. General Ginkell had ever the
modesty to confess, was principally owing to the conduct and bravery of
the Marquis de Ruvigny and to the Oxford and French regiments of
horse."— Harris, life of King William III.
^ Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."

3IO AUGHRIM.
conqueror's hands. The loss in men must have been great
Story and Harris record "7,000 slain." Both Kane and
Parker are content with lower figures ; indeed, as the Jacobites
had the advantage till Saint-Ruth's death (which, according
to O'Kelly, occurred about sunset) there was scarcely an
opportunity for excessive butchery. Lords Kilmallock and
Galway (the latter murdered after surrender). Colonel Charles
Moore, and many a brave gentleman lay dead. Lords Duleek,
Slane, and Boffin, Major-Generals Dorrington and John
Hamilton ; Colonels Walter Bourke, Gordon O'Neil, Butler of
Kilcash, and other officers of position, were prisoners.
By Story's account, the Anglo-Dutch lost 73 officers
killed, and 1 1 1 wounded ; 600 rank and file killed, 960
wounded. But Brigadier Kane and Captain Parker furnish
more likely statistics. The first writes : — " Our army had up
wards of 4,000 killed and wounded." The latter : — " We had
above 3,000 killed and wounded." The prisoners were em
ployed to bury the British slain. Hungry dogs and crows
had long feasting on the unheeded Irish corpses.
The last pitched battle fought on Irish soil is remarkable in
many respects. Not only did the native troops generally be
have better at Aughrim than on any previous occasion during
the Williamite war, but the infantry, which elsewhere had
proved inferior to the cavalry, especially distinguished itself
for firmness and discipline. The excellent military material
which Ireland breeds, was being wrought into a finely
tempered weapon. Hitherto, awkward recruits had resisted
the trained warriors of Europe. At Kilconnel, hardy sol
diers at one period beat the grisly veterans breast to breast.
"On leur rend" (says the Huguenot Mercure of 1691) "ce
temoignage, qu'ils se battirent en gens de coeur, et que leur
infanterie surtout fit des merveilles."
But how was it that after marked success the Jacobites were
utterly overthrown ? In the first place, a leader of brilliant
talent was struck down in the very crisis of the conflict.
Secondly, Sarsefield, next in command by seniority, being un
friendly with Saint-Ruth, was ignorant of his plans. More
over, it is possible that, posted with the reserve in rear, Sarse-

CONTEMPORAR Y CRITICISM. 3 1 1
field had no intelligence of his chief's death, until the time for
effectively replacing him had slipped away. In war, a few
minutes more or less may make or mar. On any other
hypothesis it would be difficult to account for Lord Lucan's
inaction. His was not a nature to rest satisfied with simply
preserving the cavalry, if a bolder course were feasible.
Thirdly, it is admitted by General Mackay that the artillery
was inadequate to defend the weak points of a strong
position. It is significant that Williamite writers one and all confess
how vastly their side profited by the death of the French
general. Brigadier Kane asserts: — " The greater part of the
Irish army behaved to admiration, and had not Saint-Ruth
been taken off, and had those in the ditches done their duty a
Uttle better, it would be hard to say what would have been
the consequences of that day." ' And Captain Parker to the
same effect : — " Had it not been that Saint-Ruth fell, who can
say how matters would have ended, for to do him justice, not
withstanding his oversight at Athlone, he was certainly a
gallant, brave man, and a good officer, as appeared by the dis
position he made of his army this day. Had he lived to
order Sarsefield down to sustain his left wing, it would have
given affairs a turn on that side."^ Curiously enough, the
Duke of Berwick is of another opinion. He declares that,
like minded with the Marechal de Crequi, " plus il en passeroit,
plus il en battroit," Saint-Ruth allowed the enemy to cross the
morass, which he might have prevented, that both wings of
his cavalry were defeated, and that — being himself killed
when seeking the reserve of six squadrons — the royal army
thought only of flight How would it have been possible,
asks the Duke, to re-establish an affair so seriously com
promised, with six squadrons ?
But Berwick was at Saint-Germain, not at Aughrim ; con
sequently, his notion of the action, so unlike that of other
critics, may have been suggested by officers belonging to the
Tyrconnel party, which was inimical to Saint-Ruth. He cer-
' " Memoirs," &c. ' " Military Transactions."

312 AUGHRIM.
tainly erred in supposing the horse of the right wing beaten
before the general was killed : they were then disputing the
ground fiercely. Further, contemporary writers agree in
representing the distinguished Frenchman as being hit when
proceeding to the front to superintend the fire of a battery,
not while galloping rearward in quest of the reserve.
But enough of such controversy. How the Jacobite officers
and men regarded Saint-Ruth, is told by Colonel O'Kelly
with amusing pedantry : — " Never was general better beloved
by any army, and noe captain was ever more fond of his
soldiers than he. It is admirable how such a strong sympathy
could be produced in soe little a time, for that was but the
one and twentieth day since he first headed the army. But
his innate courage, the affability of his nature, and, above all,
his ardent zeal for the Delphicum cause (Roman Catholic),
gained him of a sudden the hearts of all Cyprus (Ireland) ;
and, on the other side, he was no less affectionately incliried
towards the nation. With Phyrrus (Saint-Ruth) died all
the hopes and good fortunes of Cyprus." ^
" The soldier's hope, the patriot's zeal,
For ever dimm'd, for ever crost"
¦ " Excidium Macarise."

XXXVI.
GALWAY CAPITULATES.
1691.
[FTER burying the Danish general Holstapel with
pomp, and reshaping the brigades most roughly
handled, Ginkell moved to Galway.
King James states that if the Dutch commander
had gone straight to Limerick, he might have entered the city
at once, so ill-prepared for defence was it, and so great the
alarm excited by the fall of Athlone. Thus, the war might
have been finished at one blow ; but, by straying to the west,
he gave time for the rally of troops, and for the recovery of
hope' Why Ginkell eschewed the bolder course is partially ex
plained by O'Kelly. Three days after the battle, he says, a
Protestant townsman, furtively reaching the British lines from
Galway, informed the general that its outworks were un
finished, and the garrison insufficient ; also, that while the
Protestant interest was considerable and united, the Jacobites
were at variance ; nay, so much suspicion and weakness in
official minds, that the prime hope of the war party lay in the
coming of Balderick O'Donnel and his rapparee brigade,
which had been ordered to Galway from its lair in lar-
Connaught Now, this O'Donnel was a noisy patriot who, on
the strength of an old name, some service in Spain, and
' Clark, " Life of James II."

314 GALWAY CAPITULATES
certain prophecies concocted by himself, had acquired much
influence over the Celtic Irish, and in other quarters had con
trived to glide into acceptation. And yet, careful not to
pledge himself, the man for some time past had been coquet
ting with the WilUamites. In a word, the spy's intelligence,
a message from Dennis Daly, " a worthy judge under King
James " (who bargained just for decency's sake that a party of
dragoons " should seemingly force him from his habitation in
the neighbourhood "),' and a dash of uncertainty respecting
Balderick's real purpose — combined to hurry the Dutch general
to the city of the tribes.
Likely enough, he expected to kill two birds with one stone.
The surrender of Galway would probably entail the capitula
tion of Limerick, i.e. the end of the war, a consummation
devoutly wished by WilUam, who, needing British troops on
the Continent, ordered his Lords Justices to purge their
minds of " forfeiture " lust, and to make it up with the Irish
on any terms. Hence, notwithstanding the triumph at
Aughrim, honourable conditions were granted to Banagher,
Portumna, and other small garrisons, pour encourager les
autres. On the 19th of July, Galway was summoned, but Lord
DUlon, the governor, and Lieutenant-General D'Usson, who
commanded the troops, determined on resistance. As soon
as it was dark, therefore, a force of horse and foot, under
Mackay, passed the river about two miles above the town,
thus intercepting any aid which O'Donnel, even if disposed,
could render. The same evening a Captain Burke deserted,
with the information that an outlying post on the south-east
might easily be mastered. Accordingly, with the morrow's
dawn, a party of grenadiers, guided by the traitor, surprised
and captured the work. Still the town made a show of oppo
sition : guns were fired, a suburb was burnt ; but the governor
soon beat a parley, and obtained favourable terms. In brief,
the " Articles " accorded the honours of war in their fullest
extent to the garrison : the troops would march for Limerick,
' Harris, " Life of King William III."

THE ARTICLES. 315
not only with the customary parade, but with six selected
pieces of artillery, and as much ammunition as the men could
carry. The inhabitants received a general pardon of attain
ders and outlawries ; their estates real and personal would not
be touched. The exemption of the Catholic religion " from
any penal laws " was guaranteed. Roman Catholic la"wyers
" shall have the free practice they had in King Charles the
Second's time." The student of Irish pains and penalties in
the eighteenth century rubs his eyes.
From its situation, and the quantity of food and ammuni
tion in store, Galway, it is said, ought to have held out for
several days, thus affording Sarsefield leisure to re-organize
the army, and patch up the fortifications of Limerick. No
doubt, an intrepid defence might have given a stimulus to the
war, but, in justice to Dillon and D'Usson, it should be borne
in mind that, besides many Protestant citizens, all " loyal "
WilUamites, there were two CathoUc parties within tjie walls :
one breathing peace, and desiring reconcUiation with Eng
land ; the other affectionate with France, and proclaiming war
to the knife. Further, the correspondence of Judge Daly and
the desertion of Captain Burke indicate treachery in its
grossest shape. If, in face of such facts, the governor declined
to risk the terms proffered by the enemy — terms, too, which he
may have regarded as the prelude to a general cessation of
hostilities — small blame to him.'
The submission of Galway wrought an unequivocal con
version in Balderick O'Donnel. Through an Enghsh friend
' Mr. O'Callaghan remarks : " From the lapse of time which was to in
tervene between signing the Articles of Galway on the 21st, and the giving
it up on the 26th, and from the great anxiety observable in the correspond
ence of the Lords Justices of Ireland to terminate the Irish war, what
Colonel O'Kelly affirms of such a delay having arisen from a proposal on
Ginkell's part that a capitulation should be entered into for the rest of Ire
land, as well as Galway, seems by no means improbable. The Williamite
Lord Justice, Coningsby, for instance, writing to Ginkell from Dublin, July
21st (the day the articles were signed), has this P.S. to his letter: " My
lord, it is my opinion that this war should be ended upon any terms, and
though it seems so near something, yet nobody can answer for ye events
of war." — Excidium Macarice (note).

3i6 GALWAY CAPITULATES.
at the Anglo-Dutch headquarters, he professed " his affection
to their Majesties' service ;" and in return for an earldom, and
;^2,ooo "for his expenses," he promised to bring over a large
body of his countrymen. De Ginkell, we are told, considering
it no Ul poUcy to "get the Irish to draw blood one of another,"
stooped to a bargain with the knave.
But to the chagrin of the WilUamites, Limerick showed no
intention of striking her colours, their army therefore left
Galway for that fortress on the 28th. Their general foreboded
a hard task. Most of the detachments stationed in Munster
were called in, and to prevent recruits reaching the Jacobite
stronghold, cavalry scoured far and wide.
The British marched with painful slowness through Upper
and Lower Ormond. The country had been ravaged ; bread
lacked. So urgent the want of " haul " for the artillery that
coach horses were pressed in Dublin. The army halted for
several days at Nenagh, in order that Lord Justice Coningsby
might confer with Ginkell. The result of their conversation
was another proclamation extending the time for submission,
and reiterating bribes to Irish officers and soldiers. A few de
serters came in, notably Lieutenant-Colonel Oxborough of
Luttrel's horse. He announced vigorous preparation at Li
merick, the taint of treachery, and the sickness of Tyrconnel.
On the death of Saint-Ruth the Viceroy had re-asserted his
military authority. A messenger hastened to Saint-Germain
craving instant succour, or permission to make terms. " Heavily
afflicted," James described the conjunction to Louis XIV. In
consequence, instructions were sent to Brest to prepare a fleet
for sea ; necessaries of all kinds were collected, a new general,
the Marquis de Sourdis appointed, and money promised.
Poor, desponding Tyrconnel laboured against grievous ob
stacles ; not the least of which was the peace party, largely
influenced by a knot of thorough-paced traitors. So brazen
grew the speech of these men, that the Duke feared a surrender
would ensue at the first sight of British uniforms. Albeit, he
contrived to bring about a decision to defend the city, till an
answer came from France.
But the end of Dick Talbot's trials was close at hand : seized

THE DEATH OF TYRCONNEL. 317
with apoplexy after dining with General D'Usson on the nth
of August, he expired a day or two afterwards.' In what a
sea of doubts and fears and misery he left his country tossing :
disunion rife in Limerick, the British army only a few miles
off, a British squadron already in the Shannon.
That the Duke of Tyrconnel was a faithful servant of King
James cannot be denied. Berwick testifies to his loyal firm
ness, and insensibility to WiUiamite seduction. Foes bear
similar witness : — " II a marqud" (says the Huguenot Mercure)
" dans toute sa conduite qu'il ^tait assez honn^te homme dans
le fond, et qu' ^tant dans I'erreur, il y dtait du moins de bonne
foi. Sa conduite a toujours htk. uniforme, et il n'a jamais
dementi ses veritables sentiments." Certainly he was inade
quate to the direction of Irish affairs in such an emergency.
To brilliant courage he joined little military talent. Not
without good sense, he was vain and sometimes over-cunning.*
While health lasted this besetting vanity begot extrava
gances ; for example, the notion (imbibed after a conversation
with M. Bonrepos in 1687) of becoming King of Ireland, in
the event of James dying without male issue, and being suc
ceeded by a Protestant. In brief, Talbot was a brave and
handsome gentleman, polished in society, and never cruel on
service. Dragoon more than commander, courtier rather than
statesman. With many faults and weaknesses he was morally
superior to not a few politicians and generals who snuffled
texts and practised perfidy under the Orange flag.
By a commission, lately received from Saint-Germain, Lord
Chancellor Fitton, Sir Richard Nagle (Secretary for War), and
Francis Plowden, Esq. (commissioner of the revenue) assumed
the government as Lords Justices of Ireland. But by James's
express direction the senior officer present had the sole control
of military affairs. Accordingly, General D'Usson on taking
command of the army made a fresh disposition of the troops.
The camp outside was broken up ; the greater number of the

' The Williamite rumour ran that he was poisoned by Sarsefield and
the French generals.
' " Mdmoires du Duc de Berwick."

3i8 GALWAY CAPITULATES.
infantry were stationed in the city, the rest watched the fords
of the Shannon. After destroying forage in Munster, the
cavalry took post on the Clare side of the river. The total
effective is stated at from 18,000 to 20,000, about one-half
being fairiy armed.'
Meanwhile, GinkeU was approaching; here and there making
long halts for the purpose of rallying scattered detachments,
and keeping in communication with the battering train, which,
owing to excessive mud and a short supply of horses, crawled
with difficulty. The circumspect Dutchman regarded the
Umping artillery with no smaU disquietude, for Sarsefield's
clutch at the big guns rankled in his memory.
The army having reached Cahirconlish, the general rode
forward with Ruvigny, and reconnoitred Limerick from the
very ground on which Williamite valour had miscarried only
a year before. He found that Ireton's fort had been repaired
and other works begun. While the staff made notes, deserters,
in the shape of a captain and a drummer, stole up. Besides
intelligence of Tyrconnel's death, they told how Colonel
Henry Luttrel had been arrested by Sarsefield on a charge
of treasonable correspondence with the enemy. Unpleasant
tidings — for much had been expected from the machinations
of this effusive Jacobite. ' " Journal de Dangeau."

XXXVII.
THE SECOND SIEGE OF LIMERICK.
1691.
STRONGER than at any period since the opening
of the campaign, the English reached Limerick on
the 25 th of August. They took up nearly the
same position as in the previous summer. Their
left hugged the Shannon. Irish-town was again the point of
attack. On the same day, forts Ireton and Cromwell were
captured. The Irish plan not embracing the defence of those
posts, their garrisons retired into the place after firing a volley
into the advancing grenadiers. Next morning the battering
guns arrived.
A few days were spent in breaking ground, raising batteries,
and seizing Castle Connel, which commands the navigation
of the river above, and Carrick-a-gunnel, which defends it
below the town. The fleet was ordered to approach as closely
as could be done with safety.
On the 30th the British opened fire. Every day the bom
bardment grew fiercer. But although the powerful artillery
was strengthened by borrowing cannon and mortars from the
ships, so that seventy pieces soon played upon different quar
ters of the city, the siege dragged. Shot and shell scourged
Irish-town, without producing a symptom of surrender. Except
soldiers, few now dwelt in this locality, most of the inhabitants
having removed with their valuables to a motley camp on the
Clare bank, where the Lords Justices racked their brains, and

320 THE SECOND SIEGE OF LIMERICK.
where fashion congregated, not without mirth, for old Ireland
will smile even in her tears.
From the place sorties occasionally issued, effecting Uttle,
however, beyond keeping the enemy constantly on the alert,
and harassing his working parties ; so onerous indeed became
this duty on the Anglo-Dutch infantry, that the cavalry had
to detail men for pick and shovel.'
The havoc of Irish-town being barren of moral results,
Ginkell shifted the main attack to the right, so as to give
English-town a taste of his metal. Three new batteries
mounting i8 or 24-pounders, and eight mortars (varying from
loi to i8f in. diameter) thundered upon King's Island on
the 8th of September. A breach soon appeared near St.
Dominick's Abbey, and the town blazed in several places.
Then, a notion of assault pervaded the British staff. Wool
sacks were conveyed to the water's edge to be in readiness.
This being perceived by the Irish, some volunteers crossed
over in boats during the night, and burnt them ; a stolid
sentry standing at attention hard by without giving an alarm
for — so his excuse ran — " he had no orders to fire." Notwith
standing Caesar's preference for " fat sleek-headed men who
sleep o' nights," it may be asked where is the greater danger
— in soldiers thinking too much or altogether dismissing re
flection, in deference to orders ?
But the accounts which deserters brought in respecting the
determination of the garrison and the solidity of the works,
speedily dispelled any fancy for the breach. And gloom
settled on the British camp : nothing important done, and
time flying. The commander-in-chief, a man who never
trifled with facts, now sent Colonel Earl to England, that
William might learn how likely it seemed the siege would
have to be turned into a blockade, and how necessary it was
that more frigates should be sent to close the Shannon's
mouth against the expected French fleet
' " This was a thing very unusual for horsemen, especially work in the
trenches ; but there was a necessity for it, for our foot were upon duty by
whole regiments every second night, besides detachments and workmen
upon sundry occasions every day." — Story, Impartial History.

SLUGGARD OR TRAITER. 321
Still, Ginkell could play a strong card before he threw up
the game ; by crossing the river, he might establish a corps on
the Thomond side of the town with a good chance of success.
This operation — obviously of great importance, for if pros
perous it would interrupt the communications of the besieged
with the West — had been declined hitherto, on the ground that
the army was scarcely numerous enough to bear a division of
force. What had occurred to alter the views of so cautious
an officer ? A pregnant hint from one of his friends within the
fortress. As at Athlone, proceedings opened with, a blind: guns
were ostentatiously removed from battery, and the Green
Danes marched noisily for Clonmel. The garrison saw, be
lieved, and hurraed. But at nine o'clock P.M., 500 grena
diers, and 600 artificers in charge of pontoons, supported by
five battalions, several squadrons, and a field battery, under
the valiant Talmash, stole to Annabeg on the Shannon,
a little way above the town. The probability of such an
attempt having been foreseen by D'Usson and Sarsefield,
the point was guarded by 1,500 dragoons and some foot
commanded by Brigadier CUfford, the bulk of the Irish
cavalry, under Lieutenant-General Sheldon, being encamped
two or three miles to the rear. Whether from perfidy or
gross negligence, it has never been decided, the pontonniers
worked all night without interruption. At daybreak the
grenadiers began to cross. The Irish foot showed a front, but
the numbers at Talmash's back overbore resistance. Clifford
made no sign of fight, indeed to fight was impossible— nothing
ready, the brigade unarmed. Half-naked troopers fled for
their very lives, horses galloped to the winds. On hearing of
the reverse, Sheldon retreated to Six Mile Bridge in the
utmost disorder, for most of his horses were out at grass.
Immediately, the great civil camp went by the board.
Men, women, and children roused from their sleep, " some in
their shirts, some quite naked," rushed with shouts and shriek
ing to the city. The drawbridge was lifted in their horrified
faces. The Lords Justices and the ladies a la mode, the
treasure and the records escaped to Clare Castle, thanks to
Y

322 THE SECOND SIEGE OF LIMERICK.
the courage of the dragoon escort Beyond burning a few
houses, and picking up some booty, the EngUsh attempted
nothing ; leaving a strong detachment to secure their bridge
they hastened back to quarters, for the invariably prudent
Ginkell expected a sally from the east front while the expedi
tion was hard at it in the west. Ignorant of the demoraliza
tion which Clifford's unaccountable misconduct (to speak
mildly) had produced within, not less than without, the walls,
he allowed the chance of capturing the place to slip.'
The raid if brilUant appeared barren. Dutch spirits did not
rise. That very evening, the Baron republished the proclama
tion of the 7th of July, promising free pardon, undisturbed
religion and restored estate to the men of Limerick, if they
surrendered within a week.
More, whether the siege should go on, or whether the army,
after destroying the harvest in Clare, should coldly blockade
the place — were questions keenly debated in a council. The
latter plan at first finding favour, the fortification of Kilmal
lock was proposed ; soon, however, the engineer charged with
the work received a countermand, and certain preparations
showed that Ireton's (now called Mackay's) fort would be
strongly occupied during the winter. The bridge of boats
was presently removed to a spot near St. Thomas's Isljmd.
Several guns were returned to the ships. Sailors landed in
batches to burn forage in Clare. Perplexity marked all the
British proceedings. Again it was resolved to pass the
Shannon in force, for the purpose, if things went well, of in-

' " Clytus (Clifford), who commanded at the pass where the enemy made
their bridge and passed over the Lycus (Shannon), was examined by a
councill of warr, where it was proved that the officer who made the round
that night gave him notice at severall times that the enemy were working
at the bridge ; but he always told them there was noe such thing, soe that
the hght horse, who were posted near to sustain the infantry guarding that
pass, had noe time to bring home their horses next moming, or to save
any part of their luggage, the alarm came soe hott and sudden, that it was
well they saved themselves, and came off with their lives. Clytus pro
tested himself innocent as to any treachery, tho' he could not deny but he
was guilty of an unpardonable neglect."— O'Kelly, Excidium Macarice.

THOMOND BRIDGE. 323
vesting the city on the west, or, should that be impracticable,
of wasting the district whence the enemy drew their supplies.
A battery, therefore, was constructed to take the besieged in
flank should they sally from St. John's gate while the troops
were operating on the right bank. Meanwhile, news arrived
that Sligo had surrendered on the same conditions as Galway.
The fact deserves notice because our sturdy old friend. Sir
Teague O'Regan, commanded the garrison. As might be ex
pected from his conduct at Charlemont, he hadmightilyplagued
the WilUamites in the north-west. On the 22nd of Septem
ber, the cavalry led by De Ruvigny, ten regiments of foot
(supplied with rations for ten days), and fourteen guns, under
Ginkell in person, crossed the pontoons into Clare. At 12
o'clock, their advanced guard was attacked and beaten back
by the Irish dragoons, but rapidly reinforced, the English
gained ground, and at 4 P.M. were before Thomond bridge.
Then, all the grenadiers, backed by five battalions, burst
upon the two towers or forts about a musket-shot ahead of
the bridge ; near which, too, was a gravel-pit held by mus
keteers. At most, the Irish did not exceed 800 men under
Colonel Lacy. For a time, the action was warm. The
Castle guns roared, a fusillade rattled from the walls. But
the English strength being constantly fed, while the Jacobite
detachment was scarcely seconded, weight told. The grena
diers — I'dme de I'infanterie, as the Marquis de Feuqui^re de
scribes them — swept like a storm, a puissant column following.
One of the towers and the quarry yielded. Soon the Irish
were retreating in confusion along the bridge, the grenadiers
so close on their heels that the Town Major ordered the draw
bridge to be raised. A dreadful scene ensued. Cooped up
within the narrow road-way, the Irishmen were easily disposed
of— many butchered with cold steel, many pushed bodily into
the water. Six hundred are said to have perished. One
hundred and thirty prisoners, including some officers of rank,
were taken. That Story's addition is, as usual, at fault, seems
certain, for by his own showing, Lacy had only 800 men in
hand, and that the whole party were put hors de combat
is incredible. The "London Gazette," of Sept 28, 1691, re-

324 THE SECOND SIEGE OF LIMERICK.
ports the British loss at "between 200 and 300 killed and
wounded." '
Despite the tower still holding out, the WilUamites effected
a lodgment within ten yards of the bridge. But the place it
self was intact The Castle cannon still spoke. The rain fell
in torrents. Bread and forage were short in camp. British
soldiers grumbled, and the Dutch general mused gloomily.
He little thought the pear so ripe. Next evening the governor
beat a parley. Sarsefield and Ginkell met : an armistice was
agreed upon.
What induced Lord Lucan and Major-General Wauchope
(both of whom had hitherto urged war) now to counsel peace
is not known. Internal dissension was probably their
motive. The moral effect of the recent defeat was naturally
great. The investment of the west front produced more dis
couragement than whirling bombs and blazing houses. Of
course, the peace party agitated briskly, plotters grew auda
cious. And, as the hope of French succour faded away, the
fear increased that, if the war went on, the good terms now
attainable might become impossible.
From a military stand-point, the second defence of
Limerick appears inferior to the first D'Usson, reputed an
intelligent officer, was evidently of lower professional stature
than De Boisseleau. Sarsefield, whose noble character
endeared him to all who served Ireland, was as a fish out of
water within the fortress. He should have ridden at the
head of the 3,000 horse outside. In the saddle instead of the
commonplace Sheldon, the catastrophe of the 16th of Sep
tember might have been averted. But faction, nay, trea
chery being afoot intra muros, his moral influence might have
been as essential there as his bloody spur was urgently de
manded in Clare. The mainspring of the disaster — the sur
prise of Clifford — cannot be explained to the credit of that
officer ; he was either knave or fool. And why, in the last
act. Colonel Lacy was not supported strongly remains a
' And yet Story coolly affirms, "We lost Lieutenant Starlin and 25
privates killed, and about three score wounded." — Impartial History.

TOO LATE.

325

mystery. And yet, Britons of these latter days should not be
hypercritical. Modern military history teems with trop-tard.
Was not our First Division too long inactive on the Alma ?
Was not our attack on the Redan altogether unsustained ?

XXXVIII.
END OF THE WILLIAMITE WAR.
1691.
^RMISTICE is the mother of peace. After a few
formal dinners and some clap-trap fence, the ill-
famed Articles of Limerick were settled on the
3rd of October in a manner favourable to Ireland.
The military section of them stipulated for the surrender of
the city and all other fortresses, out of which the troops
should march with all the honours of war. Soldiers so elect
ing should be conveyed to France, together with their effects,
at the cost of the English government. No persons should
be liable to actions for debt, on account of deeds done by
them during the war. The civil articles guaranteed to the
Catholics the religious privileges which they enjoyed in the
reign of Charles II. They should take the oath of allegiance
and no other, "All the inhabitants of Limerick, and any
other garrison now in the possession of the Irish, and all
officers and soldiers now in arms in the counties of Limerick,
Clare, Cork, Kerry, Sligo, and Mayo, or any of them (and all
such as are under their protection in the said counties) shall enjoy
the estates, &c., which they were rightfully entitled unto in the
reign of Charles II." All persons, of what profession or trade
soever, should practise their several callings as they used to do
in the reign of James II.
Such, in brief, were the salient points of a treaty which
many welcomed, more deplored, and all would soon execrate.

FAITHFUL TO THE LAST. 327
On both sides strenuous efforts were now made to enlist the
Irish troops. Ginkell left no stone unturned to get them into
the English ranks. Sarsefield appealed to their feelings in
favour of France. The clergy struck the religious chord with
effect. On the 6th of October, the Jacobite infantry, about
14,000 strong, paraded on the Clare side of the river. The
French and Irish officers, the Dutch staff, the WilUamite
Lords Justices inspected them. Then, Adjutant-General
Wythers took up his parable, and with the art of a sharp
recruiting sergeant vaunted the superiority of the British
service over that of the Gaul. The line, wheeling into
column, advanced. It had been arranged that the soldiers
intending to "take on" with England should turn to the
right on reaching a certain flag : those deciding for the fleur-
de-lys to march straight to the front. First came the Royal
Regiment (Dorrington's), 1,400 of the finest foot in Ireland.
To Ginkell's disgust this slashing corps strode sternly on :
only seven privates fell out for William. The two following
regiments rather raised his spirits ; Lord Iveagh's and Colonel
Wilson's Ulster men sought British pay. But, as a whole, the
listing grievously disappointed the Dutch general. About
1,000 men were all he had won over. '
A touching incident, surely, the expatriation of 18,000 Irish
officers and soldiers for the sake of King and religion.* The
Celt loves wife and children with passionate tenderness ; his
native soil is intensely dear to him. And yet the little army
of Anglo-Normans and Gael of Erinn determined to forsake
the old country, to tear themselves in many instances from
wailing famiUes, at the call of duty and of honour. In days
when wealth and material enjoyment are the grand aims
of existence, such conduct seems Quixotic and incompre
hensible.

' The men thus gained were formed into two battalions, the commands
of which were given to Colonel Wilson and Balderick O'Donnel.
" " Le roi a eu nouvelle que le comte de Chateau-Renaud dtoit arrivd. k
Brest, avec 14,000 Irlandais ; Sarsefieldest demeurd k Cork, et en amfenera
encore 4,000 sur des vaisseaux Anglois." — Journal de Dangeau.

328 END OF THE WILLIAMITE WAR.
To the writers who deride Irish loyalty, or libel it as re
bellion. Lord Plunket has eloquentiy repUed : " In unhappy
Ireland the exiled King was the professor and patron of the
religion to which they were enthusiastically devoted. He
must be a preposterous critic who will impute as a crime to
that unhappy people that they did not rebel against their
lawful king, because he was of their own religion, even if
they had been so fully admitted to the blessings of the British
constitution as to render them equally alive to the value of
freedom. They seemed, therefore, by the nature of things to
be necessarily thrown into a state of resistance."
While the details of the capitulation were being worked
out, the French fleet appeared in Dingle Bay ; and by the
26th of October, fifteen men-of-war, and many transports
laden with clothing, food, and arms, were in the Shannon.
Again and again, too late ! But the British Unes were agi
tated. Owing to scarcity of provisions, a large portion of the
army had already gone into winter quarters : only five regi
ments held English-town. Had the Jacobite commanders
been disposed they might have stirred the fire afresh. No
advantage, however, was taken of Chateau Renaud's presence
beyond requiring the Dutch general's attention to a strange
short-weight in the executed copy of the treaty. From the
2nd Article, which confirmed to officers and men of King
James's army in certain counties {and all such as are under
their protection in the said counties), their estates and properties,
the important words italicised were missing. The remonstrance
of Sarsefield being backed by the grim logic of the French
admiral, the clipped clause quickly regained its fair propor
tion. A curious business, certainly. When, in the following
year, William ratified the treaty, he pronounced the omission
accidental, and stated that it was not discovered till after the
deed was signed. Mr. Froude insinuates that "the Lords
Justices who had arrived at the camp when the treaty was
in progress, narrowed down the King's liberality, and extorted
harder terms than he had prescribed or desired." ' This is a
' " The English in Ireland."

THE FOREIGN VETERANS. 329
plausible theory resting on no evidence. It remains a ques
tion — whether the engrosser made an astounding blunder, or
whether a tremendous fraud was contemplated.
It is beyond the scope of these pages to relate the outcry
which the Articles of Limerick called forth. Those who
would know how mouths, watering for forfeitures, roared at
the treaty — how Bishop Dopping mounted the Christ Church
pulpit to expound to the Lords Justices that Protestants were
not bound to keep faith with Papists— how William was
assailed in the English Parliament for lenity to Irish " rebels "
— how the Articles were violated, the trade of Ireland de
stroyed, and her creed persecuted — must seek the woeful
narrative elsewhere.
The war was over. The power and wealth of England, the
military experience of the Continent, had mastered the little
island of the West, whose sole resource lay in willing but
unpractised arms, whose only ally was France — hard driven
herself Still, three painful campaigns and much money were
indispensable to bring Ireland to terms ; and such was the
spirit animating her that, had Chateau Renaud made the
Shannon a few days sooner, Ginkell's discomfiture was yet a
possibility. To Williamite success the Irish Protestant interest meagrely
contributed. It was the rare discipline, the cool courage, the
scientific acquirements of the foreign corps, that mainly car
ried the day. The Jacobites had no such partners. As regards
staff, generals, and cadres, they were far inferior to their oppo
nents. But a sanguine temperament, fighting aptitude, and
religious devotion, kept them to their colours, and when led
by a soldier of decided capacity they proved themselves in
the field equal to their soundly-trained and well-equipped
enemies. After following Irish troops through so many vicissitudes,
it is surprising to hear a brUliant writer assuring his readers —
" in their own country, in their efforts to shake off English
supremacy, their patriotism has evaporated in words, no ad
vantage of numbers has availed them, no sacred sense of

33° END OF THE WILLIAMITE WAR.
hearth and home has stirred their nobler nature." ' Such the
historical teaching to which American opinion has with so
much dignity been entreated to conform ! About 1 50 years
ago. Sir Charles Wogan — he was nephew of the Duke of Tyr
connel — wrote to Dean Swift as follows : " The English and
their adherents in Ireland have been in a long confederacy to
suppress or tarnish all the renown accruing to that unhappy
country from the worth and gallant actions of the Catholics.
Their pens are ever dipped in bitterness and detraction, as if
whatever could be reckoned valuable in that unfortunate
people were a lessening to the honour of the EngUsh nation,
to which all their incense is addressed."
In lashing the Scribes and Pharisees of his own time, the
Chevalier corrects the sardonic censor of 1872.
' Froude, " English in Ireland."

XXXIX.
BERWICK AT MONS AND LEUZE.
1691.
IT will be remembered that, by order of King
James, the Duke of Berwick left Ireland in Feb
ruary. On the 9th of March he accompanied his
father and Mary of Modena to Marly, and ob
tained the permission of Louis XIV. to serve, as a volunteer,
at the coming siege of Mons.
While Louvois secretly organized this expedition, William
was at the Hague presiding over a congress of princely
leaguers, on whom he impressed the necessity of raising a
force of 222,000 men ; England and Holland not only having
to array their contingents, but, as usual, to pay the expenses
of the whole muster.
Then — unsuspecting mischief — he departed with his friends
to hunt at Loo. One morning, however, the Spanish envoy
rushed into his presence with the frantic cry : " Mons is be
sieged ! the King of France besieges Mons ! " A few minutes,
and the representative of Savoy bursts on the startled stage :
" All is lost, the French are at Nice ! " The congress stands
aghast : monstrous ! besiege a place in March ! Nonsense !
contrary to rule. Castanaga won't believe it : —
" Avec tant de secret, d'activitd, d'adresse,
Un si grand dessein s'est conduit.
Que la nymphe qui vole, et qui parle sans cesse,
N'en a pu repandre le bruit."

332 BERWICK AT MONS AND LEUZE.
True enough, on the iSth of March, the Marquis de Boufflers
had invested Mons with a large detachment of dragoons, foot,
and field artillery.' About a week afterwards, I'Hercule tres-
chretien arrived. The Dauphin, the dukes of Orleans and
Chartres, a galaxy of volunteer gentilshommes attended him,
but the court ladies remained pouting at home ; for, much to
Madame de Maintenon's displeasure, Louvois had protested
against the cost of female society in camp.
As actively as circumstances admitted, William concen-'
trated troops, but the Germans were sluggish, the Spaniards
had neglected the commissariat and transport services ; con
sequently, he could only move as far as Halle with some
50,000 men.
Ignorant of his enemy's weakness, Louis nervously con
sulted the generals as to his mode of proceeding in the event
of an endeavour to raise the siege. Vauban maintained that
William neither would nor could advance ; and Louvois in
censed his master by deriding exaggerated apprehension and
excessive precaution.
At the head, then, of 80,000 men excellently supplied, the
King fixed his quarters to the south of the city, where Vauban
commenced operations against the works defending the Ber-
taimont gate. Marechal de Luxembourg commanded a corps
of observation on the north, the side alone open to attack from
the allies.
The garrison consisted of about 5,000 good troops, under
the Prince de Bergues. Ammunition and provisions abounded.
But the bourgeois were not of a self-sacrificing mind, and
24-pounders in conjunction with big mortars soon damaged,
not merely the fabric of the town, but the morale of its inha
bitants. In those days, war was gayer and more courteous than in
our more hypocritical epoch. Though the official beauties.

' He had ample instructions at all events. " II y a huit jours qu'on a
envoyd k M. de Boufflers I'instruction pour en former la sidge, la ddpeche
est de 147 pages de papier. M. de Louvois a dtd 4 heures k la lire au roi
assez vite. (Mars 14.) " — Journal de Dangeau.

HOMAGE TO THE FAIR. 333
Maintenon, Beauvilliers, Ghevreuse, Grammont, and the rest,
sighed neglected at Versailles, Louis did not forget that there
must be pretty faces within begirt Mons, who ought to be
amused as well as horrified ; and so, on the morning of the
26th the cannonade suddenly ceases, and lo ! the hautbois
of the regiment du Roi advance to the front and strike up
in honour of the fair citizens — many of whom straightway
cluster on the ramparts to enjoy the melodious homage to
their charms. As soon as the programme was played out,
mesdames and mesdemoiselles descended to their homes, and
fire recommenced smartly.'
Never had the French army been heartier or better fur
nished ; only one complaint could be heard — that the besieged
lacked spirit. So dissatisfied verily grew the young mus
keteers on this score, that, to please Boufflers when he com
manded in the trenches, Vauban reluctantly consented to the
assault of the advanced work. Two companies of grenadiers,
accompanied by Berwick and a glittering band of volunteers,
dashed at an imperfect breach, but ere they could make a
lodgment, so sharp was the fire from the ravelin and walls,
so many the Spaniards pouring in by the gorge, that the
assailants were repulsed with hea"vy loss : Boufflers himself
slightly wounded, and the ardent noblesse hard hit. Next
day another attack was launched. Though bravely defended,
the horn-work feU, but at the cost of much blood. All the
officers of grenadiers were either killed or wounded, and many
mousquetaires of ancient name perished in forcing a way to the
palisades of the raveUn.
On the 8th of April the garrison beat the chamard ; and
on the very day that a messenger from Marechal Catinat
brought news of the surrender of Nice, the capital of Hainault
capitulated. The siege of Mons, which, we are told, resembled
a f&te more than war, cost the French only fifty killed and
450 wounded. Immediately, Louis returned gouty to Ver
sailles. Seriously out of humour with the out-spoken Louvois,
he was peculiarly gracious to Vauban, to whom he presented
' Quincy, " Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand."

334 BERWICK AT MONS AND LEUZE.
100,000 francs, over and above an invitation to dinner, an
honour which, Dangeau affirms, gratified the great engineer
more than the money.' A remarkable distinction was also
in store for the regiments of guards: Louis conferred the
rank of colonel on all the captains, and ordered that the
colonel who commanded the guards should enjoy precedence
as premier colonel of the army.
Bidding the outwitted Spanish governor, Castanaga, the
driest of adieux, William withdrew to the Hague.
Soon after the surrender of Mons, the distribution of troops
for the summer campaign commenced. The army of Flan
ders under Mardchal de Luxembourg counted forty battalions
and 1 10 squadrons, to which might be joined twenty battalions
and sixty-four squadrons under Boufflers, between the Moselle
and the Meuse. Marechal de Lorges manoeuvred on the
Rhine, Catjnat was re-inforced in Italy, and the Duc de Noailles
operated in Catalonia.
In May Berwick again donned harness as a volunteer under
Luxembourg. Although nothing momentous occurred during
the campaign, our young soldier had the priceless advantage
of studying tactics and strategy under a master of the art.
He also learnt a lesson of humanity from the famous com
mander, but not quite immaculate gentlemaa Louvois
ordered Luxembourg to bombard Brussels. He energetically
remonstrated, and Vauban with capital sense supported his
general by writing to the Minister as follows : " Comme je
n'ai pas vu que les bombarderies d'Oudenarde, de Luxem
bourg, et de Li^ge aient acquis un pouce de terre au roi, et
que loin de cela, elles lui ont consomme beaucoup de muni
tions inutilement, extremement fatigu6 et affaibli nos troupes,
je ne lui ai rien voulu dire sur cela, parcequ'U m'a semble
aussi que c'est un tr^s mauvais moyen de se concilier le coeur
des peuples dans un temps ou les esprits de ce pays-ci sont
mieux disposes pour le roi, qu'ils n'ont jamais itL" *
• " II falloit un grade tres dlevd aux gens de fortune pour manger avec
le roi. On voit ici que Vauban qui dtoit lieutenant-gdndral, et I'ame de ses
sidges n'y avoit jamais mangd." — Journal de Dangeau.
'' Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."

THE MARQUIS DE LOUVOIS. 335
At the opening of hostilities, Luxembourg lay at Soignies,
covering Mons and threatening Brussels. With a force of
about equal strength William occupied the camp of Gembloux,
between Genappe and the Sambre. While the armies counter
marched and fenced, an eveijt of immense importance to
France befell — the death of the Marquis de Louvois on the
i6th of July. Many thought he had been poisoned. But the
physicians could find no trace of poison, and ascribed his end
to pulmonary apoplexy. Red-faced, short of neck, and replete
with boiUng blood, the opposition and annoyance which he
met with at Versailles' no doubt fostered the disease, and it
only required the grief occasioned by M. de Bulonde's failure
before Coni, to cut short his illustrious career at the age of
fifty. A firm friend, a bitter enemy, an indefatigable worker,
utterly unscrupulous as to his means to an end, no abler ad
ministrator ever lived. In his labour of thirty years he raised
the military power of France to a splendid height. The genius
of this great man is attested by the decline of the French
army system in the feebler hands of his successors. Of late
years he had become disagreeable to the King, who is reported
to have exclaimed : " Cette ann^e m'a ite heureuse, elle m'a
d^fait de trois hommes que je ne pouvais plus souffrir : Lou
vois, Seignelai, et La Feuillade." Such is the gratitude of
monarchs ! That rough and haughty temper, indeed, did not
inspire general affection. Such men as Catinat and Vauban
could honestly write to his family their affectionate condolence,
but the following anonymous epitaph probably reflected the
popular sentiment : —
" Ici git sous qui tout plioit
Et qui de tout avoit connaissance parfaite,
Louvois que personne n'aimoit
Et que tout le monde regrette."
The Marquis de Barbesieux, at the age of twenty-five, suc
ceeded his mighty father as minister of war ; but henceforth
Louis occupied himself exceedingly with the army, calling to

' Promoted by Madame de Maintenon, who hated Louvois on account
of his opposition to her marriage with Louis XIV.

336 BERWICK AT MONS AND LEUZE.
his side as counsellor and major-general, the accomplished
Chamlay, whom Turenne esteemed and Louvois trusted.'
The strategic game in Flanders ended with a brilliant com
bat of horse. Holding that, as of old, cavalry was the strong
arm on the field of battle, Louis wrote to the Duc de Luxem
bourg, desiring him to employ his squadrons freely against the
allies, and to refrain from an infantry combat, in which much
blood is spilt without any decisive effect^ To test such a
notion, no man more fitting than the marshal at present at
Tournay, William of Orange being encamped at Leuze, be
tween that place and Ath. Early in September, supposing
the campaign over, WilUam handed over the command to the
Prince of Waldeck, and departed for his favourite Loo. On
the 19th Waldeck moved towards Enghien, and, thinking the
distance from Tournay sufficient to prevent a sudden attack,
contented himself with a rear-guard of cavalry. But Luxem
bourg, a captain of daring activity and extraordinary coup
d'ceil, had, the day before, received intelligence of the march :
he might now gratify his sovereign with cavalry fighting. On
the night of the l8th he left Tournay with twenty -one
squadrons of the household troops, our old friend De Rosen
being ordered to follow later with thirty squadrons. Early
next morning he reached Leuze, the enemy perfectly un
conscious of his vicinity; for Tilly, who commanded their
rear-guard, had not even a vidette in front of the town. Gal
loping through the astonished streets, the French advanced-
guard, under Villars, discovered that, with the exception of
some fourteen squadrons, the allies had already passed the
Catoire. Supposing that he had only to do with a recon
naissance from Mons, and never dreaming that Luxembourg
might peradventure be nigh, Waldeck ordered his left wing of
horse to recross the stream, and draw up with their right on
' After describing the many agreeable social qualities of this clever
officer, the Duc de Saint-Sim.on says that he possessed " un grand sens,
et un talent unique k connaitre les pays, et n'oublier jamais la position des
moindres lieux, ni le cours et la nature du plus petit ruisseau." A staff
officer /ar excellence !
' Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."

COMBAT OF CAVALRY.

337

the brook of Leuze, their left on that of La Catoire. The
space between the two rivulets being narrow, the seventy
squadrons formed in three lines.
On joining Villars, the Marshal dismounted the dragoons,
sprinkling them — for the purpose of checking the enemy's in
fantry — to the right and left in the hedges. He then deployed
the cavalry in two lines : the first consisting of the Maison du
Roi and the regiment De Merinville ; the second of the Gen
darmerie. In a moment the guards, with whom Berwick and
Villars rode, hurled upon the foe, who stood the shock. Swords
clashed : " II est rare," says Villars, " que les escadrons soient
aussi longtemps mel^s sans se faire plier." Young Fitzjames
is reported to have slain an English officer hand to hand. At
length the allies gave way. While the Maison du Roi and
Merinville re-formed, the Gendarmerie, passing through the
Intervals, charged the" second line. In vain Auverquerque ex
horted them to stand. They fired their pistols and turned.
The third line followed suit, and the disorder was great. But
the hostile infantry now approaching, the French did not pur
sue beyond the brooks. Sending orders to Rosen, still some
distance in the rear, to halt, the Duke, with thirty captured
standards flying in the midst of his victorious horsemen, re
turned to Tournay, where he arrived just in time for dinner
and the play. In this lively affair the allies had 1,500 men
hors de combat, the French somewhat less. How sharp was
cavalry fighting in those days is shown by the statement that
out of thirty-two officers belonging to the first line, twenty-six
were killed or wounded, and the three squadrons of Merin
ville (360 sabres) had 190 troopers "gashed or slain. Lieu
tenant-General d'Auger fell leading the grand charge, and
Luxembourg himself had a narrow escape ; a life-guardsman of
Ormond's troop' recognizing the Duke, galloped at him with
pointed pistol and " sword hanging by knot from his wrist."
But the " hump-backed dwarf," after parrying the pistol with
his clouded cane, rapped the cavalier over the head with the
dainty tool, and the soldiers thereabout despatched him.
' Now represented by the 2nd Life Guards.
Z

338 BERWICK AT MONS AND LEUZE,
Contrary to the royal doctrine, this furious engagement had
no result beyond parents' tears. The opinion of the fantastic
Folard on this subject was more sagacious than the dictum
" Herculi Christianissimi." The chevalier wrote : " Je suis per
suade qu'a la premiere guerre la cavalerie sera d'un beaucoup
moindre usage que I'infanterie, cela n'empechera pas d'en
lever beaucoup, et d'en inonder le pays sans aucune necessity.
On ne trouve pas toujours des Turennes qui se contentent de
peu."' But the promptitude of Marechal de Luxembourg in
chastising an enemy who had presumed to decamp without
taking proper measures for the security of his rear guard —
separated from the main corps by a defile — conveyed an im
portant lesson to volunteer Fitzjames. He learnt how dan
gerous it is for a general to imagine himself safe, because a
considerable distance interposes between his army and the
enemy. " Cette action," writes that shrewd military critic,
the Marquis de Feuquiere, " fait sentir qu'un g^n^ral, dans la
pensde que son arm^e est hors de port^e de celle de son
ennemi, ne doit jamais se ndgUger sur les attentions a prendre
pour la siiret^ de ses mouvemens. II ne s'en doit jamais
faire aucun a la guerre que de la meme maniere et avec les
memes precautions que s'ils etoient fait en presence de
I'ennemi. D'ailleurs par la tolerance pour la negligence dans
la service et dans les mouvemens, un general autorise les
troupes a s'accoutumer au relachement et a I'inappUcation." *
Excellent advice constantly transgressed. In October the
adversaries settled down in winter quarters, the French about
Courtray, the British contingent of the allies being billeted at
Breda, Bergen op Zoom, and Bois le Duc.
The volunteers of course betook themselves to Paris for
diversion, or to their chateaux for sport. Berwick sojourned in
' The Chevalier Jean Charles de Folard, born at Avignon in 1669, died
there in 1752. A very clever, but very eccentric writer on the art of war,
he once exclaimed, " Ah, Moise dtait un grand homme, il avait devind ma
colonne." Frederic the Great declared, " il avait enfoui des diamants, au
miUeu du fumier."
" " Mdmoires de M. de Feuquifere."

A ROYAL GARDENER. 339
the gloomier atmosphere of Saint-Germain. Now and then
attending James in his visits to Louis, he had the pleasure of
hunting the wolf with the court at Fontainebleau, or following
the stag at Marly. Occasionally, too, the honour was vouch
safed him of contemplating the Grand Monarque en deshabille
as he planted trees at Versailles : an august spectacle which
may have sowed the seeds of that taste for gardening which
in after life became the warrior's hobby.

XL.

THE SEA-FIGHT OFF LA HOUGUE.
1692.
iEVERAL thousands of Irish troops having by
this time arrived at Brest, James travelled thither
in mid December to review them. Berwick was
his aide-de-camp. After a fortnight spent in
minute inspection, the royal exile was recalled to Saint-
Germain by Mary Beatrice, whose confinement approached.
If the Queen's EngUsh persecutors were capable of shame,
they must have blushed now. Soon after his return, James
went to Versailles, and was able to report to Louis that, in
cluding Mountcashel's brigade, now serving in Catalonia,
there would soon be 20,000 Irishmen under the white flag."
He suggested that they should be clothed in scarlet.
The re-organization of Pat, Mick, and Rory proceeded
rapidly. Officers of the French guards went to Brittany to
drill the battaUons. Lord Galmoy and Dominic Sheldon
were appointed colonels of the two regiments of horse. Two
companies of gardes -du-corps were recruited from among the
young Irish gentlemen ; Berwick had the command of the
First, the gallant Sarsefield of the Second Company.

' Mountcashel's brigade
Sarsefield's troops .

6,039
12,326

18,365
O'Callaghan, History of Irish Brigade.

A SCOLD. 341
And now interviews long and secret took place between
Louis and James. Sometimes such men as TourviUe,
D'Amfreville, Gabaret and Chateau Renaud were present
It does not appear, however, that previous to the middle of
April the object of these conferences was surmised. About
that time, the gathering of troops in Normandy and activity
in the Brest dockyards left little doubt in the public mind
that a descent on England impended. Singularly enough,
preparations were simultaneously being made in England for
a hostile visit to the French coast.
At last the adventure, on which James had been long brood
ing, seemed opportune. A change in British feeling had
certainly cast up. Whig surpassed Tory in reviling the new
regime. That wonderful mixture of weakness and strength,
meanness and grandeur, Lord Marlborough, had written lately
to his old benefactor imploring forgiveness. The Princess
Anne had sent a penitential letter. Godolphin, HaUfax, and
Shrewsbury yearned toward Saint-Germain. Distinguished
admirals were " unsteady," the seamen sullen, the Lancashire
gentlemen raised regiments. Unseemly quarrels raged be
tween the royal sisters. Nay, under the tuition of " Mr. and
Mrs. Freeman," the illustrious "Mrs. Morley" had become so
estranged from the Court that with the impetuous candour of
angry females — princess no less than fish-fag — she bestowed on
her brother-in-law such descriptive sobriquets as " Caliban,"
" Monster," and " Dutch Abortion." '
James, therefore, succeeded in persuading his host that cir
cumstances were at present favourable to a counter-revo
lution ; in fact, that the army would be managed in his
interest by Mariborough, the fleet by Russell, and a powerful
party of the Church by the orthodox Anne*
As a Stuart restoration would deal a heavy blow to the
League of Augsburg, policy as well as generous feeling im
pelled Louis to aid his unhappy cousin. Standing then on
the defensive in Germany, Piedmont and Spain, he resolved to

Coxe, " Life of Marlborough."
Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."

342 THE SEA-FIGHT OFF LA HOUGUE.
bear heavily on Flanders, and to defy Britain on her peculiar
element. In January, 20,000 men, the majority of whom
were Irish, began to muster under the Marechal de Bellefonds
in Normandy. One fleet was equipped at Brest, another at
Toulon. Three hundred transports were hired. On the 24th
of April, James arrived at Caen, where he was speedily joined
by the Duke of Berwick, low in health but high in spirit, and
other English, Scotch, and Irish officers. They found the
Irish corps in fine order, and completely re-shaped in two com
panies of horse guards, two regiments of horse, two of dis
mounted dragoons, eight regiments of foot (having two bat
talions each), and three independent companies. In all, 12,326
fighting men. Lord Lucan and Richard Hamilton (just ex
changed for Lord Mountjoy) were the lieutenant-generals.
Lord Galmoy, Sheldon, and Wauchope, the marechaux-de-
camp, or generals of brigade.
In May the corps d'armh was ready for any service. How
ever, contrary winds hindered the coming up of the transports,
and withheld the Mediterranean squadron from the rendezvous
at Brest. Anticipating a junction of the English and Dutch
fleets, Comte de TourviUe urged upon Louis the danger of
attempting to clear the way for the expedition, before he was
reinforced by D'Estrees from Toulon. But, no longer biassed
by counsellors like Louvois and Seignelay, understanding
from James — whom he knew to be in correspondence with
Admirals Russell and Carter — that a large defection of the
British fleet might be depended on, the King peremptorily
commanded TourviUe to seek out the enemy " fort ou foible,
ou que ce fut." The great seaman, smarting under reflections
which had unjustly been cast on his conduct at Beachey Head,
at once weighed with forty-four sail of the Une. When it was
too late, Louis — hearing of the arrest of Marlborough, and
other peers — sent corvettes in all directions to stop him.
The winds, adverse to the Stuarts, blew propitiously for
Orange. The Dutch and English men-o'-war united. In the
absence abroad of her husband, Mary appealed with spirit to
the blue-jackets. The intriguers were puzzled. Their hearts
inclined to James, still professional pride revolted against

TOUR VILLE AND RUSSELL. 343
betrayal of trust under fire.' And so at least ninety ships of
the line stood out for the French coast on the 28th of May.
Next morning, the foes met off Cape Barfleur. TourviUe, in
the " Soleil Royal," of 106 guns, reputed the finest vessel
afloat, bore down on Russell's flag-ship, the " Britannia."
" Now every valiant mind to victory doth aspire ;
The bloody fight's begun, the sea's itself on fire."
In the roar and agony of fight, politics die. No desertion
occurred. The conflict, especially in the centre, was furious
where Tourville's and Russell's flags were flying. In the
evening, surrounded by preponderating enemies, the French
men seemed lost. But the daring skill of Gabaret and Coet-
logon rescued the admiral, beset by three or four broadsides,
and, a thick fog suddenly bechancing, the action was stayed
for a time. TourviUe took advantage of its cover to work into
a safer position. When it dispersed, battle was resumed, and
without loss of ships to the French lasted till nightfall.
It being obviously impossible to re-engage next morning,
the count and his lieutenants decided to attempt the Raz de
Blanchard, and, gaining a tide on the enemy, run for Brest.
On the third day, twenty-nine ships clearing that dangerous
channel, got safe to Saint Malo. But fifteen line-of-battle
ships, too badly damaged to answer the helm with liveliness,
missed the tide. Three went ashore at Cherbourg, the rest,
doubling the point of Barfleur, anchored off La Hougue. The
allied fleet now separated — Ashby's squadron sailed for, but
did not essay the Raz de Blanchard, Delaval destroyed the
three ships aground, " Le Soleil Royal " being one. Russell,
with the crowd of sail, watched La Hougue. Thus, the French
had time to disembark guns and munitions to a large extent,
and also to drag in shore, so far as the tide permitted, the
unlucky men-o'-war. Forts Liffet and La Hougue, it was
hoped, might defend them. A strange and awful scene — the
noble ships hard and fast, the shore ringing with the voices of

' Throughout his correspondence Russell entreated James to prevent
the two fleets from meeting.— Dalrymple, Memoirs of Great Britain.

344 THE SEA-FIGHT OFF LA HOUGUE.
astonished soldiers : James and TourviUe, Berwick and Sarse
field, Bellefonds and D'Amfreville, discussing the emergency
with ineffable emotion.
At length, the English fleet having re-assembled, Russell
made ready to attack. As regards the defence, no positive
decision appears to have been taken. James and Marechal de
Bellefonds, it is said, lost time in talk, and resisted Tourville's
workmanlike proposals. Be that as it may, Rooke ran in
shore with his squadron to burn. But water being insufficient,
the duty fell to the boats, covered by fire from the frigates.
In spite of the shore batteries, and the French admiral's
endeavours, six ships were in flames that day. On the next
the rest shared the same fate. We are told that when James
saw the British tars clambering out of their boats up the sides
of the devoted vessels, old professional enthusiasm so swelled
within him, that, with his crown crackling in the fire, he
shouted, " Ah ! none but my English sailors could do so
brave an .action." Dull indeed must be the heart which esprit
de corps cannot quicken ! Nor did Louis XIV. want mag
nanimity on this occasion. When the brave De TourviUe
presented himself, the King said, " Je suis tr^s-content de vous,
et de toute la marine; nous avons et6 battus, mais vous
avez acquis de la gloire, et pour vous et pour la nation." '
Such was the sea-fight of La Hougue — a heavy blow to
James, and a great disaster to the French, which might have
been averted, had Vauban and Colbert been permitted to
construct a military port at Cherbourg.
Some writers have considered this battle as the ruin of the
French navy. Rather too strong an opinion, for at the com
mencement of the year France possessed 120 men-o'-war,
ranging from the first to the fifth class ; 190 fire-ships, &c.,
besides a large squadron of galleys.* At La Hougue she
only lost fifteen ships. From this date, no doubt, a decline
in naval efficiency is apparent, the cause of which is not far to
seek — the fleet missed Seignelay, as the army lacked Louvois.
' "Journal de Dangeau."
^ "Revue des deux Mondes," March i, 1873.

DOMESTIC COMFORT. 345
Do the results of those bereavements convey no warning to
ourselves ? Are we not in some danger of forgetting the
morale of administration ? We copy with servility the works
of other peoples. We polish this ; we alter that ; we innovate
more eagerly than intelligently, often without due regard to
English bent and custom. Even if we obtain what, in the
abstract, is a first-rate machine, will not its efficiency in a
crisis depend upon the mind which regulates its action ?
A capital system invariably deteriorates without the super
intendence of vigorous intelligence and resolute wUl. It
becomes, so to speak, a brawny idiot, with muscles up to any
exertion, but bereft of the brain necessary to turn such power
to account.
Soon after the defeat off the Norman coast, James returned
to Saint Germain, in time to be present at the birth of a
daughter — Louise Mary — "which gave him at least some
domestic comfort,"' and Berwick hastened to the army in
Flanders. ' Clarke, " Life of James II."

XLI.
THE WORK OF LOUVOIS.
\S the Duke of Berwick will henceforth wear the
uniform of France, it may be weU to notice the
reforms effected in her military system by the
Marquis de Louvois.
In the middle of the seventeenth century the war organiza
tion, though highly esteemed by strangers, teemed with
abuses. With the exception ofthe French and Swiss Guards
and a few foreign troops, only twelve regiments of foot were
permanently embodied,' the mass of the infantry being raised
in the face of an emergency, and disbanded on the signature
of peace.
When circumstances required an augmentation of the army,
the Secretary of State issued commissions in the King's name
for the recruiting of regiments or of companies, as the case
might be. These commissions were deemed private property
by the persons possessing them ; hence, the colonels, in their
regiments, and the captains, in their companies, used either
to sell or to give away — according to the generosity of their
tempers or the lightness of their purses — such appointments

' These regiments were called les vieux and les petits-vieux. The for
mer title embraced the regiments : (i) Picardie, (2) Pidmont, (3) Cham
pagne, (4) Navarre, (5) Normandie, (6) La Marine. Under the latter
name were, (7) Rambure, afterwards Feuquifere, (8) Castlenau, (9) Au
vergne, (10) Sault, (ii) Baudeville, (12) Saint- Vallier, afterwards la regi
ment du Roi.

DISORDER. 347
as might be worth having. All this, however, was " contrary
to regulation."
As with ourselves till the other day, there was an active
traffic in certain grades : prices rose and fell after the manner
of the Stock Exchange. At the commencement of a war, the
value of commissions in the newly-raised corps was high ;
but, on rumours of peace, down went biddings, and peace
pure et simple extinguished offers altogether, for the regiments
being dissolved, the officers went to the right-about. On the
other hand, commissions in the vieux et petits-vieux were
always dear in the market, being taken for permanent invest
ment. Although the pay drawn directly by the officers was poor
enough, the State imposed on them the enUsting and equip
ping of their men ; at the same time, the commissaries ap
pointed by the Government to see that the captains dealt
fairly with the soldiers were, like their English brethren, often
either officially blind or designedly careless. Consequently,
relaxed discipline, officers more eager after pickings than
zealous in their duties, and privates ill fed, in rags, ripe for
robbery, and prone to desertion.
Besides what they could make out of their men, the captains
drew on the taxpayers through a ruse, called passe-volants,
which worked thus : at the periodical musters, petty trades
men and private servants, dressed up d la militaire, fell into
the ranks, and were charged for as effectives in the pay-lists.
Constantly did generals complain of the cheat, and the Duc
de Luxembourg thus tersely suggests a corrective : " II me
semble qu'il faut se prendre directement aux capitaines de la
hardiesse qu'ils ont de montrer leurs compagnies si forte pour
le payement, et si foible pour le service." '
But the end of disorder was nigh. In 1662 Fran9ois Michel
le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, only twenty-one years of age,
assumed the direction of the War Department A strong
will, common sense clear as crystal, and indefatigable energy,
marked him out for the place. Rough of manner and of
' Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."

348 THE WORK OF LOUVOIS.
tongue perchance to talkers and visionaries, he was ever ready
to listen to men of intelligence and experience — "Je ne
m'accommode en fagon du monde," says he, "des decisions
qui ne sont pas accompagn^es de raisonnements qui ^clairent
mon ignorance." This was the man who raised the military
administration of France from the confusion and corruption
begotten during the anarchy of the Fronde, to a purity and
efficiency previously unknown in Europe.
It was not by sweeping innovation that Louvois effected
the change. PubUc feeling in France forbade revolutionary
action. Had he set to work like Carnot, he would have com
mitted political suicide, without ridding the army of a single
abuse. What the young minister did was to repair the fabric,
in accordance with the original design. He regulated firmly,
judiciously, harshly sometimes, in the spirit of ancient custom.
He could no more abolish "purchase " in France than WiUiam
of Orange could abolish it in England. He let it alone, then,
as a principle, but he set bounds to it in practice. Seeing him
of a temper unlikely to connive at the evasion of the royal
ordinances, the officers learnt to respect the rules of the ser
vice. Never stooping to a job himself, he smote jobbers with
a heavy hand. Without altering the functions of captains
and colonels, he compelled them to do their duty faithfully.
The company was still filled up by the captain ; ' but Louvois
took good care that volunteers really fit for war were en
listed, and that having served his time (five years was the
period in 1666), the soldier should be free to claim his dis
charge, or to contract another engagement. It may be ob
served that " the authorities " of that day preferred recruits of
from twenty to thirty years of age to smock-faced striplings,
deeming grown men alone able to sustain the hardships of a
campaign. Having caught Mouldy, Wart, and BuUcalf, it was the

' Like the English kites, the " racoleurs," employed by the captains
" de faire les hommes" were masters of the art of inveiglement ; drunken
ness, debauchery, even violence, being the usual suasions of voluntary en
listment.

FLLNT AND STEEL. 349
captain's business to clothe them. The first French soldiers clad
in uniform were, of course, the Guards. The regiments of the
line gradually followed in the wake ; quickened, indeed, by
the smarter air of the Swiss, the colonels anticipated a general
order on the subject. As regards tailoring, Louvois appears
to have been careless ; perhaps he feared uniform might entail
too heavy an expense upon the officers, perhaps he was over
contemptuous of " pipe-clay." Be that as it may, he wrote,
on the 8th of April, 1673, characteristically to the Duc de
Luxembourg : " II ne faut pas songer a faire habiller I'infan
terie de neuf pour cette ann6e, ni tout d'une parure, il faut se
contenter de faire raccommoder ce qu'il y a des trous, et ne
s'appliquer qu'a faire mettre en bon 6tat les armes, les chaus-
sures et les bas." Imagine our Horse Guards having to do
with a War Minister so coarsely utilitarian !
By 1685, however, uniform had become a matter of regu
lation throughout the army ; blue being the colour assigned to
the French guards and royal regiments, red to the Swiss, and
modest grey to the line.
But if lax on the score of dress, the authorities were strict
enough concerning armament. Precise rules directed the
lengths of pikes and swords, the calibre of muskets, and the
pattern of bandoliers.
For twenty-four years a controversy raged about the newly-
invented fusil with flint and steel lock versus the old match
lock musket. The younger officers maintained the superior
efficiency of the former ; the King, the Minister of War, and
most of the generals declared for the latter, in conjunction
with the pike. " One of these days, peradventure," they said,
" the fusil may oust the match-lock. Experience shall decide
the point. But, as matters stand, the pike is indispensable,
inasmuch as it constitutes the actual defence of infantry
against cavalry." Thus, discussion went on, until Vauban
hit on the present mode of fixing the bayonet, instead of the
process of ramming it into the muzzle of the piece. Then,
the fusil coming into general use, the pike disappeared.'

' Before the fusil was universally served out, every company of seventy

350 THE WORK OF LOUVOIS
Some of us may remember a kindred debate about " Brown
Bess" (the fusil of i6o years since), and the Mini6 rifle, which
the Russian war speedily decided.
Before the appointment of Louvois, pay was neither fixed
in am*ount nor regularly issued. It even varied in regiments
of the same arm ; and the arrears were often large. Confusion
and complaint then without ceasing. Louvois cut the grievance
.short. He settled the rates for all ranks, and established
punctual payment : the foot soldier received five sous a day,
the heavy horseman fifteen sous, and the dragoon eleven sous.
In war time, when the Government supplied bread and forage,
one sous was deducted from the daily pay of the foot soldier,
eight sous from that of the " heavy," and five from that of the
dragoon. Now, for the emoluments of the captain. In ordinary
times, the infantry captain drew 75 livres a month (say £() in
our present money). During a campaign he received half as
much again. He was also permitted to retain one sous from
the daily pay of every soldier, out of which he was supposed
to keep in good condition the clothes, shoes, accoutrements,
and arms of his men. Moreover, when the company's effective
.stood at fifty rank and file, he was entitled to the pay of three
soldiers, and five soldiers when the strength reached sixty men.
Besides their personal obligations of bed, place by the fire
side, and candle, the inhabitants of places where troops lay
during the winter were assessed to contribute five livres a day
to each company of foot ; of this four livres nine sous went to
the captain for the general use of his men ; the subalterns
pocketed the surplus. But citizens having cavalry quartered
on them were burdened with an " utensile " (as it was called)
at least three times heavier than the above.
Passe-volants, or sham soldiers, were now struck at piti
lessly. At first the lash was tried. Then branding upon the
forehead or cheek, in addition to the " cat." Afterwards came

rank and file had twenty pikemen — the strongest and best paid privates
of the company — and the captain was ordered to arm four intelligent men
with the new-fangled fusil for purposes of experiment.

COLONEL MARTINET. 351
the penalty of death. In 1676, milder ideas prevailing, the
offender lost his nose in exchange for his life. Any soldier
reporting a passe-volant received his immediate discharge,
together with a douceur of a hundred livres out of the allow
ances of the fraudulent captain, cashiered into the bargain.
More just, perchance, it might have been, if the greedy officer
suffered nasal amputation in lieu of his vulgar accomplice.
But previous to the Revolution, it was not the fashion to
argue thus.
Nor were tricky commissaries long in discovering the weight
of the minister's displeasure. Those whom he discovered
winking at false musters, trudged to prison. On the other
hand, he not only protected good and faithful servants of the
public against the rage of captains "with powerful interest,"
but promoted them.
To purge the army of obsolete routine, stimulate the flag
ging zeal of officers, and kindle the martial spirit of soldiers,
Louvois instituted inspectors of cavalry and infantry. The
first appointed was Lieutenant-Colonel Martinet, of the rdgi-
m,ent du Roi, a corps formed in 1662 as a model for French
foot Neither noble nor courtier, this Martinet ; only the pro
mising boy of a respectable bourgeois family, such as Louvois,
from a fellow feeling perhaps, delighted to patronize' Intel
ligent, energetic, and highly educated. Martinet was of
immense use in his generation, and yet his name is a by
word among us — the synonym, not of sterling leadership, but
of stupid pedantry. The blockhead, whose military ideas are
limited to the tailor's shop and " marching past Uke a wall,"
is described as a Martinet !
On his appointment in 1668 he received admirable instruc
tions from the Minister of War relative to the course he was
to pursue : — First of all. Colonel Martinet must see that the
foot was composed of men in point of age and equipment fit

' The illustrious Le Tellier did not belong to the ancient nobility. His
pedigree could not be traced beyond his great-grandfather, maitre des
comptes, and an ardent and prosperous leaguer.— Rousset, Histoire de
Louvois.

352 THE WORK OF LOUVOIS.
for marching. That the infantry should consist of tall men
was not urgent, short men would answer the purpose equally
well, but all sickly (malingres) soldiers should be discharged
forthwith ; nor was it imperative that the officers be dressed in
rigid uniformity, but that the troops should be decently clad,
solidly shod, and efficiently armed was indispensable. Then
Louvois goes on to inform his inspector that the King has de
cided on stationing in every garrison town a capable officer,
whose duty it would be to report whether the regimental
officers preserved strict discipline in their companies, and
whether the troops were drilled frequently and according to
the prescribed regulation. It must suffice to mention that the
discipline of the cavalry was also closely attended to by the
inspector. Colonel Tourilles.
Implicit obedience to superior authority was exacted from
every officer, no matter his rank and his riches. On the 22nd
of August, 1673, Louvois writes as follows to General La
Leureti^re : — " Le roi d&ire que vous fassiez mettre a prison
ou au cachot le premier officier qui ne vous ob^ira pas, ou qui
vous fera la moindre difficultd." Sharp and decisive this; —
somewhat after the manner of Napoleon I.
The French nobles and gentlemen entered the army as
cadets. Before they could be gazetted, they were obUged to
shoulder the musket like private sentinels. Cadets belonging
to the premiire noblesse alone h%id the privilege of serving
their apprenticeship in the Gardes du corps, the Mousquetaires,
or the Colonel's Company of the regiment du Roi ; having
done duty in this way for at least two years, they were eli
gible to purchase companies of cavalry or infantry. Cadets
of thicker blood were distributed by couples in the companies
of Une regiments, and had to await their turn for commissions.
The first step varied according to circumstances ; for, al
though during war the King used to issue sub-lieutenancies,
cornetcies, and ensigncies, these extra brevets lapsed- on the
return of peace, two ensigns only being allowed to each foot
regiment, and two cornets to every squadron of horse' In
' When Louvois assumed the control of the War Department, he dis-

RISING FROM THE RANKS. 353
ordinary times, then, the first commission was that of
lieutenant. And it is worth noticing that, notwithstanding
permission to buy and sell companies and regiments, traffic in
the subaltern ranks was absolutely forbidden. No cadet could
become an officer, and no officer could purchase his company,
until he had earned the recommendation of an inspector as
well as satisfied his colonel. To keep down the expenses of
officers, Louvois — in spite of every obstacle — fixed the price
of a cavalry regiment at 22,500 livres (;^920), and of a cavalry
company at 12,000 livres (;^48o).
To encourage aspiring rank and file, the sergeant of
foot, and quartermaster-sergeant of horse, being accounted
"officers," were exempt from the summary punishments to
which the privates were subject. When charged with offences,
they had the honour of trial by court-martial. Nor were
sergeants without hope of promotion, as the following anecdote
shows. In 1674, "un fort joli gar^on," Sergeant La-Fleur of
the regiment Dampierre, was patrolling with twenty-one men
near Grave. Creeping unperceived close up to the enemy's
outposts, he placed his party in ambush, captured some pri
soners, and was returning triumphant to camp, when, on a
sudden, he was set upon by two hundred Dutch from Bois-le-
duc. But barricading himself and men in a cottage hard by,
the sergeant opened a brisk fire of musketry and grenades.
After half-an-hour's combat, the Dutchmen fled, leaving
thirty-four of their fellows dead or wounded behind. And so
La-Fleur marched into Grave, all his captives to the good, and
having lost but one private killed, and another wounded.
The governor warmly recommended the "joli gargon" to
Louvois ; " the whole regiment," writes M. de Chamilly,
" praises the sergeant, and you cannot do better than promote
him." The minister replies, " His Majesty highly appreciates

covered that certain clerks were accustomed to make money by influencing
under-hand the granting of commissions. The knaves were immediately
discharged, and a woman who had acted as go-between in the transac
tions was sent to prison, with the view of eliciting from her further infor
mation. — The Marquis never hushed up rascality. — Journal de Dangeau.
A A

354 THE WORK OF LOUVOIS.
the gallant conduct of the sergeant of Dampierre, and
appoints him lieutenant. He shall also receive 500 livres as a
reward for his bravery." M. Rousset, from whose excellent
work, "L'Histoire de Louvois," I have taken the story,
wonders whether this brave soldier ever obtained the means
to buy a company. What a satire on the purchase system !
Only by the united dint of Court favour and cash could
captains acquire the rank of colonel and command of a regi
ment. However, there was a chance for poor captains : the
more intelligent of them were made majors and lieutenant-
colonels — grades excluded from purchase, and, so to speak,
outside the regular course of promotion, for the captain,
favoured by circumstances, bought his colonelcy irrespectively
of those appointments.
Perhaps the most useful officer in the regiment was the
lieutenant-colonel. A practised soldier, his duty often con
sisted in dry-nursing his rich, highborn — and peradventure
boy — colonel. In an "instruction" written by the Marechal
de Belle-Isle for the use of his son, the Comte de Gisors, who
at the age of seventeen had purchased the regiment of Cham
pagne, the marshal indicates the importance of the regimental
Nestar : — " Treat your lieutenant^colonel," he says, " with
every respect ; never issue an order without consulting him.
I have often given this advice, this command, and I shall
renew it whenever I see occasion to do so. If, like some
young chiefs, you fail in respect or consideration for the
lieutenant-colonel, I shall conceive a most unfavourable
opinion of you ; and, depend on it, you would soon fall a
victim to your imprudence ; the regiment, divided between you
and him, would become the prey of parties, of cabals,, and
never more need you hope to do any good in it" '
The lieutenant-colonel retained his company (No. 2) as did
the colonel his company (No. i), but a captain, on becoming
major, resigned that charge, and applied himself exclusively to
supervising the interior economy of the regiment. The
modern rank of chef de bataillon or escadron did not exist
' Rousset, " Le Comte de Gisors."

COMMAND OF THE REGIMENT.

355

under the old Bourbons. When the regiment consisted of
several battalions or squadrons, the first of them was com
manded directly by the colonel, the second by the lieutenant-
colonel, and the third by the senior captain, and so on
seriatim.

XLIL
IN BATTALIA.
RAVING considered their various elements, the
troops may now be glanced at as formed corps.
On the right of the army, distinguished by
enviable privileges, higher pay, splendid uniform,
and a special organization, we find the household troops —
Maison die Roi and gendarmerie. Before 1664 the gardes du
corps were parade soldiers rather than mighty men of war;
but Louis XIV. cleared away all mere ornamental rubbish.
By his regulation, the captains were always nobles of the
highest rank, or marshals of France. The subalterns had
commonly the rank of general officers. Purchase was rigor
ously excluded. To be a private guardsman it was necessary
that the recruit should be a CathoUc, be well-proportioned,
possess a beard, and be more than twenty-eight years of age.
It was desirable that he should be a gentleman, in which case
it was indispensable he should have served two years before
joining the guards, five years' previous service being required
from aspirants of lower social standing.' The effective of the
gardes du corps varied from 100 men a company in 1664 to
400 a company in 1676, each of the four companies forming
two squadrons. Next appeared the company of gendarmes
and the company of light cavalry of the guard. Then came
two gallant companies {rouge et noir) of the Mousquetaires du
Roi. Consisting exclusively of noblemen, the mousquetaires

' Circular of September 1st, 1676.

THE CAVALRY. 357
were at first accounted infantry ; but before long they fell in
with the Maison du Roi, without ceasing, however, to perform
the double part of horse and foot. They claimed as a right
the post of danger — the head of the column of assault at a
siege, the front of the charge in the field — a grand privilege of
the guards.
Immediately on the left of the Maison du Roi glittered the
renowned gendarmerie. As admirable for discipline as for
valour, this corps was the pride of the people and the model
of the French cavalry. The King himself deigned to be cap
tain of the four senior companies, viz., the Scotch, English,
Burgundian, Flemish, the other companies being La Reine,
Dauphin, Anjou, and Monsieur. The Maison du Roi and
gendarmerie united reached, in 1678, a total of 3,420 effeptives.
The heavy cavalry of the line consisted of royal regiments
having three squadrons at least, and the regiments de gentils
hommes, which took the name of their colonels for the time
being, and had sometimes two, sometimes three squadrons.
In 1690 the French cavalry, including the gendarmerie and
dragoons, presented a total of 90,000 horses. The cavaliers
belonged either to the noblesse, or to the bonne bourgeoisie.
Treated with marked courtesy, they were always addressed
as " Messieurs." '
The dragoons, or mousquetaires d cheval (as they were
originally called), having been previously described, it is
enough to say here that they proved so useful on service that,
from two regiments in 1669, they had expanded into fourteen
regiments in 1678. " Le dragon," cries Michelet, "c'etait le
soldat le plus gai, le soldat k la mode, dont on contait les tours
comme ceux du Zouave aujourd'hui ! Le dragon, c'est le
diable a quatre."'' In 1692, a number of Hungarian refugees
offering their swords to Louis, the light horse called Hussars
were introduced into the service.
The French and Swiss guards stood in the same position to
the infantry as the Maison du Roi did to the cavalry. In
' Challamel, " Mdmoires du peuple frangais."
' " Louis XIV. et Revocation de I'Edit de Nantes."

3S8 IN BATTALIA.
1691 the regiment of French Guards consisted of thirty-two
companies (150 rank and file to each company), divided into
six battalions. The standard height for privates was about
five feet ten inches English measure. In spite of Louvois's
efforts in opposition, a company frequently realised 80,000
livres (.^3,200). We already know, that, yielding to social
pressure, Louis conferred the rank of colonel in the army on
the captains of the guards, a concession which M. Rousset
justly describes as injurious to the healthy organization of the
service, and quite contrary to the wishes of Louvois.'
Ten companies (200 men to each company) composed the
regiment of Swiss Guards. The ordinary French foot regi
ment was divided into three battalions, each battalion con
taining twelve companies, varying in strength from fifty to
sixty rank and file. As an example of the value of the
colonelcy of one of the old corps, it may be remarked that
M. d'Usson, on being ordered to Ireland, sold the regiment
Touraine for 48,000 francs (£"1,920).
In 1667, in the midst of the controversy Musket v. Fusil,
Colonel Martinet obtained the King's permission to select
four privates from each company of the Regiment du Roi, for
the purpose of testing the fusil and of practising with hand-
grenades, missiles which the colonel thought might carry con
fusion into charging horse, and be useful in siege operations.
The experiments succeeded so well, that three years after
wards these chosen men, forming a grenadier company, took
the right of the model regiment ; and presently grenadiers —
soldiers conspicuous not necessarily for length of limb, but
invariably for bravery, vigour, and intelligence — marched at
the head of every infantry regiment. Martinet, then, has the
honour of creating the grenadier, so famous in English and
French story, " Vieux grenadiers suivons un vieux soldat,
Suivons un vieux soldat."
Naturally anxious to fill the ranks with tall, strapping fel-
' Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."

THE LINE OF STEEL. 359
lows, colonels occasionally discharged privates for no other
fault than lack of inches. Such folly kindled the wrath of
Louis XIV. In a circular to the inspectors, "the King
desires that soldiers should not even be measured, that on no
account should an old soldier be dismissed for lowness of
stature, and that a recruit, if bien sur les jambes, should
never be rejected on a similar pretext"
In the middle of the seventeenth century, to serve in the
cavalry was the ambition of the young nobles. Deemed
beneath the notice of gentilshommes, the infantry was offi
cered by bourgeois, or by soldiers of fortune. This patrician
disdain was not mere insolence. The cavalry was then the
more effective arm. The troopers riding well and skilful with
the sword, the horses carefully trained, the tactics simple and
rapid, conduced to the making of a tremendous engine of
battle. On the contrary, infantry was intermittent, at sixes
and sevens. Made up of musketeers and pikemen acting
independently of one another, the company was as a man
unable to use both arms at the same time. In good hands,
cavalry charged the foot with the quickness and force of a
steam hammer. The foot withstood the shock, first by the
slow and laborious fire of matchlocks, that failing, by the rude
exertion of the big pikemen in the centre. Who can wonder
that the jeunesse dor^e eschewed such a service ? The King
and his earnest minister, however, resolved to break down the
old prejudice. They compelled the noblesse to begin their
career in the infantry, and encouraged them to remain in it
by favours of various kinds. But do what they would, gen
tlemen fought shy of "marching regiments" up to 1700, when
the fusil d la Vauban once for all replaced the musket and
pike. A revolution, well nigh, in the art of war. Grown
homogeneous, capable of a clear fire from right to left, prompt
to protect itself with a line of steel, infantry could not only
hold -its own against the horse, but claimed the chief rdle on
the battle-field. And it came to pass that the proudest noble
of France was urgent to buy the colonelcy of Champagne or
of Navarre.
The squadrons and battalions were formed into brigades.

360 IN BATTALIA.
By the old custom, brigades were under the command of the
senior colonels, but Louis created the rank of brigadier.
From brigadier, an officer rose to be marechal-de-camp.
Next came the brevet of lieutenant-general. Although it was
a sine qud non that brigadiers should lead troops of the arm
to which he himself belonged, no such restriction applied to
the superior ranks ; hence a marechal-de-camp, or lieutenant-
general, though a cavalry officer, might obtain an infantry
command, and vice versd. Respecting the wisdom of this
arrangement much difference of opinion appears to have pre
vailed, no less a man than the Duc de Luxembourg objecting
to it. But his Majesty decided " laisser aller les choses a cet
^gard," on the ground that, as he always appointed able
generals to conduct his armies, he was confident they would
recommend suitable persons for subordinate posts. A splendid
theory, by which neither king nor generals abided in practice.
No matter the number of brigades, an army in the seven
teenth century was usually divided into seven parts ; four
divisions of horse, two of foot, and a mixed division. The
order of battle comprised two lines and a reserve ; each line
being composed of an infantry corps in the centre, bodies of
horse forming the wings. The reserve was made up of both
arms blended.
The disposition of the different regiments was prescribed
by strict etiquette. The Maison du Roi and the gendarmerie
drew up in the right wing. The French and Swiss guards
occupied the centre of the first line. Battalions and squadrons
were separated from one another by intervals equal to the
extent of their front, the second line and the reserve being
placed en echiquier, so as to screen the blanks of the line in
front ; in other words, the gaps ahead were backed by the
ranks behind. Of course this regulation of the troops was
frequently deranged by the nature of the ground, and by the
exigencies of the battle ; for, as the Comte de Clermont told
Madame de Pompadour, " Une arm6e ne se mene pas, comme
on promene son doigt sur une carte."
Before the advent of Louvois, the artillery was managed
much as it was at the same period in England. With us a

THE SCIENTIFIC CORPS. 361
Master-General of the Ordnance enjoying fine emoluments,
in France a Grand Master of Artillery, exercising entire au
thority over guns and gunnery. Under this great functionary
served, in the first place, lieutenants of artillery, commissaries
ordinary and extraordinary, the subordinates being master
gunners, captains of transport, drivers, and skilled artizans.
No private soldiers belonged specially to the artillery. The
guns were worked by contract ; in addition to supplying tools
and ammunition, the King paid the artillery officers from ten
to twenty livres for the service of each gun during twenty-
four hours. To help in working the pieces, and other employ
ment in the batteries, the officers were allowed to draw soldiers
from the infantry, paying them twenty sous a man per day or
per night, as the case might be. The surplus, or " revenant-
bon " (as it was called), went amongst the artillery officers.'
But this higgledy-piggledy state of men and things grated
on the systematic mind of Le Tellier. In 1671, therefore, a
company of cannoneers appeared on parade, and the following
year saw the creation of a regiment of fusiliers, for the
sjpecial purpose of guarding and serving with the artillery. It
was after the model of this corps d'elite — "le plus beau regi
ment du monde a compter depuis le dernier soldat jusqu'au
premier officier," as Vauban described it — that James II.
formed the " Royal Fusiliers." Soon afterwards two compa
nies of bombardiers were raised, and two or three lieutenants
of the Grand Master promoted to the rank of generals in the
army, on the condition that their time and abilities should
continue to be devoted to their old arm. Schools of artillery
were opened at Douai, Metz, and Strasbourg. French guns,
gunnery, and gunners now rapidly improved.
What has been said of the English engineers pretty nearly
applies to their French brethren : the engineers were rnerely
officers taken temporarily from foot regiments to perform the
scientific details of attack and defence. The treatment of
these educated men appears to have been by no means com
mensurate with the value of their services. "Martyrs de

' Rousset, " Histoire de Louvois."

362 IN BATTALIA.
I'infanterie," as Vauban styled his comrades, they toiled, others
reaped. Strange as it sounds to us. Captain de Vauban, of
the regiment Picardie was, in 1667, actually obliged to ask
"the favour" of being excused ordinary regimental guards,
while employed in working out his designs for the fortification
of Lille ! Seven years later, we find him forty-one years of
age and renowned throughout Europe, consulted by Turenne
and the great Cond^, esteemed by Louvois, and admired by
Louis XIV., but a captain of infantry still — it being the rule,
forsooth, that an engineer's ambition must not soar beyond
the glory of a company !
The King's good sense over-ruled this monstrous routine.
In 1674, the great engineer was appointed brigadier of in
fantry; two years afterwards he became marechal de camp;
and, as we know, one April morning in 1691, Lieutenant-
General le Pretre de Vauban positively received from the
Grand Monarque an invitation to dinner: "le plus pauvre
gentilhommede la France" had become a prophet in his own
country !
The preferment of Vauban was the elevation of the engi
neers. At his request a company of miners was organized.
This laid the foundation of the scientific corps. But, notwith
standing his urgency, the work of superstructure lagged, for
it cost money and chafed prejudices.
Outside the regular forces, Louis XIV. called up, in 1688,
thirty regiments of militia. The men were drawn by lot,
equipped at the cost of their provinces, and drilled at periods
which did not interfere with the cultivation of the earth.'
In the army of the ancien rdgime contracts prevailed. In
this way the company's ranks were filled, in this way trans
port was suppUed. Even up to the close of the eighteenth
century, contractors continued to provide — at enormous profit
to themselves, and proportionate loss to the public — the
horses, waggons, and drivers requisite for the artillery and
commissariat services. Nor may it be said that the spirit of
the old adventurers is quite extinct in this era of commercial
' Voltaire, " Siecle de Louis XIV."

SICK AND WOUNDED. 363
activity and virtue. Did not our difficulties before Sebastopol
encourage speculators to propose taking the mighty strong
hold "by contract?"
Before Louvois laboured, both officers and soldiers fre
quently suffered grievously through scarcity of food. " I re
member," writes Vauban, " that when we occupied the enemy's
country during the old war, we were sometimes three weeks
without a ration of bread." ' If officers were so pinched, how
fared the privates ? They lived, of course, by marauding, a
mode of keeping body and soul together inevitably destructive
of the discipline of an army : " rien n'est plus propre a d^sor-
ganiser et k perdre tout-a-fait une armde que le pillage." *
To assure to the troops regular and sufficient rations, Lou
vois established magazines. The garrison towns were pro
visioned for six months, and the chief frontier fortresses con
tained victuals and materiel enough for an army in the field.
Thus, the French were usually prepared to march a month
before their enemies, and winter campaigns became possible,
even fashionable.
Though by no means a philanthropist, as the word is inter
preted now-a-days, the miserable condition of the sick and
wounded excited the Minister's earnest attention. He saw,
what contemporary public men could not or would not see,
how enormously neglect of these hapless wretches enfeebled
the action of the awful machine on which he had set his
mind. Not only, then, did he establish a permanent hospital
for soldiers in every garrison, but he reformed the field hos
pitals, and set a-going ambulances for the benefit of troops in
conflict. The institution of the magnificent H6tel des Invalides was
the great man's crowning glory. The noble principle which
Philip-Augustus had imagined, which Henri IV. and Cardinal
Richelieu had endeavoured to realize, Louis XIV. gave to the
world in its present superb shape. The Grand Monarque
worked as master-mason, the architect was the Marquis de
Louvois. ' "Vauban k Louvois, 13 Sep. 1677." ' Napoldon I.

364 IN BATTALIA.
As it is stated in the preamble of the edict regulating the
government of the Hotel, he founded the Invahdes because
"it is reasonable that those who have freely ventured their
lives and shed their blood for the monarchy, who have con
tributed to the defeat of our enemies, to the capture of their
strongholds, and to the defence of ours, who by their valiant
resistance and by their fierce attack have so often forced our
foes to sue for peace — should enjoy the repose they secured
for others, and pass the rest of their lives in tranquillity."
In the words of the Mardchal de Villars — "Not only did
Le Tellier know, as no other man knew, how to assemble a
powerful army, how to feed it, how to arrange the convoys of
ammunition and provisions " — not only had he the firmness to
enforce a rigid discipline among the noble officers, as well as
the humble rank and file ' — not only had he the sagacity to
encourage good officers of bourgeois blood ; but, above all,
the transcendent merit is his of being the first War Minister
of modern times who displayed solicitude for the welfare of
the common soldier. An army reformer indeed !
' Capefigue, " Louis XIV."

XLIIL
STEINKERQUE. 1 692- 1 693.
^HAT the campaign would be signalized by two
splendid exploits — the expedition to England, and
the capture of Namur — dreamt Louis XIV. He
desired to prove to the world how; immaterial was
the loss of Seignelay, and how well royal genius might com
pensate the death of Louvois.
So recent was the siege of Mons that Uttle remained to be
done respecting the neighbouring city, beyond repeating the
admitable arrangements for the previous event. Le TelUer's
vigour alone was needed. Mons had been invested on the
14th. of March ; not before the 24th of May was Namur beset.
Rid, too, of the economical scruples of the uncompromising
marquis, the King granted Madame de Maintenon's request
that "les dames" should accompany the troops. And so,
besides the ladies of the blood royal, we find duchesses, mar
quises, and comtesses, fair of face, keen of wit, and of historic
lineage, enlivening camp society, but clogging the march of
the army.
Leaving the charming bevy at Dinant, Louis took command
ofthe siege with 50,000 effectives, 23,000 of whom were cavalry.
The Duc de Luxembourg covered the operations with 60,000
men, of whom more than 30,000 were mounted. Never in
modern times had been seen such prodigious masses of horse.
A week sufficed to overcome the town ; not so the two forts

366 STEINKERQUE.
crowning the rocks between the Sambre and Meuse, and sepa
rated from the city by the former river. One of them had
been built the year before by the Dutch engineer, Coehorn.
He now defended his work against Vauban. Thus were pitted
the first masters of the art in Europe.
William of Orange made a hesitating move toward succour
ing the forts, but Luxembourg forbade the passage of the
Mehaigne with a superior force. Nothing serious could be
done. Hotly assailed, and Coehorn wounded. Fort Neuf
surrendered on the 21st of June. Nine days afterwards Vieux
Chiteau followed suit Thus France won the important stra
tegic angle formed by the Sambre and Meuse, of which the
point is Namtir.
The day afterwards, Berwick joined the French camp from
Normandy ; and amid a violent storm saw the Prince de
Barbangon march out of Vieux Chateau at the head of 2,000
men of its garrison. The Prince de Cond6 was there to do
honour to the vanquished, and him did Barbangon most cere
moniously salute with his sword.
Satisfied with gaining in the very teeth of WilUam an offset
against La Hougue, and shrinking more than ever from " un
grand ev^nement," Louis returned ailing to Versailles.
" vous seule, goutte secourable,
Avez osd donner un frein k sa valeur."
The Duc de Luxembourg remained in command of the army,
which heavy draughts to Germany and the Breton coast (now
threatened by the English) had reduced to 70,000 men. '
While the French force diminished, the Anglo-Dutch were
strengthened by 8,000 Hanoverians ; and, chafing under the
loss of the frontier fortress, WilUam sought an opportunity to
' " Letters from Portsmouth tell us that all the forces designed for the
descent are embarked (26th July, 1692), and that an order was brought
down to forbid all persons concerned in that expedition to write any
letters to their friends, under severe penalties, without leave from the
general." — Luttrel, Brief Relation of State Affairs. Nous avons chajts^i
tout cela. Blatant publicity is now as necessary to the Briton as his
beer.

THE ENGLISH RUSH, 367
attack the Marshal, who had been directed to confine himself
to the preservation of conquests, and to the defence of the
country. Hence, clever manoeuvring. The enemy feinting
against Namur, Luxembourg threw into it 20,000 men under
Boufflers. On the ist of August the French right rested on
Steinkerque, their left on Enghien ; the leaguers were en
camped at Tubise, near Halle. The ground separating the
armies was woody, cut up into little enclosures, and inter
sected with defiles.
Ascertaining that a secretary of the Elector of Bavaria was
in correspondence with the French, William made artful use of
the discovery. Arrested at his desk, the man was compelled
to write to the Marshal that, on the morrow, th'e allies would
send a foraging party on a grand scale towards the French
right, and that, to cover its retum, a large body of infantry
would occupy the interjacent defiles. About the same time
an officer on outpost reported the roads in the front gorged
with horse, foot, and guns. But the spy's information being
judged surer than the soldier's statement, no special precau
tions were taken. To interfere seriously with mere foraging
was deemed superfluous. The Marshal, suffering slightly
from fever, went to bed as composedly as if he sought rest in
Parisian down.
The next morning, the 3rd of August, he was roused earlier
and more disagreeably than usual. The foe was upon him.
Disposed overnight for attack, the allies pressed forward as
rapidly as the rugged ground permitted. Suddenly, the
vanguard, composed of the choicest troops, British and Danish,
burst through tangled enclosures upon the Bourbonnais brigade
posted in advance of the French right. Assailed by superior
numbers, the Bourbonnais fell back with a loss of seven guns.
In such moments the true general is revealed ; the vigour
of De Luxembourg now atoned for the laisser aller of the
previous evening. Instantly, the army stood to arms. Bouf
flers was summoned. Attended by the troupe dorie of
princes and dukes (we see Berwick and Lucan in their midst)
the Marshal galloped toward the sound of cannon. His quick
eye singled out the point of danger. Hedges and ditches

368 STEINKERQUE.
barring the use of his superb cavalry, he pushed infantry
assistance to the right Three battalions of Champagne were
first up. Next, the Italians, the Royal Contois, and Provence.
The shaken Bourbonnais steadied themselves, the scattered
dragoons rallied. The battle was re-established. From right
to left every bush belched fire. At such close quarters the
struggle that often the muzzles of opposing muskets clashed.
Still, the event remaining doubtful, the brigade of guards were
hurried up. The Prince de Conti, the Duc de Chartres, the
Duc de Vendome dismounted and placed themselves at the
head of the splendid column, which marched to the charge,
writes the Marshal, " avec une fiert6 qui n'6tait interrompue
que par la gaiety des officiers et des soldats." In support
strode the Swiss, sword in hand ; not a shot did they fire.
Terrible the conflict — horrible the carnage. Bravely stood the
English and Danes ; but insufficientiy reinforced, it is said, by
Count Solms, they gave way, sadly cut up in their desperate
resistance : William crying aloud — the same authority as
serts — " Oh ! my poor English, how they are abandoned !" '
Thus the lost ground was regained ; the captured guns
returned to their French owners. Warm and desultory fight
ing went on in the centre and left, but the victory was no
more doubtful. The British advance against the French right
was to have been the signal for a grand onslaught upon Lux
embourg's front However, natural obstacles hindering regular
and combined manoeuvring, the troops were disjointed ; the
surprised Frenchmen profited by the time lost by the inco
herent allies. The defeat of their picked soldiers, the obstruc
tions in the way of their centre and right, the approach of
Boufflers' dragoons, the setting sun, proved to the confederates
the failure of their enterprise. They retired, therefore, in
good order for the most part, but with the loss of several guns
and 1,300 prisoners all gashed with the sword. Owing to
the lateness of the hour, and the impossibility of employing
horse with effect, the retreat was little troubled. Many a
famous Briton died. Down went gnarled old Mackay, Sir
' Harris, " Life of King William III."

HONOURABLE MENTION. 369
John Lanier, Sir Robert Douglas, Lord Mountjoy, and the
Earl of Angus. Salamander Cutts hobbled home on crutches
to his rich and pining wife.
The French officers suffered as badly. The Marquis de
Bellefonds was killed, the Prince de Turenne mortally wounded,
the Swiss Colonel Porlier killed, Fimarcon, who commanded
the dragoons of Boufflers, died of his hurts. The gallant Duc
de Chartres, only eighteen years of age, was hit in the shoul
der, but, his wound dressed, returned to combat. There is a
fighting ring about that name — Chartres. Remember Robert
Le Fort of 1870-71 !
This fight — the bloodiest, said Luxembourg, for the short
time it lasted, which occurred during the war, cost the anta
gonists more than 15,000 killed and wounded.
The valour of Berwick and Lucan escaped not the notice
of the Marshal. " M. le duc de Berwick," he wrote to his
sovereign, " se trouva des le commencement lorsque nous
alUons reconnoistre les ennemis, et agit durant tout le combat
aussy bravement que j'ay rendu conte a vostre majesty qu'il
avoit fait la campagne passee." And of Sarsefield — •" le comte
de Lucan estoit avec luy (Berwick), en qui nous avons bien
remarqu^ de la valeur et de I'intr^pidite dont il avoit donne
des marques en Irlande. Je puis assurer vostre majeste qu'il
est tres-bon officier et tres-capable." '
The battle of Steinkerque became extremely popular. On
that dire Sunday the young officers having been obliged to
accoutre double-quick — Parisian fashion required that every
fop should wear his lace cravat negligently a la Steinkerque.
Ladies dressed d la Steinkerque. Jewellery must be modelled
d la Steinkerque.
Having saved the army, the French infantry obtained higher
rank in the esteem of Louis XIV. ; and, from this date, the
clumsy match-lock, already abandoned by the allies, succumbed
to the flint and steel fusU. Before the battle, William is
reported to have exclaimed — "Ne pourrai-je done battre ce
petit bossu ?" After the battle, on hearing the remark, Lux-

' See original despatch in " Journal de Dangeau."
B B

3 70 STEINKERQ UE.
embourg wittily replied : " Qu'en sait-il ? II ne 'm'a jamais
vu que par devant."
The Marquis de Feuquiere makes several weighty observa
tions on the battle, or, as he styles it, combat, inasmuch, as
from the cramped and crabbed character of the ground, it was
a broken chain of impetuous fights, rather than a compact
engagement. He thinks that if the allied right had not wan
dered in its night march, but had struck Enghien, as was
intended, about the same time the French centre and right
were assailed, the difficulties of M. de Luxembourg must have
been immensely increased. Again, the Prince of Orange,
marching in several columns, must debouch by as many de
files. Now, each of these columns might have individually
attacked the part of the camp directly in its front. Had such
been done, instead of waiting till the whole force had reunited
in line, the result would have been great confusion among the
French. They might perhaps have failed to form en bataille.
The surprise of an encamped enemy should be executed by
strong columns penetrating into, and therefore breaking up
the camp. Such blows ought to suffice to destroy it.
Manifestly, William did not push with adequate vigour the
beaten brigade covering the French right ; this slackness
enabled Luxembourg to bring up battaUons of his second
line; thus compelling the English to relinquish the ground
they had gloriously won. The Duke of Berwick concurs. In
his opinion, the Prince of Orange committed two capital
mistakes : firstly, he ought to have attacked our left simulta
neously with our right ; secondly, he did not sustain with
fresh troops the corps which commenced the action. Had he
been quick with reinforcements — " Je ne sais ce qui la seroit
arrive." As for the Duc de Luxembourg, he is extolled for the
rapidity with which he formed his amazed soldiers, and his
skill in repairing the blow on the right Also, for the sagacity
with which he fixed on fighting ground ahead of the camp,
and his readiness to profit by the enemy's first step rearward.
AU this tends to prove "que I'objet principal d'un general
dans quelqu'esp^ce de guerre qu'il se trouve engage, doit

A HEROINE. 371
toujours etre de la faire offensive, parce que c'est I'esp^ce qui
se soutient le plus facilement, et avec le plus d'avantage pour
son prince."
Still, the Marshal is blamed for the rashness with which he
threw aside the report of his officer, in favour of the informa
tion of his spy. In Uke cases men charged with the affairs of
peace or war should bear in mind : — " C'est toujours prudent
de comparer ensemble tous les avis que l'on regoit sur un
m^me sujet, et de chercher a s' assurer de la verite de plusieurs
mani^res." '
In Flanders nothing more of interest occurred. In Ger
many, Marechal de Lorges, a brave gentleman, but sluggish
officer, succeeded at Spirebach (where the Irish greatly dis
tinguished themselves) and Fortzheim. On the Italian
frontier graver events happened. Hampered with rigorous
instructions and dwindled means, Catinat tarried about
Pignerol and Susa. Taking advantage of this inaction, Victor
Amadeus crossed into Dauphiny, took Embrun, and burned
Gap. The league fancied the Protestants would countenance
the invasion. But they remembered they were Frenchmen.
Mile. Philis de la Charsse, like a second Joan of Arc, called to
arms. A partisan war tormented the foreigner. Catinat
assumed a formidable posture on the Durance. Covering
Briancon and Grenoble, he threatened the Duke of Savoy's
rear. After six weeks of useless havoc that prince returned
to Piedmont, sick with small-pox.
During the winter both sides prepared earnestly for the
next campaign. Louis set the dockyards to work, raised
more regiments, and to stir martial ardour instituted the
order of Saint Louis, " BelUcae virtutis prsemium." William
persuaded the divided commons to impose a property tax of
4J". in the pound, and an additional excise on beer, that
;^2,ooo,ooo might be raised for the navy, and ;£'2,090,563 for
land forces.
Owing, it was said, to the lateness of the season, the

' " Mdmoires du M. de Feuquifere.'' " Mdmoires du M. de Berwick."
" Mdmoires du M. de la Fare." Voltaire, " Sidcle de Louis XIV."

3 7 2 STEINKERQ UE.
EngUsh expedition to the French shores did not even attempt
a landing. Instead, making for Ostend, Fumes and Dix-
muyde were seized on the ist of September. Lest the allies
should turn these places into bases of operations against
Dunkirk, Boufflers suddenly invested Fumes on the 28th of
December. Next day the Dutch troops surrendered. Dix-
muyde was abandoned by its garrison. Such an upshot of
costly preparation and excited expectation kindled discontent
William threw the blame on Count Horn, who commanded in
chief, and more and more savagely did British soldiers growl
at the foreign generals. More and more sceptical did the
nation grow of their new king's military capacity.
The winter work seemed to augur activity in the spring.
But not so ; Barbezieux, Chamlay, Saint Pouenge, intelligent
subordinates, were no master spirits ; preparation lingered in
France, while the allies were up and doing in Belgium.
To act on the defensive in Germany and Italy, boldly on
the offensive in Flanders, was Louis's intention : with this ob
ject a vast force stood under arms. It was divided into two
armies ; the first under Marechal de Boufflers, the second
commanded by the Duc de Luxembourg. Among the nine
lieutenant-generals of the latter, we find Berwick, promoted
for his courage at Steinkerque, one of the eight mar^chaux
de camp being Lord Lucan. The rumour of a marriage be
tween Berwick and Mile, de Clairambault, daughter of the
late marshal of that name, proved to be the empty gossip of
old wives.
Quitting Versailles about the middle of May, the King
(again avec les dames) reached headquarters near Mons on
the 2nd of June. Concentrating at Gembloux, the two armies
presented a strength of 110,000 men. Louis had proposed to
take Li^ge, Luxembourg shielding the operation. But torpor
at the War-Office, and his dawdling at Quesnoy, on account of
" a cold," frustrated the design ; William had time to throw
15,000 men into the place, and retiring to an intrenched camp
at the Abbaye du Parck near Louvain, covered Brussels.
Luxembourg now desired to march en masse — and therefore
with superior forces^upon the allies, whose defeat would have

TIMID COUNSELS. 373
placed not Li^ge only, but the whole of the Spanish Low
Countries at the conqueror's feet. All at once, however: —
every arrangement having been made for the enterprise — the
King announced his intention of returning to Versailles, and
sending the Dauphin with a powerful detachment to quicken
Marechal de Lorges in Germany. The army was petrified ;
Luxembourg, it is related, throwing himself on his knees
before Louis, implored him not to snatch a fruitful triumph
from his grasp. Jupiter was inexorable. As in 1676 and
1692, he flinched from a decisive event. The timides avis
so officers declared, proceeded from Namur, where the court
ladies were sojourning, and Madame de Maintenon had the
credit of the misadventure. The confidence of the army was
shaken. Both Frenchmen and foreigners joked with witty
bitterness'about le grand Roi et sa vieille maitresse. William
was relieved from jeopardy, and Louis no more appeared in
arms. In this inscrutable state of things the talents of Marechal
de jLuxembourg shone out with lustre.' He retrieved the
error of his prince.
Had William now concentrated the confederate forces dis
tributed between the Meuse and the sea, he would have been
much superior in strength to the French, weakened by the
departure of the Dauphin's corps. But he dared not enfeeble
Li^ge, or uncover Brussels. The Marshal, on the other hand,
declining to attack his stubborn foe, ensconced at Parck,
manoeuvred so as to lure him from covert. He therefore took
post at Mildert, between Tillemont and Louvain. Thus were
the enemies at such close quarters, that their pickets might
have shaken hands.
The French now interposed between WilUam and the corps
d'arm^e holding Liege ; so that it could not join the com
mander-in-chief without dangerously exposing itself, and

' " Ne pouvant y avoir de bonnes raisons, et meme n'en ayant jamais
pu apprendre ni des ministres, ni des gdndraux, il faut conclure que Dieu
ne voulait I'execution de tous ces beaux projets." — Mdmoires du Marichal
de Berwick.

374 STEINKERQUE.
stripping the city, while he dared not leave Parck to abet a
junction, lest Louvain be imperilled. As long then as the
French could subsist at Mildert, they dead-locked the adver
sary. But provisions were failing, and it was essential that
WiUiam should be decoyed from Parck. Hence Luxembourg
feigned a blow at Li^ge. Namur resounded with the rum
bling of artillery. Vast quantities of bread were baked.
Huy, between that place and Lifege, was captured by ViUeroy.
Then Luxembourg, quitting Mildert, marched straight on
Liege, reconnoitred the fortifications, and set the soldiers to
work on fascines. Enough ; persuaded that a siege impended,
the allies broke up from Parck, and throwing 5,000 foot into
the threatened city under cover of the Demer, followed the
Marshal. Finding another strong position on the Gheete, and
desiring to distract Luxembourg, William despatched 10,000
to force the slender lines at Courtray, and to levy contribu
tions in Artois.
Determined to fight the confederates, weakened by these
detachments, before they could regain their intrenchments
near Louvain, the Frenchman affected anxiety as to the
movement towards Courtray; Marechal de Joyeuse proceeded
ostentatiously in that direction, but with secret orders to
countermarch at a given point ; and at 9 A.M. next day the
Duke started in person for the Gheete with the rest of the
army. The artillery and infantry being retarded by a violent
storm, he came within view of the enemy with the cavalry alone
on the 28th of July. Battle therefore must be postponed to
the morrow ; and WilUam had several hours of light, as well
as the whole night, to organize his defence. Some might
think, indeed, there was a chance of destroying the French in
detail, but the Marshal arriving unexpectedly, the Dutch
general was en dhhabille.

XLIV.
NEERWINDEN. 1693.
^S ^g.HROUGH faulty generalship, inferior in fighting
^^^ ^» power to the French by one-third, William might
" yet have declined battle, by placing the Gheete
between the two armies ; but his position was
encouraging, and political exigencies may have jarred with
the strategical reasons urged by his best officers. Be that as
it may, he resolved to stand. Sending the heavy baggage to
the rear, he made pick and shovel drudge without ceasing
throughout the night.
Natural circumstances favoured him ; jutting from the
allied right, which rested on the Gheete, was the village of
Neerwinden. The left, snug on the brook of Landen, had the
support of the village of Neerlanden. An ugly ridge, linking
these places, and intrenched during the night, was armed with
100 pieces of artillery. Both villages bristled with barricades
and abattis, the stone walls serving thereabout for hedges had
been parapetted, ditches made approach very difficult On
the extreme right stood British infantry. Hanoverians, sub
sequently reinforced by English and Scottish guardsmen, held
Neerwinden. Dutch and Brandenburghers lined the trenches
along the height. The Royals, Churchill's, Selwin's, and
Trelawny's filled Neerlanden. In the rear drew up the horse ;
but, want of space forbidding the prolongation of the line,
several squadrons had to form nearly at the right angle with

3 7 6 NEER WIND EN.
it ; they thus faced the Landen brook. Virtually hors de
combat were these men.
As we have seen, Luxembourg and his cavalry reached St.
Gertrude in the afternoon. All through the night infantry
kept marching up ; Berwick's division indeed did not bivouac
before i A.M. The first brigade that came to hand was em
ployed to drive the enemy out of Landen, a hamlet somewhat
in advance of the allied left. Here, says Feuquiere, we have
the first fault committed by William : he should have sus
tained this post ; by evacuating it, he allowed the Marshal to
place, in the course of the night, forty battaUons between it
and Romsdorf — that is, opposite the Anglo-Dutch left.
On his extreme right, across the brook of Landen, the
French general posted sixteen squadrons of dragoons for the
purpose of watching the enemy's cavalry en potence, or of
passing the brook, as occasion might dictate.
In the French centre the cavalry and infantry were through
out the night so closely wedged, that they presented a mass
eleven deep. At five A.M., these troops, consisting of the
Maison du Roi and the foot-guards, advanced, and, finely
handled by the Marshal, deployed under a heavy cannonade
into two lines. The foot of the left wing would attack Neer
winden ; the horse of the same wing, taking ground toward the
Gheete, brought up their left shoulders in such fashion that,
overlapping the village, they might seize any occasion for
charging the enemy's squadrons. Four battalions watched a
copse toward the right, which masked the mouth of a deep
ravine running down from the Anglo-Dutch centre. Such
was the disposition, according to the Marquis de Feuquiere,
who commanded a division of the army.
The intrenched height being defended by the concentric
fire of the two flanking villages, was reasonably secure from
direct attack. Out of one or other of the villages must the
foe be forced before a fair opening for the sabreurs could offer.
After carefully considering the situation, Luxembourg decided
to carry Neerwinden at any cost, while Villeroy amused the
enemy at Neerlanden. Therefore, Lieutenant-Generals De
Rubantel, De Montchevreuil, and Berwick marched : the first

TAKEN PRISONER. 377
with two brigades upon the right of the village, the second
with a similar force upon the left, the Englishman with two
more brigades against the centre. It follows, then, that Ber
wick would be the first to engage, the other divisions having
to wheel to the right and left, in order to reach the intrenched
flanks. Bounding impetuously forward, Berwick's men cleared
the trenches, and pushed the Germans from wall to wall, ditch
to ditch, even into the plain behind. Completely outstripped
by this rush, Rubantel and Montchevreuil were far in Fitz
james's rear when they entered the place. Perceiving this,
and finding that Villeroy made no sign toward Neerlanden,
William withdrew a large body of English from the trenches
in that quarter. These fell vehemently upon the two French
divisions, and after a contest cast them forth. Now, Berwick
was beset on all sides. Many of his men were down, but
hoping for- succour he strove to hold his ground. At length,
quite isolated — sauve qui peut ! The young general, tearing
off his white cockade, set spurs to his horse. Unfortunately,
Brigadier Churchill (Marlborough's brother) caught sight of
his galloping nephew, and he was a prisoner. After an affec
tionate embrace, Churchill conducted his captive to the com
mander-in-chief On the Duke being presented, WilUam paid
him a compUment, to which he replied with a low bow. Then,
after steadfastly regarding him, WilUam put on his hat, Ber
wick did Ukewise, and the interview ended.' The Duke was
sent to the rear at Leewe.
Meanwhile, the eighty guns arming the eminence thundered
upon the Maison du Roi in the French centre. For four hours
did they calmly endure the iron storm. The Dutch general
was amazed : French fury in onset he well knew, but such
patient intrepidity at a halt was unexpected indeed. " Ah !
I'insolente nation ! " he exclaimed, when he saw the fire pro
duced no other effect on the mousquetaires and gendarmes than
causing them to close their ranks as files were mown down.

' " J'ai racontd toutes ces circonstances h. cause que dans le monde on
les avoit tourndes tout autrement, et qu'on avoit fait sur cela des contes
fort dloignds de la vdritd." — Mdmoires du Mardchal de Berwick.

378 NEER WINDEN.
The French batteries of seventy pieces had opened too, but
the allies being on higher ground, without marked conse
quences. These guns, however, appear to have been well
served, and the Marquis de Quincy relates as an unusual cir
cumstance that the balls, striking the ground, bounded over
the intrenchments and startled the occupiers not a little.'
Another plunge at Neerwinden. Twenty-six battalions led
by Louis de Bourbon advanced, gained a footing ; but, the
defenders being again quickly reinforced from the left, the
Frenchmen were repulsed after half-an-hour's hard fighting.
It looked alarming. So strong that vital point that many
officers, among them even the impetuous Conti, were for shun
ning it. But Luxembourg could not be disheartened. He
answered his advisers by urging on the French and Swiss
guards. Supported by the brigade Vermandois, these burst
upon Neerwinden. As soon as they had mastered some houses
and orchards in the outskirts, Conti brought up cavalry. De
filing troop by troop, as best they might, through obstacles
apparently insurmountable, on came the brilUant cavaliers of
the Maison du Roi. Here and there the foot-guards threw
down walls to clear their way. The while, a bloody grapple
in the midst of the village. - Two hours passing thus, the am
munition had run out. Then did the French guards screw the
bayonets into their musket-muzzles and ply I'arme blanche,
at which game, we may be sure, the Britons were equally apt.
Presently the leading chevau-legers, having painfully edged
themselves within the intrenchments, were caught on a flank.
Some English regiments and Ruvigny's Huguenots, led by
WilUam in person, rode upon the blown and disordered
troopers. They reeled, and the young Duc de Chartres was
all but made prisoner by a soldier who had grip of his coat.
But comrades coming up, there was a rally. Before long,
more and more horse poured in, for the infantry, having
seized a considerable line of trench, were clearing away im
pediments. ' " Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand." " M. de Vauban est I'inven-
teur des batteries de canon que l'on tire &. ricochet." — M. de Feuquiere.

THE DEATH OF SARSEFIELD. 379
And now, perceiving that the works in his front had been
thinned of troops (for the purpose of strengthening Neer
winden), Feuquiere broke through some barricades upon the
allied left. Need more be said 1 — the battle was over at
five P.M.
The retreat was ably conducted, and only partially un
steady. Talmash led off the EngUsh foot stern and terrible,
but certain regiments of cavalry did not sustain the national
glory.' Sorely distressed, the right wing reached Tillemont
and Louvain, the left under Ginkell retired in better order by
Leewe and Diest
Moderate statements put the Anglo-Dutch loss at from
10,000 to 12,000 men killed and wounded. 2,000 prisoners,
76 cannons, 8 mortars, more than 80 standards rewarded the
victors. Count de Solms was hurt to death, the Duke of Or
mond wounded and taken prisoner. Well might the Prince
de Conti, witty as valiant, entitle the Marshal, "tapissier de
Notre Dame." But with equal truth did a cynic exclaim, " II
fallait chanter plus de De Profundis que de Te Deum."
From the nature of the engagement, it cannot be doubted
that the French list of killed and wounded equalled that of
their foe. Certainly, they mourned many a noted officer,:
General de Montchevreuil fell in those blood-stained trenches.
The Prince de Cond6 and the Prince de Conti were both
struck, but stoutly kept the field. Every Irishman laments
Neerwinden. Mortally wounded at the head of his brigade,
Sarsefield died a few days afterwards at Huy.
" For thee the hardy veteran drops a tear,
And the gay courtier feels the sigh sincere."
Braver officer and purer spirit never won a nation's love,
and rarely has the memory of the dead been cherished with
more lasting affection.
Why the defeated army was not more keenly pressed has
never been explained. Twelve hours' conflict under a broiUng

' See Harris, " Life of WiUiam III.," and Ralph's "History of Eng
land." '

38o NEERWINDEN.
sun, immediately following a long and arduous march, no
doubt withheld the French that evening. But days passed
without WilUam being disturbed ; by calling in detachments,
therefore, he was soon as strong in men as he had been before
the reverse.
After pointing out mistakes committed by WilUam before
and during the engagement, Feuquiere is of opinion that,
their army not being concentrated, battle should have been
avoided by the allies. If, he says, William had retired over
the Gheete in the night, Luxembourg's skilful combinations
for fighting him would not have availed. Under cover of the
river, the Dutchman might have massed his forces, and thus
gained a superiority over the Marshal.
The success of the day he attributes chiefly to the vigour
and infinite capacity of the French captain : " Car enfin,
qu'est-il de plus vrai que si M. de Luxembourg avoit 6t6 de
ces g^nies de guerre ordinaires, et qu'il n'eiit pas ^t^ plus
habile que M. le Prince d'Orange, la campagne de Flandres
auroit 6te aussi d6sagr6able pour le Roi, que le fut celle
d'Allemagne ? "
In the retreat, Berwick marched with Talmash's English as
far as Sichen, whence he was sent to Malines, and ultimately
to Antwerp.
According to the cartel, he should have been released at the
end of fifteen days. But on various pretexts he was kept at
Antwerp, and it was rumoured that William designed for him
a rebel's lodging in the Tower of London. Not easily cajoled,
Luxembourg summoned Scravenmore and other captured
generals who were away on parole, to report themselves at
Namur ; and it was notified to the Dutch staff that unless
Lieutenant-General the Duke of Berwick were set free, the
Duke of Ormond (whom a severe wound prevented from
exercising his parole) would be detained. The suggestion
sufficed, for if Berwick were " rebel " in Orange estimation, in
what character would Ormond stand before James II. ? Fitz
james rejoined the French camp at Nivelle.
In September commenced the siege of Charleroi under the
direction of Vauban. As soon as ground was broken, the

MARSAGLIA. 381
Marshal detached eighteen battalions and several squadrons
of the Maison du Roi towards Mons, to cover the French
frontier, and to form the advanced guard of the army, in case
the allies (then camped between Ninove and Alost) threatened
French Flanders. With this corps served Berwick. How
ever, the enemy ventured not, and after being brilliantly de
fended for a month by the Marquis de Villadarias, Charleroi
fell. The possession of this strategically important place was
the capital result of Neerwinden.
As for the other armies : in Italy, Catinat being reinforced,
finished the campaign by defeating the Duke of Savoy and
Prince Eugene at Marsaglia— an infantry battle, like Neer
winden. Twenty French battalions charged with the bayonet.
" Je ne crois pas, Sire," wrote Catinat to Louis XIV., "qu'il
y ait encore eu d'action ou l'on ait mieux connu de quoi
I'infanterie de Votre Majesty est capable." ' In Germany
nothing decisive. For want of brains to direct them, the
means of offence at Marechal de Lorge's disposal remained
sterile. South of the Pyrenees, Noailles took Roses in Cata
lonia, and at sea, De TourviUe, issuing from the Bay of
Lagos, surprised the Smyrna fleet of about 400 Dutch and
English merchantmen. Admiral Rooke, who commanded the
convoy of men-o'-war, was obliged to fly, and 100 ships were
either destroyed or taken by the French.
Although the operations of '93 everywhere ended badly
for the Leaguers, Louis proposed terms of peace, for sore
distress pervaded France, and money lacked : " On perissait
de mis^re au bruit des Te Deum, et parmi les rdijouissances."
By William's influence, the overture was rejected. Persuaded
by him that one more mighty effort would achieve the pros
tration of the enemy, Britain submitted to a fresh load of
taxation.

' Here the Irish Brigade distinguished itself: "Les Irlandais ont par-
faitement bien fait k la bataille de Marsaglia, et le roi est fort content de
tout ce qu'on lui en a dit et mandd." — Journalde Dangeau.

XLV.

THE DEATH OF LUXEMBOURG.
1 694- 1 695.
^N the spring the Duke of Berwick was re-appointed
to the army of Flanders, nominally under the
Dauphin, but really conducted by Luxembourg.
About 80,000 strong, it occupied the camps of
StTrond,Tongres, andVignamont ; the allies, numbering more
than 90,000 good troops (31,000 being cavalry), lay in the
neighbourhood of Louvain. Time passed languidly, the
armies amusing themselves in eating up the resources of their
respective districts. At length, relying on his superiority,
William aimed at finishing the campaign by seizing Courtray
before Luxembourg could come to its relief Nor did the
idea promise ill, considering that the Dutchman was nearer
the city by three or four marches than his enemy. But the
prescient Marshal baffled him ; a few days before the Anglo-
Dutch broke up their camp, he sent forward some brigades of
horse, under pretence of clearing the country between the
Sambre and the Meuse of hostile foragers. Deluded, the
Dutch generalissimo moved leisurely toward the Scheldt on
the 20th of August At the same time the French strode for
Tournay with extraordinary diligence. In five days they
marched 132 miles and crossed five rivers. So that on reach
ing Pont Espierre — where he had hoped to pass the Scheldt
• — WilUam found intrenched on the other side, not simply M.
de la Vallette, who commanded in the frontier lines, but the

TALMASH SLAIN. 383
advanced guard of the Dauphin's army. French Flanders,
therefore, being protected, the allies wheeling to the right
crossed the river at Oudenarde and quartered quietly around
Ghent. In this position their superiority of force enabled
them to restrict the French to their Unes at Ypres, Menin,
Furnes, and Dunkirk. Nor did they forget to make use of
the imposing detachment at Li^ge ; it invested Huy, which
surrendered after ten days' siege, and the campaign was over.
The brilliant march from the Meuse to the Scheldt is an
excellent example of outstripping movements. Feuquiere
remarks that since 1694 no general at the head of Louis's
armies could furnish an illustration of such operations worth
quoting. The failure of an attack on Brest marks this year. William
intended it should occur in the spring ; but laziness or trea
chery interposing. Lord Berkeley's fleet, having Talmash and
twelve regiments on board, did not sight the port before the
1 8th of June. The enterprise was no secret to the French ;
on the 4th of May Lord Marlborough having warned James,'
Vauban had organized the defence. The tale is short and sad.
Shore batteries kept the ships aloof, and on Talmash land
ing with 900 soldiers, the French marines were upon them be
fore they could recover from the confusion inevitable in
such cases. Meanwhile, the tide ebbed, the boats stuck fast.
Heroic Talmash was killed, half his men slaughtered, the
rest prisoners. Berkeley thought to avenge the disaster by
bombarding Dieppe and Havre. He inflicted much personal
misery, but obtained no military results.
In the Alps, on the Rhine, as in Flanders, the French posi
tion was defensive. In Catalonia somewhat more life, Marechal
de Noailles taking Palamos, Girona, Ostalrich, and Castei
FoUet A combined attack by land and sea on Barcelona
was prevented by the appearance of the English fleet in the
Mediterranean. During the winter Berwick frequently enjoyed the sports
' See Marlborough's letter in Dalrymple's " Memoirs of Great Britain,"
iii. 63.

384 THE DEATH OF LUXEMBOURG.
and pleasures of Versailles. In the last campaign he had
become intimate with the Dauphin, and he was now one of
the twenty grands seigneurs whom Monseigneur invited to
Choisy, to help him to plant trees and play at lansquenet.
In December Queen Mary died of small-pox. Cruelly un
grateful to a father who loved her, she clung devotedly to an
adust and sometimes unfaithful husband. James felt her
death acutely ; the more so because in her last moments .she
declared " her conscience in no ways troubled her, for it was
with the advice of the most learned men of her Church she
acted, who were to answer for it, not she." Well might the
unhappy father cry, " O miserable way of arguing, so fatal
both to the deceiver, and those that suffer themselves to be
deceived." ' In the mouth of so staunch a Protestant Mary's
argument is strange.
The year closed with evil omen to Louis XIV. The Duc
de Luxembourg fell dangerously ill. When the news reached
the King he observed significantly to Dangeau : " Si nous
sommes assez malheureux pour perdre ce pauvre homme-la,
celui qui en porterait la nouvelle au prince d'Orange seroit
bien re9U ;" and then, turning to Fagon, his chief physician
— " Faites, Monsieur, pour M. de Luxembourg tout ce que
vous feriez pour moi-meme, si j'etais dans I'^tat qu'il est."
Vain this majestic condescension. On the 4th of January the
Marshal expired, " universellement regrett6 (says the Duke of
Berwick) des gens de guerre." With him departed the glo
rious fortune of French arms.
A more brilUant captain on the field of battle than Frangois
Henri de Montmorency, it would be difficult to name. His
coup d'ceil was unerring. None surmised more correctly the
design of an enemy, or more promptly decided on the tactics
required to foil it. Midst the roar of cannon and the charge
of horse he was at once audacious and prudent, enterprising
and skilful. Coolness in emergency won him the confidence
of the soldiers, a gracious familiarity inspired the officers with
affection. His fault lay in the inaction which commonly suc-
' Clarke, "Life of James II."

ALL FOR LOVE. 385
ceeded his mightiest efforts. He seldom followed up a blow ;
and the envious accused him of not caring to hasten the end of
war. A victory gained, he left matters to the chief of his staff,
Puysegur, and with the gusto of twenty-five betook himself
to pleasure. A countenance at first sight unprepossessing,
and a huge hump on the back, might seem detrimental to
social success, but delightful manners and pointed conversa
tion redeemed external disadvantages, and his suppers in
camp, redolent with the prettiest women available and the
smartest musketeers on service, were charming. Renowned
soldier, true Montmorency, but rather dissolute old gentleman
of sixty-seven, he faced death with so much composure and
piety that the celebrated Pere Bourdaloue, who attended him
in his illness, declared " qu'il n'avoit pas v6cu comme M. de
Luxembourg, mais qu'il voudroit mourir comme lui." '
Just before the opening of the campaign of '95, Berwick
appeared in a new character. He married Sarsefield's beau
tiful widow. The match was unacceptable to James, who
probably intended for his promising son a x\Qh.ex parti than a
daughter of Lord Clanricarde. Alas ! even royal frowns are
jests to Cupid ! But if Fitz-James displeased, his sister
Henrietta (Lady Waldegrave) sadly grieved the King. By
excessive flirtation with LOrd Galmoy the susceptible widow
had excited such scandal at Saint-Germain that her father
imposed the cooling discipline of a convent. However, the
amour had gone so far that its sanction by the Church was
indispensable. Both marriages took place in March.
Berwick's honeymoon was short, but certainly sweet. In
April he joined the army in Flanders, to the chief command
of which the King appointed Marechal de Villeroy (the son of
his old governor). He was a courtier of the first water, a fine
gentleman exceedingly the fashion among the women, in
fallible authority, too, on the cut of a waistcoat, and the gar
niture of a coat ; a brave cavalier withal, but, as a general,
quite unfit to supply the place of Luxembourg. The public
' Madame de Sdvignd. " Mdmoires du Mardchal de Villars." " Md
moires du Mardchal de Berwick." " Mdmoires du Duc de Saint Simon."
C C

386 THE DEATH OF LUXEMBOURG.
instinct suggested Catinat, but phe la Pens^e was plebeian,
sententious, and uncouth at Court.
Though Louis had made earnest preparation for the cam
paign, his power remained very inferior to that which English
money enabled William to array. Strictly on the defensive,
therefore, would act the French. The frontier to be guarded
stretched from Dunkirk to the confluence of the Sambre and
Meuse. Tournay on the Scheldt and Ypres near the Lis
formed the centre of the line. Charged with the protection
of Namur, a corps d'armie, under Boufflers, assembled near
Mons. A flying column watched Furnes and Dunkirk. The
main army at Commines covered Ypres, Lille, and Tournay.
From the Furnes downs to Ypres the French frontier was
marked out by canals ; thence to Espierre intrenchments
defied intrusion ; onward to Cond^, the Scheldt constituted
the ditch. The Haine and the Sambre completed the hne to
Namur. Outnumbering the French by 20,000 men, William ventured
on a hazardous dissemination of force. Detaching 15,000
men against the fort of Knock (key of the canals between
Ypres and the sea), he advanced with the grand army to
Rousselaer. Having assembled 30,000 men on the Dender,
the Elector of Bavaria took post between the Scheldt and the
Lis ; a third corps at Fleurus menaced Namur.
William's notion was to induce the French to concentrate
on their left. When they had done so, he would counter
march and hurry to Namur. Fraught with peril was the
plan, for the Elector's movement having sent Boufflers (who
had been watching him) within the Courtray lines, the French
army was almost massed, and at choice might have struck
any one of the enemy's three corps, which were absolutely
without intercommunication. So manifest the opportunity
that Villeroy is said to have proposed to Louis a scheme for
crushing the confederates : he would attack in front ; Bouf
flers, marching in the night from Courtray, would be in their
rear by daybreak ; at the same time, Comte de la Mothe,
from Ypres, might burst upon their right flank. Vigorously
conducted, the operation must have at least upset the idea of

ESPRIT DE CORPS. 387
besieging Namur, for a serious mishap to any one of the ill-
placed allied corps would produce, if not the destruction of
the rest, at any rate the loss of the numerical superiority
which had driven the French to the defensive' But if Villeroy
really reasoned thus, Louis heeded him not. The opportunity
passed away. For more than a week William was in jeopardy;
then, every preparation made, he suddenly departed for the
Meuse, leaving the Prince de Vaudemont with 30,000 men on
the Lis to beguUe the French. On the ist of July he joined
the troops under Lord Athlone (better known as De Ginkel),
which had just invested Namur.
While the dandy marshal was allowing his opponent to
transgress the principles of war, his lieutenant, Boufflers,
evinced dash and judgment. The confederates' project being
now unmistakable, that gallant soldier marched parallel with
the Elector towards Namur. All at once, however, sending
back to Villeroy the bulk of his following, he pressed onward,
attended by M. de Mesgrigny, an eminent engineer, and seven
dragoon regiments. The Bavarian was distanced. Not only
did the Frenchmen throw themselves into the place before it
was completely surrounded, but Boufflers contrived to des
patch to Givet the horses and furniture of six out of the seven
regiments. The military history of the seventeenth century
abounds with instances of the inestimable services performed
by the dragoons. It is surprising that the expediency of
forming such troops, after the old model, should never have
occurred to modern ministers of war or generals-in-chief. How
well dragoon officers interpreted their duty is related by Saint
Simon. " Urgent private affairs " had detained in Paris
Comte d' Albert, half-brother of the Duc de Ghevreuse ; but,
hearing that the Dragon-Dauphin, of which he was colonel,
was shut up in Namur, the Count hastened to Dinant,
traversed in the disguise of a boatman the allied camp, and
swimming the Meuse rejoined his colours — to be desperately
wounded anon. What a delightful esprit de corps flavours the
daring of this splendid fellow !
' " Mdmoires de Feuquiere." " Mdmoires de Berwick."

388 THE DEATH OF LUXEMBOURG.
The grand situation of the fortress, its powerful outworks,
lately improved by Vauban, plentiful supplies, 13,000 good
troops, the capacity of the governor, De Guiscard, and the
resolute temper of Mardchal de Boufflers, augured an obstinate
defence.

XLVI.
THE LOSS OF NAMUR.
1695.
JILLEROY'S work was now clearly cut out: he
should rout Vaudemont ; and then, breaking their
communication with Li^ge and Brussels, starve
the besiegers.
Such was the Marshal's plan, and judicious at first were his
measures to further it Marching rapidly by night, he was at
dawn of the 13th of July within four miles of the unsuspect
ing foe posted at Deynze on the Li.s. Had he struck hard
and fast, superiority of force and the secrecy of the movement
would have enabled him to destroy Vaudemont ; but he pre
ferred to wait till Montal, ordered up from the extreme left,
could circle into that officer's rear. Part of the day was spent
in repose, part in reducing two insignificant castles. Taking
advantage of the respite, the allies fell back on the rising
ground of Arselle, the village of Enterghen in their front,
their left resting on the Mandel, the right uncovered. As
soon as taken up, the position was intrenched. At 6 A.M.
next morning the French, whose advance had been impeded
by the difficult nature of the ground, came in sight A point
blank attack was now dangerous, but the cavalry of the right
and some infantry passing the Mandel might assail the
enemy's left, while another corps bore down on their right
And such was the intention. Villeroy's left wing was quickly
within two musket-shots of its game. Berwick's division was
there. Already were Brigadier de Surville and the grenadiers

390 THE LOSS OF NAMUR.
ordered to the front, and the Duke was preparing to support
them with several battalions ; when, lo ! a command to
" halt ! " The occasion vanished.
Masking the withdrawal of men and cannon from the
trenches with infinite skill, Vaudemont effected an admirable
retreat, which old Montal, with all his energy, was not yet in
a posture to interrupt Instead of the overthrow of an army
corps and the raising of a siege, Villeroy's tactics accomplished
the sabring of a few dragoons of a rear-guard.
To the pusillanimity of the Duc du Maine, eldest of the
royal bastards,' was the failure popularly ascribed. He com
manded the left wing. Requested by Villeroy to engage, he
made, we are told, all manner of excuses ; he must recon
noitre ; he must confess. In a frenzy the soldiers stamped
and cursed. Officers remonstrated. De Montrevil, senior lieu
tenant-general, with tears in his eyes strove to excite the
young man. He could only stammer objections. Time fled,
and with it victory.
A consummate courtier, Villeroy took care not to vindicate
himself at the expense of a subaltern so augustly befriended.
By the mouth of a discreet aide-de-camp he pretended to
Louis that extraordinary celerity of march saved Vaudemont
from punishment. Details were avoided.
But truth will out. The Dutch gazettes ironically related
the exploits of the cautious commander. Quick-witted French
soldiers set the camps roaring with their pungent raillery.
When he knew the worst the grief of the Grand Monarque
was poignant — the darling born to lead armies could not un
derstand a simple order to charge !
So intensely mortified was Louis on this occasion that, for
the second and last time during his long reign, he completely
forgot himself^ Rising from table at Marly, he perceived a
footman slip a biscuit into his pocket as he was removing the

' By Madame de Montespan. He was born in 1670, the same year as
James Fitzjames — bastards both, but of a mettle how dissimilar I
' His first acces de colore was when he threw his cane out of the window
lest he should strike Lauzun. — Fournier, L'Esprit dans I'Histoire.

ROYAL RAGE. 391
dessert To the winds went royal calm. Shocked lords and
ladies saw his Majesty fall upon the valet, and, pouring forth
a volley of abuse, thrash him till his cane snapped. Then,
according to after-dinner custom, he went mightily incensed
to Madame de Maintenon's apartment Returning thence
about an hour afterwards, and seeing P^re la Chaise among
the courtiers, he exclaimed, "Mon p^re, j'ai bien battu un
coquin, et je lui ai cassd ma canne sur le dos, mais je ne crois
pas avoir offensd Dieu." Fearing to irritate in presence of
company, the judicious priest did not contradict Every one
was set speculating as to the cause of such a passion, for that
a serving man's petty larceny kindled it, who could believe ?
It soon transpired that the King had forced Lavienne, his
favourite bathman, to tell what the world was saying about
the Duc du Maine.
Gibes teemed even in the gilded saloons of Versailles. The
Duc d'Elbceuf, a courtier every inch, could not repress a
sarcasm. He asked Du Maine where his highness proposed
to serve during the next campaign, for he would like to do
duty in the same quarter. "What do you mean ? " asked a by
stander, dull or ill-natured. " C'est qu'avec lui on etait assur6
de sa vie," answered D'Elboeuf Cunctator held his peace.
With so many tongues wagging, Villeroy's reticence was the
better appreciated. No matter poor success in the field, the
Marshal's favour with the King increased, and Madame de
Maintenon's friendship grew fervid.'
To resume. Detaching troops to Nieuport, Vaudemont
retreated rapidly on Ghent Villeroy advanced with leisure.
First, he looked at Nieuport ; then, finding it firmly occu
pied, Montal's corps was directed on Dixmude, garrisoned by
nine choice regiments under the Danish general EUenberg.
Though the fortifications were weak, the place might have
held out awhile, but EUenberg, hitherto remarkable for per
sonal courage, unaccountably quailing, surrendered after firing
a few shots. He was eventually tried by court-martial, and
beheaded. Immediately afterwards, Deynze, a poor place
' " Mdmoires du Duc de Saint Simon."

392 THE LOSS OF NAMUR.
which Vaudemont had likewise strengthened, capitulated
in similar haste. The commandant. Brigadier O'Farrel, a
veteran of high repute, was cashiered with infamy — " ce que
tous deux m^ritaient pour ne s'etre pas d^fendus autant qu'ils
se devoient," is Berwick's blunt but proper comment.
After these petty successes the French marched to Brussels,
which, in retaliation for the recent shelling of Saint Malo,
Granville, and Dunkirk by the EngUsh fleet, they had orders
to bombard, unless the allied authorities would engage that
such acts should cease. The Elector of Bavaria, who chanced
to be in the city on a visit to his wife, being unable to give
such assurance, the batteries were prepared. Still, Villeroy
offered to postpone opening fire for six hours, so as to give
the Electress and other ladies an opportunity of quitting the
town. Unfortunately she miscarried of a son before she could
avail herself of the indulgence ; but the French courteously
took care that, while the bombardment lasted, none of their
dread emissaries scared the palace.
Thus reckless smash on the Norman coast begat wanton
ravage in Flanders. Not the slightest effect on the war did
the incendiary game produce. Such " military operations "
are stupid, as well as cruel.
A passive spectator, Vaudemont watched the flames.
Covered by the Senne, his army lay to the east of the city,
and communicated with a formidable corps which Athlone
had brought up from Namur, and placed between Genappe
and Waterloo. It is interesting to see certain strategic points
continually turning up in history. They are stereotyped for
uU time : " Le choix judicieux des points et des lignes strat6-
giques est le salut des armees dans les revers, et la cause des
plus grands resultats dans le succ6s." '
The reprisal oyer, the French, disregarding Vaudemont,
started for Namur. On the 26th of August they were at
Fleurus, where large reinforcements joined from Germany.
To announce their approach to the besieged, a mighty salute

Mardchal Marmont.

VILLEROY INACTIVE. 393
of ninety cannon was fired. A bright light on the highest
point of the citadel responded.
As they were about to encamp on the Mehaigne, a great
body of hostile cavalry appeared. At first, it was supposed
to be the allied van-guard eager to dispute progress, but per
ceiving that it was not followed, Villeroy collected all the
horse (two brigades) not out foraging, crossed the river and
vehemently assailed those thirty reconnoitring squadrons,
which turned, and were pursued to within a short distance of
their Unes. The young noblesse were of course in the thick of
the fray. Ever intent on acquiring a practical knowledge of
war, the Duke of Berwick was there. A friendly pen declares
that the Duc du Maine distinguished himself, his horse being
wounded under him. The Duc de Chartres and the Prince de
Conti did " k merveille k leur ordinaire." The Comte de
Toulouse (Maine's brother), though down with fever, rose from
his bed, charged, and returned to camp perfectly free from his
distemper ; a most soldierly cure ! Mardchal de Villeroy got
a shot in his hat' However incompetent to conduct a great
military operation, he was a bold dragoon, never averse from
cut and thrust. When will kings and ministers understand
that an officer may be brilliant at the head of a brigade, and
contemptible as leader of an army ?
Not another sabre did Villeroy draw for Namur. Having
examined the position of the covering army, he pronounced it
too strongly posted to be attacked with any prospect of
success. " So waves his colours, beats his drums,
And thinks it prudent there to stay."
It was going hard with the fortress. Vauban away, Boufflers
directed the defence with more courage than skill. On the
9th of July the trenches had been opened. On the 17th a
detachment of 3,000 men left in observation outside the
ramparts were overwhelmed and well-nigh cut to pieces.
A breach being effected in a half-finished wall, the enemy
waded across the Meuse, which happened to be very low, and
' "Journal de Dangeau."

394 THE LOSS OF NAMUR.
penetrated into the streets. They were repulsed ; but no
longer tenable, the city surrendered on the 4th of August,
Boufflers and the garrison retiring into the chateau and neigh
bouring works, which were speedily bombarded with 150 heavy
guns and fifty-five mortars. When breaches gaped sufficiently
the assault was delivered. Both sides losing tremendously,
the counterscarp of the chateau and two forts were carried on
the 31st of August, and Boufflers capitulated, on condition
of evacuating the place on the 6th of September unless he
were relieved in the interval. But Villeroy stirred not, and
on the day fixed the gallant Marquis surrendered the chateau,
his troops being reduced from 13,000 to 5,000 effectives. The
allies lost 18,000 men during this terrible siege.'
Namur has a glorious tale to tell. On her shattered walls
Cutts and the British grenadiers won immortal fame. French
valour never blazed more fiercely than in her defence. And
in "that cursed trench" near St Nicholas Gate, did not
Uncle Toby receive "the monstrous wound" which caused
Widow Wadman such lively anxiety ?
As soon as De Boufflers and Comte de Guiscard, riding at
the head of the brave garrison, had saluted the victorious
enemy, the Marshal was arrested by William's order,^ because
the prisoners taken at Dixmude and Deynze had been retained
instead of being exchanged, according to cartel. This prac
tical remonstrance had the desired effect. The captives soon
rejoined their colours, and Boufflers repaired to Versailles to
bask in smiles, and kiss hands for a dukedom. Nor were his
lieutenants forgotten : Guiscard obtained the government of

' Where there is a will there is a way. Notwithstanding the close in
vestment of the place, Louis was regularly informed as to the state of
things inside. The post in operation was after this fashion : " Le roi a eu
des lettres de Namur de Fumeron, qui y fait la charge d'intendant ; il y
avait aussi une lettre deM.de Boufflers, mais I'homme qui les avoit avaldes
dans des petites boites d'or, faites comme noyaux d'olives, n'avait rendu
encore que celle de Fumeron." (Aout 5.) Journal de Dangeau.
' By M. de I'Etang, formerly lieutenant of Turenne's body-guard, and
now serving William of Orange in a similar capacity. Such the effect of
religious persecution.

BRAINS WIN. 395
Dinant, General de Laumont that of Dunkirk. The engineer
de Mesgrigny was made lieutenant-general. When William
was told of the good things showered on the beaten captains,
he observed with a shrug that he must envy a king who could
reward the loss of a place more liberally than he was able to
recompense the gain of one.
The sieges of Namur in 1692 and 1695 offer splendid and
curious tribute to intellectual pre-eminence. In the former
year the French took it, in despite of Coehorn. But Vauban
conducted the attack ; and with a far inferior force manoeu
vring on the Mehaigne, Marechal de Luxembourg baffled
William's endeavours to avert the catastrophe. Then, the
superiority of talent lay with the French. Three years later,
the same tragedy is on the stage, but the actors have changed
parts. Glaring faults were done on both sides, but Villeroy
being inept, William's very disregard of military science in
stead of ensuring his defeat actually tended to his advantage.
And Coehorn laid siege to the fortress he had well defended.
Its every weak point he knew to a hair. Nor was Vauban by
to counteract him. Moreover, neither Boufflers, Guiscard, nor
Mesgrigny, it appears, were duly conversant with the capa
cities and peculiarities of the stronghold in their keeping.'
Without difficulty William maintained the Mehaigne against
a court favourite, as much his inferior in ability as he himself
fell short of Luxembourg's genius. No such exploit as this
capture had the Dutch prince achieved during the war, and
his reputation as a general rose very considerably in conse
quence. The campaign was over. Hearing that Boufflers had beaten
the chamard, Villeroy retired towards the frontier ; the allies
soon marched for Hal and Brussels. On the 25th of Septem
ber the armies were taking up winter quarters.
On the Rhine and in Spain no events of mark occurred.
Secret negotiations having been opened with the Duke of
Savoy, a strange juggle was resorted to. Casale being already
blockaded, the Emperor insisted on Victor Amadeus attacking

" Mdmoires de Feuquiere."

396 THE LOSS OF NAMUR.
it seriously. But that crafty politician, as averse to the
place being in Imperialist as in French hands, and yet unable
to shirk operations, furtively advised Louis to order the
governor to capitulate when apparently pressed hard, on
condition that the fortifications should be razed, and the town
revert to its old master, the Duke of Mantua. The King
acquiesced : Catinat grounded arms. Casale was assailed at
the end of June. On the 9th of July the commandant, as ar
ranged, offered to surrender. The Austrian officers, however,
demurred to the terms. After some ado, Victor Amadeus
contrived the acceptance of them, and to lull suspicion, for
mally renewed his adhesion to the grand alliance. Happily
for his highness, everything is deemed fair in love and war.
About the middle of October we find the Duke and Duchess
of Berwick in attendance on James and Mary at Fontainebleau.
The visit proved a week en fete. In the mornings the Court
chased the wolf, the stag, or the boar. The evenings passed
merrily with lansquenet and music, the dance or the play.
James always rode to hounds, but Louis often hunted in a
calash, what he lost in headlong excitement gaining in the
sweet converse of Mary of Modena, the Duchess of Tyrconnel,
and other fair dames. The King's health indeed was no longer
robust. Of gouty habit he ate copiously, and swallowed an
excessive quantity of medicine. Fagon had just insisted on
his giving up champagne (his sole beverage hitherto) and
taking to Burgundy. Forswearing the nectar of his glory,
fortune favoured him no more.
" C'est une jolie femme dont tout le monde s'accommode
bien, et qui est tres a la mode," is the judicious Dangeau's
description of the Duchess of Berwick at this period. To
please Queen Mary (perhaps the de Burgh beaux yeux may
have had something to say in the matter) Louis gave the
charming Irishwoman an apartment at Marly, and there were
the Duke and herself lodged at the close of the year.'
' Marly-le-Roi became celebrated at the end of the eighteenth century
for the magnificent chateau Louis XIV. built there — " I'ermitage de Marli."
The courtiers, however, pronounced Marly " un favori sans mdrite."

XLVII.
THE PLOT.
1696.
^E return for a littie while to Old England, not
merry just now, but morose, full of hates and wal
lowing in corruption. In the army, according to
poets, scornful of £ s. d., the fashionable iniquity
first came to light. Certain officers lying at Royston extorted
money from the town-folk on pretence of subsisting their
men. An appeal to the House of Commons revealed an
elaborate system of fraud : officers cheated the rank and file,
army agents, not content with filching from both officers and
soldiers, bribed high and low in the Government offices.
Colonel Hastings, a brave veteran, was cashiered. Agents
and contractors of " eminence " were arrested. But the mili
tary was not the only rotten branch of the public service.
The commissioners for the licensing of hackney coaches were
next arraigned ; even the wives of these worthies had played
the game d la mode. Among the commissioners dismissed
was Colonel Villars, who is famous for having pulled down
Lady Cromwell's house in Ireland, to save himself the price
of fuel.' Filth of this sort is never confined to a narrow com
pass. Engendered in a vitiated social atmosphere, it spreads
far and wide a national distemper : the more the evil thing
was stirred, the worse the haut-goilt. Suddenly it was recol
lected that a bill for Uquidating the claims of orphans, and
' Dalrymple, " Memoirs of Great Britain."

398 THE PLOT.
other creditors of the city, had passed into law with astonish
ing rapidity. Setting to work, a committee discovered that
Sir John Trevor, the Speaker of the House of Commons, had
pocketed ;^i,ooo for expediting the measure. And accord
ingly, that awful functionary — lately Master of the Rolls, and
Commissioner of the Great Seal — was expelled St Stephen's.
Where would it all end ? Whose hands were clean ? Pre
sently came the turn of the East India Company. Craving a
new charter, it had expended ;^90,ooo in convincing dubious
minds. ;^io,ooo went to WiUiam himself The Duke of
Leeds, Lord President of the Council, received ;£^5,ooo. As
regarded the King, it was explained that the douceur had
been described to him as a kind of fee customary in like
cases ; the Duke was impeached. But one Robert, his Swiss
valet, absconding in the nick of time, the affair terminated
by the King seasonably proroguing Parliament on the 3rd of
May, 1695. Shrewd and unimpulsive, WiUiam of Orange
was the very man, it might be thought, to escape the errors
of lighter-brained and more effusive potentates. He must
have been aware of his personal unpopularity, and of the
jealous temper of the people he ruled : and yet — so irresistible
the fascination of a job — we have him granting to Bentinck
Earl of Portland and " his heirs for ever," five-sixths of the
county of Denbigh — the ancient domain of the Prince of
Wales. A prodigious ferment arose. The hot-blooded Welsh
clamoured. Mr. Price, afterwards a Baron of the Exchequer,
inveighed against the transaction with great ability. " Let it
be considered," he asked the Commons ; " can it be for his
Majesty's honour or interest — when the people hear this and
understand it — that he daily gives away the revenues, and,
what is more, the perpetuity of the crown revenues to his
foreign subjects ?" The whole House presented an address to
the King against the grant, and he submitted to the humilia
tion of recalling it' Besides, says Evelyn, " huge confusion
and discontent by reason of the clipped money and the great
ness of the taxes" —
' Harris, " Life of King William III."

ON THE ANVLL. 399
" Whispers are heard, with taunts reviling loud.
And scornful hisses run through all the crowd."
As a matter of course, Jacobite hopes revived. Nay, so
sanguine was James now, that he considered the dissensions at
Saint Germain the main obstacle in his path. There the
" Compounders" and "Non-Compounders" lived like cat and
dog : the first, led by Lord Middleton, proposed a general
pardon, and a restoration under limitations; the latter, in
spired by Lord Melfort, preferred an unconditional resumption
of the throne, and the exclusion from amnesty of certain
obnoxious persons. The contest ended by Melfort — as dis
tasteful to the French Government as he was to the Jacobite
majority — being deprived of his Secretaryship of State. But,
still perplexed by jarring counsels, James determined not to
issue any declaration until he was face to face with his subjects.
Much preparation for a rising had been going on in Eng
land. Persons of rank were deep in the business. Two thou
sand horse were ready to fall on at short notice ; but " the
sober men" of the party refused to move without the counte
nance of disciplined troops. On the other hand, Louis would
not allow a soldier of his to embark at Calais, before it was
reported to him that some important place was in possession
ofthe malcontents.
And now the Duke of Berwick was required to undertake
an uncongenial character. He must quit his pretty wife, the
petits bals de contre danse (in which she especially shone)' and
the feminine spites of Marly, to venture his head among
party-zealots, boiUng over
" With home-bom Ues, or tales from foreign lands.''
Officers of experience and many gentlemen of James's guards,
weary of serving in the ranks, were already en route to join
the disaffected ; and, to give the movement an influential
leader of approved courage, Louis and James had decided
that General de Berwick should repair to England. Secrecy
being essential, it was given out that early in February the
' " Journal de Dangeau."

400 THE PLOT.
Duke would start on a tour of inspection of the Irish in the
French service. Instead of reviewing his old comrades, Fitz
james disguised himself, went on board an "owler" (as the
smuggling luggers of the channel were called), and was soon
"at home" again.
On previous occasions, when "landings" were in the wind,
plans for seizing and carrying off William III. had been sug
gested, but James always repelled them. In the beginning of
1695, one Crosbie or Clinch renewed the idea. As before, it
was rejected. Nevertheless, on his return to London, Crosbie
whispered the matter to Sir WilUam Perkins, Captain Char
nock (a fellow of Magdalen, turned soldier), and other Jacob
ite gentlemen. But on Charnock writing to Saint Germain
to inquire whether Crosbie's views were approved, and obtain
ing no satisfactory reply, the affair dropped, tUl the arrival of
Brigadier Sir George Barclay, a Scotsman of distinction, now
lieutenant of Berwick's troop of guards. Though sixty years
old, Barclay was audacious as well as crafty, and well cut out
for tough work.
In November, 1695, James had informed this gentleman
that in and about London existed a strong Jacobite feeling,
but the anti-WilUamites being mostly without military train
ing, practised officers must be at hand to teach and to lead.
Would Barclay go forth as chief of these ? He assented, and
reached London early in the following January, having in his
pocket a commission signed "James R.," which required "our
loving subjects to rise in arms and make war upon the Prince
of Orange, the usurper of our throne."'
His headquarters being the Piazza, Covent Garden, Sir
George made the acquaintance of Perkins, Charnock, Porter,
and the rest. Once more cropped up the kidnapping idea.
" Presuming on his warrant to make war on the Prince of
Orange and his adherents,"* Barclay conceived he had a
right to attack WiUiam when surrounded by his guards.
Assassination was not proposed, but men so perilously em-
' Clarke, " Life of King James."
"¦' See Sir George Barclay's Relation, in Clarke.

HOW TO DO IT. 401
ployed cannot afford to be nice They are at the mercy of cir
cumstances. Pistols are cocked, swords are drawn, and shall
desperadoes with a grievance boggle about the blood of a
foe ? After much coming and going between the " Globe " in
Hatton Garden and the " Nag's Head " in St. James's-street,
the "Cock" in Bow-street and the "Sun" in the- Strand, it
was resolved to raise forty well-mounted men, chiefly old
soldiers, and to pounce upon WUUam (as he was returning
from Richmond to London) in a narrow lane between Brent
ford and Turnham Green, where his coach-and-six could not
turn. Eight horsemen were to " take care of the Prince," the
others to deal with the guards; the time fixed was the 15th
of February.
Meanwhile, Berwick was striving to convince the lords to
whom he had been referred that so fair an opportunity should
not be allowed to slip.' Let them straightway up ; and, he
promised, the Marquis d'Harcourt with 10,000 troops would
on the instant embark at Calais. However, the Jacobite
nobles persisted in their decision not to stir till James was in
their midst respectably accompanied. Nor does Berwick
blame them : for it is certain, he says, that as soon as the
Prince of Orange had intelligence of the conspiracy, or scented
the expedition, which owing to the preparation it involved
could not remain a secret, he would have blockaded the French
ports, and then, woe to the raw insurgents left to their own
devices in front of veteran regiments.
The coarser machinations of the military plotters were only
partially disclosed to the young diplomatist Three days after
his arrival Barclay informed him " in confidence " of a plan
" for beating the guards and seizing the person of William."
Sir George, no doubt, tried to persuade his superior officer
(having, perhaps, succeeded in persuading himself) that the
job could be done without bodily hurt to the sovereign prize.
But the Duke disliked the tactics of the plausible brigadier.
He deemed not "la chose aussi siire qu'ils la faisoient" Still
' Naturally enough, the Duke does not name these lords. He calls them
" quelques-uns des principaux seigneurs."
D D

402 THE PLOT.
he did not feel himself bound en honneur to prohibit the
project. Hence we may fairly conclude that, in his opinion at
least, it did not necessarily import the murder of WUliam III.
No man living was less likely to sanction a foul blow. Hu
mane without unction, and religious without bigotry, his was
a nature to revolt instinctively from butchery.
With forty men of divers sorts implicated, how could such
mad work prosper ? Likely enough some of the band thought
they might hold the Dutchman without cut and thrust ; but
that most, in their political fury, were willing to go the whole
hog is pretty certain. But in such cases, as the time for
acting approaches, pricking consciences and subsiding pluck
assert themselves. On the day before the date fixed upon, one
Captain Fisher, who had been very forward in the affair — de
claring " he would kill one of the coach-horses, tho' he should
fall down dead in the doing it " — revealed William's jeopardy
to Lord Portland. A few hours afterwards Major Prendergast,
an Irish CathoUc of ancient family, also warned Portland.
This gentleman had just been summoned to London for the
business by Porter, but anticipating a bloody upshot, he re
solved to prevent a crime. He acted conscientiously and
without concert with Fisher, a vulgar, pot-valiant swash
buckler. William in consequence remaining at home on the 15th, the
conspirators, still unsuspicious, named the 22nd for the at
tempt. Again the King kept within doors. The chiefs heard
this as they were dining at the " Blue Posts.'' Evidently the
game was up. However, they drank some racy toasts, and a
song or two of the following type was sung : —
" God prosper long our noble King,
Our hopes and wishes all ;
A fatal landing late there did
In Devonshire beiall.
" To drive our Monarch from his throne,
Prince Naso took his way ;
The babe may rue that's newly bom
The landing at Torbay," &c., &c.

SIR JOHN FENWICK. 403
Then every man slunk to his garret. Several of them were
seized in their beds next night, but Barclay escaped.
As usual, the ruffian of fiercest port proved recreant in
danger: Captain George Porter craved to turn King's evi
dence. Eight ofthe ten arrested were executed : Sir WilUam Perkins,
Sir John Friend, Brigadier Rookwood, Major Lowick, Captain
Charnock, Messrs. Cranbom, King, and Keys. With their
dying breath all of them cleared King James of part, parcel,
or knowledge of their fatuous design.' " Most dismal sight ! "
Temple Bar displayed the heads and quarters of citizens
Perkins and Friend — prosperous merchants, but luckless dab
blers in politics.
The most eminent of the sufferers was Major-General Sir
John Fenwick, soon afterwards taken in Surrey, while flying
for France. To save his life he transmitted to William, through
the Duke of Devonshire, an account of the pour-parlers of
Whig statesmen with King James. The Duke of Shrewsbury,
Lords Marlborough, Godolphin, and Admiral Russell were es
pecially accused. This step completed his ruin. Aware of
the dupUcity of these nobles, WilUam feigned disbelief He
was wise enough to reserve his fury for smaller deer. Thus to
the anger of honest Orangemen against Fenwick was joined
the rage of patrician intriguers, who, mouthful of loyalty to
the sovereign de facto, paid s'ecret court to the king de jure.
But the prisoner's quietus could not be managed off-hand. In
a case of high treason the law required two vivd voce witnesses.
Here was one only — the reptile Porter. Therefore Fenwick
must be convicted by bill of attainder. Chicane and perfidy
' " And yet Bumet, a Protestant bishop, endeavoured to fix a crime on
James which his more generous rival never imputed to him." — Dal
rymple. " Of every vice
He had a spice,
Altho' a reverend prelate,
Yet word and deed.
If not belied,
A tme dissenting zealot."

404 THE PLOT.
were unblushingly employed. Fresh from swearing away the
lives of his familiars. Porter hid scoundrels behind a curtain,
that they might hear unhappy Lady Fenwick try to bribe him
to retire to the Continent. The disclosure concerning the
powerful noblemen (now known to have been in all points
true) ' was charged against the general. In vain his counsel
urged " the danger of a precedent which used the whole force
of parliament to take away the life of a man whom the laws of
his country could not condemn." After hot debating the bill
passed both houses, and Sir John Fenwick mounted the scaf
fold. Luttrel assures us "his head was struck off at one
blow," the victim " behaving himself with great sedateness."
The malignity of the Court party against this old soldier,
who, if favourable to a rising, was innocent of the Barclay-
Porter plot, gave edge to the rumour that he was personally
hateful to William, in consequence of some incautious reflec
tions on that prince's conduct in Flanders. The truth or false
hood of this is beyond our ken. Of one thing, however, we
may be sure ; if a parliament, inspired by James, had destroyed
an obnoxious person as Fenwick was destroyed, the event
would be differently recorded in popular history. But to the
Duke of Berwick. Before the 15 th of February his mind was
made up to return to France. He could not persuade the
malcontent peers " a agir contre le bon sens " (as Montesquieu
well expresses it). He would not be mixed up in the ambus
cade. His disguise had been penetrated. A certain family
likeness, particularly the long Stuart fingers, immortalized by
Vandyke, betrayed him to a gentleman who, however, put
him at his ease by the significant remark, " God speed you in
all your enterprises." Nevertheless, it was plainly time to
be off

' " He might have expected mercy from that prince (William), because
he was instrumental in saving his life ; for when, about April, 1695, an
attempt formed against his person came to his knowledge, he did, partly
by dissuasions, partly by delays, prevent that design, which he supposed
was the reason that the last villainous project was concealed from him." —
Paper delivered to the Sheriffs at Tower Hill by Sir John Fenwick.

AT CALAIS. 405
When and where he embarked we are not told ;' but it was
from the same place at which he had landed. Having reached,
he says, a house by the seaside, handy for news of his owler,
he stretched his weary limbs before the fire and slept About
two hours after a violent knocking at the door awoke him.
A band of armed men entered. He seemed lost. But in a
moment the glimmering lanthorn disclosed the captain of the
Jacobite lugger, in quest of his passenger. On board forth
with, in three hours he was at Calais.
He sped for Saint Germain ; but at Clermont his chaise
broke down, and while awaiting the necessary repairs, the
coach-and-six of his royal father drove up to the inn. Expect
ing an early rising in England, Louis had advised his cousin
to start for the coast ; and although desirous of awaiting his
son's return, the exile must take the hint.
After hearing what Berwick had to say, James ordered him
to Marly, to enlighten the King, and continued his journey.
On the 1st of March the Duke arrived at the palace, and had
an interview with Louis in the presence of Madame de Main
tenon. Resolved not to advance a man till the English were
doing, and they being as determined not to buckle on a sword
without trained valour at their back, " I'Hercule trh chrdtien "
considered the expedition out of the question ; but, on hearing
of the projected ambuscade, he commanded the troops to
abide events on the coast.
After the briefest renewal of conjugal blessedness, the Duke
joined his father at Calais. He found there an admirable
little corps under D'Harcourt, with Richard Hamilton as
second in command. In the midst of organizing the soldiers,
James heard of the seizure of the conspirators. A Godsend
to WilUam was the madness of those men. The conjecture
that his murder had been concerted at Versailles begat a
strong revulsion in his favour. ParUament became submis
sive; and westerly winds having kept the British fleet in the
Downs, a squadron was available for immediate service ;

' Luttrel says " the 14th of February." — Brief Relation of State
Affairs.

4o6 THE PLOT.
Cloudesly Shovel, therefore, bombarded Calais, with the usual
trivial results.
After six weeks spent in sorrowful journeying between
Calais and Boulogne, James returned to Saint Germain. For
his disappointments he sought the solace of religion. Every
day he used to repeat the following prayer, which, though
philosophers may deride, sounds touching to those who can
honour faith, even in a Papist : " I give thee, O my God, most
humble thanks for taking my three kingdoms from me ; then
didst thou awake me by that from the lethargy of sin ; had not
thy goodness drawn me from that wretched state, I had been
for ever lost. I return thee also my most humble thanks for
that out of thy infinite bounty thou didst banish me into
a foreign country, where I learned my duty and how to prac
tise it" '
On the break-up of the expedition. Lieutenant-general de
Berwick served in the army of De Villeroy in Flanders. There
four armies frowned harmlessly throughout the summer. On
the side of the Sambre and Meuse, Boufflers stood on the
defensive against William. On the Scheldt Vaudemont faced
Villeroy. Two hundred and fifty thousand men ate up the
country. Voila tout! Like the French, English soldiers
complained bitterly of want of pay, and marauded propor
tionately.* Contemptible in the annals of war, the year is notable on
the diplomatic record. After long secret negotiation, Victor
Amadeus renounced the grand alliance, and, throwing himself
into the arms of France, acquired more solid advantages than
brilliant feats in the field might have earned. On condition
of its fortifications not being restored, Louis ceded to him
Pignerol dismantled. When the Imperialists quitted Italy,
Nice and Savoy would likewise be handed over to him.
Lastly, the Princess Marie Adelaide, the Duke's eldest daugh-

' Clarke, "Life of James II."
' " 26 July. So little money in the nation that Exchequer tallies, of
which I had some for £'2.,<xio in the best fund in England, the Post Office,
nobody would take at 30 per cent, discount." — Diary of John Evelyn.

A SON AND HEIR, 4° 7
ter, was betrothed to the Duke of Burgundy, eldest son of the
Dauphin. The characteristics of the House of Savoy seem
to have been formerly the same as they are to-day : bravery
in doing, but in contriving, of a morality peculiarly elastic.
Brightly did the year end for Berwick. On the 2 1st of
October his beautiful wife presented him with a gift delightful
to wearers of coronets and large-acred squires : that son was
born, to whom, on his marriage in 1716 with Dona Catarina
of Portugal, sister and heiress of the Duc de Veraguas, the
Duke of Berwick ceded his duchy of Liria in Spain.
Yet a few months, and where would be the happiness of
James Fitzjames ?

XLVIII.
"LE BRANLE DE LA PAIX."
1697.
HE defection of Savoy obliged the Leaguers to
concede the neutrality of Italy. Elsewhere the
war would go on. In Belgium, France put forth
a great power; 150,000 men mustered there in
April, divided into three armies, under Marechaux de Ville
roy, de Boufflers, and Catinat, whom the truce in Italy had
set free. The Duke of Berwick (to whom Louis now granted
a pension of 12,000 francs) again fell in under Villeroy, at
whose quarters — a mark of special favour — he was lodged. In
the middle of May, Catinat, advised by Vauban, laid siege to
Ath. The defence was feeble. Having himself fortified the
place, the great engineer knew exactly how to attack it. It
fell on the 7th of June. Then the French marched toward
Ninove ; William of Orange, who was inferior in strength,
intrenching himself before Brussels. Hostilities now virtually
ceasing in Flanders, broke out hotly in Spain. The Duc de
Vend6me besieged Barcelona. Toulon sent her fleet and
galleys.' As usual, the Spaniards defended the town with
heroic obstinacy for two months. The heat was intense ;
' " Les troupes de I'armde navale mirent pied k terre, et servirent au
sidge, les chefs d'escadre comme mardchaux de camp, et le Bailli de
Noailles comme lieutenant-gdneral." — Mdmoires du Duc de Saint Simon.
The English and French seamen and marines have ever been ready for
any kind of service ashore. In the Franco-German war, and in Ashantee,
they showed their exceeding worth.

BOUFFLERS AND BENTLNCK. 409
disease abounded ; and so, by the loth of July, when Barce
lona threw open her gates, the French had suffered greatly.
Pari passu with military movements, peace negotiations
proceeded at Ryswick in Holland. After the surrender of
Ath, Boufflers and Bentinck conferred mysteriously. It has
been supposed that their conversations related to the evidently
impending Spanish question ; but we have the authority of
the Marquis de Torcy, French minister for foreign affairs, for
believing that the personal concerns of Louis, James, and
William constituted their sole purport ; WilUam, it would
appear, wished that his uncle should be required to quit Saint
Germain, so inconveniently near to England. The French
man refused. Louis was anxious that the Jacobite exiles
should be re-instated in their estates. The Dutchman shook
his head. After some discussion William promised, on re
covering his principality of Orange, not to afford French Pro
testants asylum there. He also engaged to pay the ex-
Queen Mary her dower of .i$^50,ooo a year. This he afterwards
declined to do, pretending that the payment was contingent
on James and the Queen retiring to Avignon or Rome. On
the other hand, Louis pledged himself neither directly nor in
directly to disturb the statu quo existing in England.'
The military diplomatists parted excellent friends : the

' The following extract from a letter of Prior, the poet (then secretary
to the Embassy), to Lord Halifax, throws light on a very discreditable
transaction : — " Paris, the \% Aug., 1698.
" I have written to my lord Portland, and Mr. Secretary, the summ of
several discourses I have had with M. de Lauzun and others, or rather
they with me, about the pension which we were to allow the Queen. Do
we intend, my dear Master, to give her the fifty thousand pounds per
annum, or no .' If we do not, I (or rather my Lord Jersey now) should be
furnished with chicaning answers, when we are prest upon that point, for
it was fairly promised ; that is certain : if we do, the giving it openly and
generously would establish the King a reputation in the minds of the
French, which if we gave twice the money to purchase would not, I think,
be bought too dear ; but this is my own sentiment, and to my own Master,
for the rest, quce supra nos, nihil ad nos."
Ellis, Letters of Eminent Literary Men (Camden Society).

4IO ''LE BRANLE DE LA PAIX."
poUte Hollander presenting Boufflers, the Duc de Guiche, and
General Pracomtal with a fine English horse a-piece, the gallant
Marshal returning articles de luxe of even greater price.
The autumn saw the settlement of the Peace of Ryswick.
Amazing was the most Christian King's complaisance. From
Dinant, taken in 1680, to Barcelona, just captured, he gave up
everything — excepting Strasbourg ; nay, so persistently did
rumour announce a disposition to yield even it, that Vauban
wrote to Racine, " in my opinion they might just as well give
up the Faubourg Saint Germain as Strasbourg." Could that
great man see his mutilated country now, how would he de
scribe her powers of defence ?
Further, ceding to France Marsal, Sarrelouis, and Longwy,
according also to French troops a right of march through the
duchy — Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, received the heritage of
his fathers. Then came the painfuUest sacrifice of all : Louis
acknowledged his personal enemy to be King of England.
But on one point he was inflexible ; not a word would he
listen to in behalf of the Huguenot emigrants. The grossest
error he ever committed was the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, yet he stuck to it, nay, exulted in it, as if its shame
were the glory of his reign.
A rare commentary on ambitious wars does this Peace of
Ryswick furnish. Of what profit to the Grand Monarque the
ten campaigns, their waste and bloodshed ? In the letter to
Racine, cited above, Vauban thus sums up against his master:
" Nous avons gagne un terrain considerable sur I'ennemi, nous
lui avons pris de grandes et bonnes places ; nous I'avons
toujours battu ; nous vivons tous les ans a ses depens ; nous
sommes en bien meilleur ^tat qu'au commencement de la
guerre, et au bout de tout cela, nous faisons une paix qui
deshonore le roi, et toute la nation, je n'ai point de termes
pour expliquer une si extraordinaire conduite, et quand j'en
aurois, je me donneroi bien garde de les exposer a une telle
lettre ; brfilez-la, s'il vous plait." '

' This curious letter was first published in 1839 by Colonel Augozat in
his " Abrdgd des Services du Marechal de Vauban."

MA TRIMONY EN CO URA GED. 4 1 1
Feuquiere and other cohtemporary writers accuse Madame
de Maintenon of tinkering this (in their eyes) dishonourable
peace, but the exhaustion and misery of the nation were more
probably its raison d'etre. Calling to mind that in the Dutch
war of 1672 France armed 240,000 soldiers, and 50 ships, ex
clusive of the galleys, but that during the war of the League
of Augsbourg, she marshalled nearly 450,000 combatants,
together with more than 60 line-of-battle ships and large
frigates — we perceive ample room for peacemakers.'
England and Holland, who found the money on the other
side, were equally willing to recruit their crippled resources.
Spain and the Emperor, who had simply furnished their quota
of man flesh, acknowledged the blessings of good-will with
less alacrity.
Nine years' hostility, the slaying or maiming of 800,000
soldiers or sailors, 700 millions spent — " starving nations,
empty treasuries, and depopulated countries," taught monarchs
a fleeting lesson in Christianity, and impressed statesmen
with the political necessity of matrimony. Fecundity was
encouraged by prizes ; a decree went forth that disbanded
soldiers who married on returning to their villages should be
excused a certain amount of taxation {iis ne payeront que
pour 5 sols de taille durant 5 ans). The surest method, thinks
Dangeau, to induce such people to increase and multiply in
the land.
The Peace dealt King James a heavy stroke. Scarcely
daring to hope now, he suffered with dignity. He protested
formally against the treaty, and to his dear friend, the Abbd
de la Trappe, wrote in this wise : " Tho' his most Christian
Majesty had the same affection and consideration for me he
ever had, yet he may perhaps think his condition such as to
oblige him to take a certain step for the good and peace of
his kingdom, which I am confident he will have a great reluc-
tancy too {sic) upon my account, and I believe it will give
him as much or more trouble than it will to me, who have
been inured to contradictions all my life." *
' Martin, " Histoire de France."
' Clarke, " Life of James II."

412 "LE BRANLE DE LA PAIX."
To his honour, be it said, Louis evinced the utmost delicacy
and thoughtfulness towards his ill-starred cousin. He com
manded that no public rejoicings should herald the peace,
and at the celebration of the artificial espousals of his grand
son with the Uttle Princess of Savoy, James and Mary were
invited to perform the most honourable (however curious)
parts in the gorgeous fiction,' the interesting details of which
are narrated in the Mercure of the day with a simplicity
pleasing enough when contrasted with the " word painting " of
the modern Jenkins.
Although bent on peace, Louis lost not sight of his
guest's interests. Out of the conversations of Bentinck and
Boufflers arose in hazy form a suggestion of this kind : if the
Stuart ceased from troubling the Dutchman's tenure of the
throne, the latter would endeavour to secure the reversion of
it to the Prince of Wales, who, for the purpose, should be
educated in England as a Protestant Soon afterwards Louis
broached the matter to the royal exiles. As might be ex
pected, they repudiated any compromise. James declared
" he could not support the thought of making his own child
a complice of his unjust dethronement," and the proud and
sensitive Mary, with flashing eyes, protested she had rather see
her son dead than seemingly beholden to an usurper who had
pronounced him spurious. The subject dropped for ever. *So
hastily to repel the advance, the Duke of Berwick considers
a grave imprudence. Possibly, but where was the guarantee
for the execution of such an arrangement ? What reason for
expecting the compliance of the Briti-sh ParUament ? William's
personal entreaties could not retain in EngUsh quarters the
Dutch guards and the French Huguenots, and are we to imagine
his influence sufficient to procure from the legislature their
sanction of a hole-and-corner family bargain ? *
' See "Journal de Dangeau," vi. 240-41.
^ One of the most amiable traits recorded of William IIL, is his emotion
at parting with his Dutch and French regiments. Deep affection blends
with the passion of that cry : "Ifl had a son, by God these guards should
not quit me ! " And in a letter to Lord Galway (Ruvigny) he said : "A
spirit of ignorance and malice prevails here beyond conception. It is not

DISBANDING. 413
The inexorable logic of finance extorted a wholesale reduc
tion of troops. In France nearly half of the Swiss returned
home. The royal Danes, the regiments of Savoy and Mont-
ferrat, shrank to skeletons. Many native battalions were
disbanded. Owing to King James's earnest pleading and
their own intrinsic value, the Irish suffered to a less extent ;
they were re-organized in eight regiments of infantry and one
of cavalry. The gardes-du-corps were broken up, but most of
the troopers joined, as cadets at high pay, a regiment of foot
which was given to Berwick. This arrangement somewhat
mitigated the distress which the riforme (as it was called)
entailed on gentlemen, whom loyalty to the Stuarts had
ruined. Still many an officer remained sadly out at elbows ;
and what a gloomy picture " that lean worn and riv'led " ex-
king receiving at Saint Germain " bashful, indigent persons of
all ranks," and sadly handing them " folded up in small pieces
of paper 5, 10, 15, or 20 pistoles, according to the merit, the
quality, and the exigency of each." ' But charity failed not.
From the Pope who sent 25,000 francs, to the Doctors of the
Sorbonne who set on foot a subscription, there was lively
sympathy for the poor Irish.
Across the channel a similar cutting down was imperative.
For service in England, 7,000 men must suffice. For Ireland,
12,000 was judged an adequate establishment. The reform
commenced, as usual, with sending adrift " all Irish and
Papists." * Food for powder no longer needful, the foreign
prince thus treated his Catholic subjects, and the pens hys
terical over King James's discharge of Protestants are mute !
And now for Berwick, the sharpest pangs that ever wrung
his heart— consumption seriously threatening the duchess, he
was recommended to take her to P6zenas, a pretty town in

possible to be more sensibly touched than I am at not being able to do
more for the poor refugee officers who have served me with so much zeal
and fidelity. Assuredly on all sides my patience is put to the trial." —
Dalrymple, Memoirs.
' Attestation of Sir David Nairne. — Macpherson'S Original Papers.
'' Luttrel, " Brief Relation of State Affairs."

414 " LE BRANLE DE LA PAIX."
Languedoc, then very famous for the purity and curative
qualities of its air. Well might the poor Duke exclaim :
" My eyes and tongue put on dissembling forms,
I show a calmness in the midst of storms ;
I seem to hope, when all my hopes are gone.
And almost dead with grief, discover none.''
The fell disease, which seems to select for its victims the
fairest, purest, and sweetest gifted, was not to be subdued. In
January, 1698, this charming woman bade farewell to her
husband and infant son. In telling her death. Saint Simon's
few words of regret portray her character : " The Duke," he says,
" had married her for love, and she had succeeded to admira
tion both at Court and at Saint Germain." Then, the master
stroke : " Elle etait k la premiere fleur de son age, belle,
touchante, faite a peindre, une nymphe."
Of Honora de Burgh, Richard Savage might have been
dreaming, when he wrote :
" Clos'd are those eyes that beam'd seraphic fire ;
Cold is that breast which gave the world desire ;
Mute is the voice where winning softness warm'd.
Where music melted, and where wisdom charm'd.
And lively wit which, decently confin'd,
No prude e'er thought impure, no friend, unkind."

XLIX.
THE PRINCESS, THE DUKE, AND
THE CARDINAL.
1 698- 1 699.
JLTHOUGH our ordinary air be good by nature
or art, yet it is not amiss still to alter it ; no better
physic for a melancholy man than change of air,
and variety of places, to journey abroad and see
fashions."' Simply in accordance with old Burton's prescrip
tion, the Duke of Berwick determined to travel. Bentinck's
hint to the French Government that the young general should
be invited to study men and manners in far countries, had
nothing to do with the matter; indeed WUliam disavowed
the innuendo as soon as its inopportuneness was manifest*
He left home at a moment when Paris was putting on her
gayest apparel to welcome the pompous embassy of Portland,
when hunts, comedies, and reviews seemed the sole occupation
of the Court — the famishing multitude patiently hoping that
peace would bring plenty, and Louis le Grand himself mar
velling over the ruinous splendours of Boufflers' camp at
Compi^gne.*

' " Anatomy of Melancholy." ' " Mdmoires du Marquis de Torcy."
' " Les merveilles du prodige de sa magnificence," writes Saint Simon.
Among the 50,000 picked troops at Compidgne, was Lee's Irish foot,
which Dangeau pronounces " parfaitement beau."

41 6 PRINCESS, DUKE, AND CARDINAL.
Still la haute politique was busy clandestinely. The death
of Charles II. of Spain being reported, an affair of weeks if
not days, Bentinck and Torcy, at the instigation of Louis XIV.,
but with the eager approval of WiUiam IIL, were amiably
planning the partition of the once mighty Spanish monarchy.
Impelled by the religious feeling ever strong within him,
Berwick went to Italy, " for ever blest" — her glory past, her
charms immortal. At Turin his name and services ensured a
flattering reception from the crafty Victor Amadeus. Then
away through fat Lombardy to Venice, lovely as of old
and still wearing a gloss of strength — it was the eve of the
Treaty of Carlowitz — but for all that, perishing as a state
through poUtical and moral corruption. Thence by sea to
Ancona ; and after a pilgrimage to the miraculous Santa Casa
of Loreto, he found himself at Rome, the guest of the French
Ambassador, Cardinal de Bouillon, the vainest and shiftiest of
ecclesiastics, of whom in truth the best is said, when we write
him down nephew of Turenne.
The rendezvous of the best society was the saloon of the
Duchesse de Braciano. Having known her in Paris, Berwick
visited neariy every day the most fascinating — soon to become
the most celebrated — woman of the age. Anne Marie de la
Tremouille, the eldest daughter of the Duc de Noirmoutier,
was born in 164 1. A lovely girl of eighteen, she married
Adrien Blaise de Talleyrand, Prince de Chalais. Being as
conspicuous for wit as for beauty, she made the acquaintance
of Madame Scarron, afterwards Madame de Maintenon, and
was on friendly terms with Cardinal de Retz. Having been
engaged in a fatal duel, her husband was obliged to fly to
Spain. The devotedly attached princess immediately followed
him. They afterwards settled in Italy, where De Chalais died
suddenly in 1670. Overwhelmed with grief, the childless
widow retired to a convent ; gradually, however, the love
of this world re-assumed sway ; and under the auspices of
Cardinals d'Estrees and de Bouillon, she again delighted
Roman society. For reasons of state, some say, others im
puting tenderer motives, these reverend personages made up,
in 1675, a match between their protdgde and Flavio Orsini,

AN ENCHANTRESS. 417
Duca de Bracciano. With Saint-Simon's inimitable portrait
of her at this period, we may not wonder if the rougher sex
yielded to her spell :
" C'dtait une femme plutdt grande que petite, brune avec
des yeux bleus qui disaient sans cesse tout ce qui lui plaisait,
avec une taille parfjlite, une belle gorge, et un visage qui sans
beaute etait charmant ; I'air extremement noble, quelque
chose de majestueux en tout son maintien, et des grices si
naturelles, et si continuelles en tout, j usque dans les choses les
plus petites et les plus indiffdrentes, que je n'ai jamais vu per
sonne en approcher, soit dans le corps, soit dans I'esprit, dont
elle avait infiniment et de toutes sortes ; flatteuse, caressante,
insinuante, mesur^e, voulant plaire pour plaire, et avec des
charmes dont il n'^tait pas possible de se d^fendre quand
elle voulait gagner et s^duire — une conversation d61icieuse, in-
tarissable, et d'ailleurs fort amusante par tout ce qu'elle avait
vu et connu de pays et de personnes, une voix et un parler
extremement agr^ables, avec un air de douceur — beaucoup
d'ambition, mais de ces ambitions vastes, fort au-dessus de son
sexe, et de I'ambition ordinaire des hommes."
The palazzo Orsini now became the head-quarters of French
influence, which the Duchess further extended by the marriage
of a sister with her brother-in-law the Duca di Lanti. Ex-r
travagance, and incompatibility with a dull husband, who sup^
ported Innocent XII. in his quarrel with Louis XIV., produced
occasional domestic estrangement. Hence, visits to Paris, where
hex petits bals, which always concluded at ten o'clock P.M. (such
a sensible Duchess would be a godsend to London society !) were
the rage. The last of these visits ended in 1698, when Louis
was immersed in the partition intrigues. The old familiarity
with Madame de Maintenon renewed, and intimacy with
Mardchal de Noailles, and the Minister de Torcy established,
she undertook to forward the views of France in the coming
struggle for Spanish spoils. Up to this time, it is said, the
love of pleasure — even mceurs d I' escarpolette — had occupied
her more than the game of politics. Be that as it may, at the
age of fifty-six she adopted the harder passion.
In April Bracciano died, and soon afterwards Berwick
E E

4i8 PRINCESS, DUKE, AND CARDINAL.
arrived at Rome. He found those once fast friends the
bereaved Duchess and Cardinal de Bouillon at daggers drawn.
The cause of quarrel seems to have been petty indeed. The
Orsini was no sooner defunct, than the Cardinal hastened to
the palace to prevent the creditors placing the official seal on
the personal effects of the departed, it being a privilege of the
Sacred College that the police should not enter houses in
which one of its members happened to be. By acting thus,
he exempted'from sequestration the furniture, pictures, jewels
and plate which the Prince had bequeathed to his wife, the
landed estates alone remaining chargeable with the debts.
By the way, the Duchess was at once involved in a law
suit with Don Livio Odelscalchi (nephew of Innocent XL),
who pretended to have been adopted by the deceased. After
costly litigation they compromised matters ; the lady selling
to Odelscalchi the title as well as the domains of Bracciano
for a round sum of two millions. Consequently, she assumed
the style of Princesse des Ursins (degli Orsini) by which
name she is famous. Her private debts being immense, her
fortune dwindled to 17,000 francs rentes, to which the French
government added a considerable pension.
To return to the casus belli. When the Cardinal arrived so
opportunely to the adorable mourner's assistance, she ordered
dinner to be served for him in the ante-chamber of her apart
ment. But haughtily declining such hospitality, his Eminence
claimed the honour of dining with her in her bed-room {au
chevet de son lit). In vain she urged the indecency of that Roman
custom — her husband's corpse being still unburied. No ex
cuses availed ; De Bouillon left the house in dudgeon, without
having broken his fast. A few days afterwards the fair widow
ordered her rooms to be hung with violet ; the mortuary pri
vilege, she affirmed, of the Orsini. But the nettled Cardinal
interposing as sub-dean of the Sacred College, declared that
the distinction she sought appertained solely to his brethren ;
hence, she must put up with black curtains. The lady was
his match : she referred the question to the Pope, who pro
nounced in her favour. Such the quarrel that lasted the lives
of bothi

THE FEUD REVIVES. 419
As mutual friend, Berwick strove to reconcile the over
bearing churchman and the affronted fine lady. After con
sultations with her brother, the Abbd de la Tremouille, who
continued on friendly terms with his Eminence, he actually
persuaded the adversaries to make it up, on the understand
ing that no explanation of any kind should be entered on.
The only point remaining to be adjusted was — who should
pay the first visit ? " Son Altesse eminentissime," pluming
himself even more on his birth than on his red hat, insisted on
the Princess making the first advance. Of course, our Duke
urged place aux dames, setting forth how laudable it was for
men to show themselves the humble servants of the fair sex.
Deaf to such arguments was foolish De Bouillon ; and Berwick
ceased to labour in vain.
And so the pair grew more hostile than ever. To her other
accomplishments joining the art of clever letter writing, the
Princess assailed her old admirer tooth and nail. In one of
her letters to Mardchal de Noailles we have piquant illustra
tion of how a woman hates : —
"Le roi sera toujours trompd lorsqu'il confiera quelque a
M. le Cardinal de Bouillon, cette homme porte dans son coeur
une haine qui ne finira qu'avec sa vie ; et quelques bienfaits
qu'il puisse recevoir, il les trouvera toujours au-dessous de
I'ev^che de Lidge, qu'il se figure qu'on lui a fait manquer.
Rarement est-il venu chez-moi qu'il n'y ait trouv6 quelque
cardinal ou quelque prdlat considerable, je prenois toujours
plaisir a faire tomber la conversation sur les merveilles qui
composent la vie du roi ; mais il la ddtournoit avec soin, et
jamais je ne I'ai entendu louer sa majestd qu'une seule fois,
pour dire qu'elle jouoit bien de la guitare !"
Certainly this Prince of the Church laid himself peculiarly
open to attack. His underhand proceedings on sundry occa
sions were displeasing to his imperious master; but on the
subject of Quietism he had greatly irritated him and Madame
de Maintenon. Instructed by Louis to obtain from the Pope a
condemnation of Fdndlon's book — "Explications des Maximes
des Saints sur la vie intdrieure," he audaciously sided with
the Archbishop of Cambray, and, not satisfied with arguing

420 PRINCESS, DUKE, AND CARDINAL.
against the censure, he endeavoured to intimidate his brethren ;
he shouted, raved, reviled to such a pitch, that Innocent ex
claimed — " E un porco ferito !" (he is a wounded hog). What
a contrast to the violence of this ill-conditioned priest is the
pious resignation of Fendlon ! He wrote to Madame de
Noailles as follows : —
" Je n'ai qu'a me taire et a souffrir, en attendant que le
Pape justifie ma doctrine ou me corrige. Je suis, Dieu merci,
soumis comme un enfant a mon supdrieur. J'avais besoin
d'humiliation ; Dieu m'en a envoye, et je Ten remercie. Je
songe au bien qu'ils me font, et non au mal qu'ils me veulent
faire." More than this, when the blow was struck, mounting
the pulpit of his cathedral, he took for a text the submission
due to the Church, announced the condemnation of his book,
and concluded a noble sermon by not merely submitting to
but humbly acquiescing in the judgment just deUvered in all
tenderness, it must be confessed, by the Pope.
We may easily conceive how exasperating to a potentate of
Louis's temper must have been the counterblasts of his own
ambassador. Mesdames de Maintenon and des Ursins fan
ning the royal wrath, the Cardinal's disgrace was decided on.
The Prince of Monaco should supply his place at the Holy
See. But His Eminence resisted the letter of recall, on the
ground that by leaving Rome he would lose the deanery of
the Sacred College, which had just become vacant. Positiyely
furious, Louis seized his property, stripped him of the office
of Grand Aumonier, and commanded him to resign the cordon
bleu. This brought Emmanuel Theodore de la Tour d' Au
vergne to his knees. Before long, however, restless vanity
again overpowered his prudence. During the war of the
Spanish succession, he entered into a criminal correspondence
with the Duke of Marlborough and Lord Galway. His arrest
being ordered, he fled from France in 17 lo. Ultimately
family influence obtained the restitution of his estates, and he
ended his days obscurely at Rome.
The friend of both sides, Berwick must have had no envi
able time of it His arrogant host was Uttle likely to appre
ciate the neutrality of the honest soldier ; and certainly the

TO THE BITTER END! 421
princess mistrusted it, for, on the 6th of June, just before his
departure from Rome, she wrote to De Noailles as follows : —
" La seule ressource de M. le Cardinal de Bouillon est dans
les bons offices qu'il attend de M. le Duc de Berwick : outre la
bonte naturelle de ce seigneur, il I'a mis dans ses inter^ts, en
lui rendant ici, comme il diroit, tous les services qu'il a pu,
et en lui donnant des gardes que ne lui ont pas permis
d'ecouter ceux qui pouvoient lui faire remarquer sa mauvaise
conduite. II I'a fait partir expres depuis quelques jours : ainsi
il arrivera avant que vous receviez cette lettre."
There is no evidence to show that the Duke went to France
on any errand of the kind. He tells us that, his curiosity
not taking him to Naples, he journeyed homeward by way of
Florence, Getioa, and Turin. "

THE SPANISH SUCCESSION.

1700.
^OW well Burton's advice succeeded, is shown by
the Duke of Berwick's marriage in April with
Anne, daughter of Mr. Henry Bulkeley, master of
the household to James IL' The Marquis Dangeau
informs us that it was a union of affection, and rather sur
prised society, for the Duke, always reserved, had not imparted
the secret of his passion to his nearest friends.
The young general naively observes : " Je restai tranquille
cette annee." A very proper compliment to the bride ; still,
amorous pre-occupations did not prevent him watching, with
intense interest, the signs and wonders gathering in the poli
tical firmament.
Without plunging into the complicated intrigues which pre
ceded the war of the Spanish succession, a brief explanation
of them may not be out of place.
To the vast dominions of the childless Charles II. of Spain,
whose end evidently approached, the following princes might
aspire — first, the Dauphin, nearest in blood, being the son of
Maria Theresa, the eldest daughter of Philip IV. Secondly,
the Electoral Prince of Bavaria, grandson of Margaret The
resa, his younger daughter. Thirdly, the Emperor Leopold,
son of Maria Anna, younger sister of Philip IV. (her eldest

' Henry Bulkeley was second son of Viscount Bulkeley, of Cashel. From
this second marriage is descended the present Duc de Fitzjames.

PARTITION. 423
sister, Anne of Austria, being mother of Louis XIV.) The
pretension, therefore, of the Dauphin vras primd facie the best
founded, that of the Emperor the worst ; but in consequence
of the renunciation of her rights by the mother of the Dau
phin (with the consent of Louis XIV.), the Electoral Prince's
claim might be held to be the most valid.
Peculiar and perplexing was the position of the French
King. He had agreed in the withdrawal of his wife's titie
He had nothing to expect from the affection of Charies II.
Nay, even supposing his brother-in-law so inclined, could he
hope that the great powers would permit him to absorb Spain ?
In these circumstances arose the idea of a partition, which
likewise fell in with the views of WilUam III. Such a secret
of course could not be kept, and the wretched Charies had
spirit enough left to resent the offensive meddling of the two
kings. He immediately made a will, bequeathing his vast
possessions to his grand-nephew, Leopold of Bavaria, a child
just five years old. England, Holland, and France concurred
in the elevation of the house of Bavaria. The little prince
might rule Spain and the Indies ;' but the Elector, in the name
of his son, privily consented to the distribution of the rest of
the monarchy, as proposed in the Treaty of the Hague. In
vain, however, says the Marquis de Torcy, does human wisdom
hatch -projects, if they harmonize not with the designs of God,
Master of peace and war. Disposer of all events. Six months
pass away, and Leopold is dead ! The Austrian court, already
accused of poisoning Charles the Second's first wife,' was
strongly suspected of foul play. Indeed, in the first agony of
his grief, the Elector published his misgivings.^
The boy's death no sooner known than England and France
set to work on another allotment scheme. Every exertion was
made to induce the Emperor to accede to it ; but, coveting the
whole, he refused a share. After much delay, a new compact

' Marie Louise d'Orldans, daughter of the Duc d'Orleans and of Hen
riette of England. She was disposed of, it is said, for having revealed to
Louis XIV. the impotency of her husband.
' " Mdmoires du Marquis de Torcy."

424 THE SPANISH SUCCESSION.
was signed at London and the Hague in May, Leopold still
holding sullenly aloof It provided that Spain, the Indies,
and the Netherlands should be the portion of the Arch^Duke
Charles (the Emperor's second son), the Milanese to go to the
Duke of Lorraine, who would in exchange cede his duchy to
France ; Naples, Sicily, and the province of Guipuscoa were
assigned to the Dauphin.
Madrid flared up at the news of the second partition. Grief
nearly finished off the moribund monarch. His German wife
grew so violent that she smashed all the French vertit of her
apartment; "tant les passions sont les mfimes dans tous les
rangs ! " says Voltaire.' The Spanish nobles, detesting the
Germans, were deeply agitated. The Queen unceasingly
prompted the King to appoint the Archduke his sole heir.
Cardinal Porto Carrero and the majority of the grandees were
active in behalf of a Bourbon.
At first Marie Anne's arts prevailed. Charles made a will
favourable to her nephew. But he continued ill at ease. By
the advice of the clergy surrounding the sick bed, he applied
to the Pope for guidance. Innocent (likewise dying) recom
mended him to select for his heir a prince of the family nearest
of kin. On the 2nd of October, therefore, the unhappy man
secretly executed a third will, in which he acknowledged the
Dauphin's right to the Spanish crown ; but to avoid the alarm
which such an augmentation of French power would occasion,
he named the Duc d' Anjou, second son of the Dauphin, in
heritor of all his kingdoms and lordships, without exception
and without dismemberment.
On the 1st of November Charles expired, and immediately
the Junta ordered the Spanish ambassador at Paris to lay
before Louis the last will and testament.
The King was then at Fontainebleau. Before granting the
ambassador a private interview he pondered seriously, and
then sought the opinion of his Council on an event so unex-

' Marie Anne, Princess of Bavaria-Neubourg, sister-in-law of the Em
peror Leopold, and second wife of Charles II. of Spain.

PHILIP OF ANJOU. 425
pected and so momentous to the interest of the royal family,
to the public good, and to the repose of Europe.'
Louis was embarrassed. In concluding the peace of Rys
wick his main object had been to give the nation time to
recover from its exhaustion ; but if he accepted this magnifi
cent legacy, the unfortunate people must sustain another tre
mendous conflict : for surely the States bordering on France,
and already so jealous of her power, would not quietly permit
her sway to extend over the old and new world domains of
Spain. On the other hand, should he refuse the settlement
set oiit in this will, the total succession would fall to the arch
duke, and to avert dismemberment the Spanish nobility, albeit
hating the Teuton, would doubtless acquiesce in the rule of
Leopold's second son, thus re-uniting, in the house of Austria,
the might of Charles V. The Emperor had obstinately re
fused to listen to seductions when the English and French
flirtation was at its height ; now, when well aware he had
nothing to fear from William IIL, was it likely he would be
more tractable ? Whichever way Louis looked — war. War
to secure the bequest of Charles ! war to glean the benefits of
partition !
Should he accept for his grandson of Anjou, or should he
throw a superb advantage into the lap of the Austrian ? After
careful debate in the council of state, he determined to stand
by the will.
According to the fashion of his country, the Spanish am
bassador on his knees saluted the Duc d'Anjou.* Then, the
folding doors of the salon thrown open, the most Christian
King cried aloud to the thronging courtiers, " Voila le roi d'Es-
pagne ! " and, turning to his grandson, he said, " Soyez bon
Espagnol ; c'est presentement votre premier devoir ; mais

' " Mdmoires du Marquis de Torcy."
» The Mercure reports as follows : " The Spanish ambassador threw
himself at the Duke's feet and kissed his hand, his eyes full of tears. And
then rising up, he introduced his son, and other Spaniards of his suite,
with this exclamation : ' Quelle joie ! il n'y a plus de Pyrdndes, eUes sont
abimdes, et nous ne sommes plus qu'un.' Subsequently the mot, ' il n'y a
plus de Pyrdndes ' was attributed to Louis y^VJ."— Journal de Dangeau.

426 THE SPANISH SUCCESSION.
souvenez-vous que vous etes ne frangais pour entretenir I'union
entre les deux nations ; c'est le moyen de les rendre heureuses,
et de conserver la paix de I'Europe."
On the 4th of December PhiUp quitted Versailles, affec
tionately consigned to God by his grandfather, who at the last
moment tendered excellent advice respecting " le metier de
roi." Among other precepts : cherish your wife, avoid flat
terers, study your finances, keep clear of war if possible, em
ploy Spaniards exclusively in the administration, keep the
French about you in order, &c.
At first everything looked promising. The surrounding
nations accepted the new state of things with a tolerable
grace. Indeed, nobody being ready to wage it, war for the
moment was out of the question. Against the grain of Wil
liam, England and Holland acknowledged PhiUp. The Em
peror alone openly protested, and commenced military prepa
rations. As Saint-Simon remarks, the eighteenth century
opened for the Bourbons " par un comble de gloire et de pros-
perite." The family of Fitzjames celebrated another marriage in
July. The Duchesse du Maine, having great affection for a
Mademoiselle de Lussan, made up a match between her and
that scapegrace commodore, Henry Fitzjames, Duke of Albe
marle. In consequence, probably, of the character rien vail-
lant of the Grand Prior, the young lady's fortune of 300,000
francs rentes was strictly settled on herself ; but she consented
to make her husband an allowance, for his sole means of sup
port consisted in a pension of 9,000 francs from Louis, and a
like sum from his royal father, in addition to sea pay, as chef
d'escadre, of 6,000 francs, which he drew as though he were
constantly afloat.
The bride was not slow in asserting the privileges of the
position she had dearly purchased. Six weeks after the mar
riage, having seated herself upon a stool {pris le tabouret)
in the salon of the Duchess of Burgundy, the valets de chambre
demanded their usual fee of 100 pistoles. Madame tossed her
head, haughtily observing, that if duchesses were liable to be
so mulcted, the daughter-in-law of a king was certainly exempt.

THE DUCHESS OF ALBEMARLE. 427
The courtiers declared the refusal niggard, but out of con
sideration for James, Louis directed the Duchesse de Lude to
order the footmen not to press for theix pour-boire. After ex
plaining that Madame d' Albemarle had taken a seat as an
-English duchess, and not as a king's daughter-in-law, Saint-
Simon concludes with a sneer, " la gueuserie est orgueilleuse,
et cent louis sont bons k gagner."

LI.

THE DUKE OF BERWICK AND CLEMENT XL
1701.
5 EXT to the Emperor Leopold, William of Orange
most bitterly resented the choice of Charles II.
When the ambassador, Tallard, strove to convince
him that the arrangement offered the only solution
capable of preserving the European equilibrium, the angry
King replied, " Monsieur, je vous prie de ne vous fatiguer pas
tant pour justifier la conduite de votre maitre, le roi tres
Chretien ne pouvait pas se dementir, il a agi a son ordinaire."'
But for the moment he was powerless : the army unready,
and the new Tory parliament as disinclined to hostilities as
the lately dismissed Whigs. He must temporize and dis
semble. In dread for their frontier and commercial interests, the
Dutch had hesitated to recognize Philip V. But an ominous
hint quickened their assent to existing facts, while it aggra
vated their fears for the future. By an old treaty with Spain,
the Dutch garrisoned the frontier towns of Belgium. Thus,
they were now occupying strong places belonging to a poten
tate whose title they ignored. Such incongruity could not
last. To cut it short, the Marechal de Boufflers, concerted
measures with the Elector of Bavaria, Governor of the Spanish

H. Martin, " Histoire de France."

IN QUEST OF ALLIANCES. 429
Netherlands, who had warmly welcomed the accession of the
Bourbon. The result was that on the night of the 6th of
February, French troops entered Namur, Charleroi, Ath,
Mons, Oudenarde, and Nieuport No blood flowed. Fort
doucement were the amazed Hollanders confined to their
quarters, Louis engaging to set them free as soon as their
government recognized his grandson. Puysegur's battalions
admitting of no further palter, their High Mightinesses com
plied, and the Dutchmen marched homeward, — much against
the will of the French military party ; indeed Berwick pro
nounces their release a very grave mistake. But then military
opinion is apt to be arbitrary ; with an eye solely to profes
sional objects, it often forgets what is due to political decen
cies. Two sufficient motives actuated Louis : war not having
been declared, he had no right to the persons of these garri
sons, and the Elector, whose friendliness was of paramount
importance, naturally considered his honour bound up with
the liberation of his old comrades.
His army not having been materially reduced since peace
with the Turks, the Kaiser was not quite unprepared to fight.
Besides, he had unbounded confidence in the luck of the
house of Austria, and set great store by a brilliant young
officer. Prince Eugene of Savoy, who had done famously
during the recent Ottoman campaigns. He cast about for
alliances. To obtain, free of cost, a contingent of 10,000 men,
he permitted ducal Prussia to blossom into a kingdom — when,
with a curl of the Up, he thus flattered the parvenu's pride,
little did he dream of the ruthless enemy he was fostering.
He gained over Hanover by dubbing its duke Elector. He
carried on secret negotiations with WilUam IIL, which, he felt
sure, would mature to his advantage Nor was Louis supine.
He treated with the King of Portugal, and the Dukes of
Savoy and Mantua. The lesser duke allowed the French to
occupy his capital ; the greater, after long reflection, joined
the Franco-Spanish alliance, on being named generalissimo
in Italy, and marrying his second daughter, Marie Louise, to
King Philip. StUl, he was half-hearted. A grant of the
Milanese alone might fix his affections, The Prince de Vau-

430 DUKE OF BERWICK ANii CLEMENT XL
demont. Governor of Lombardy, and lately William's most
cherished lieutenant, embraced the Bourbon cause, and re
questing French reinforcements, forty battalions and as many
squadrons were placed at his disposal.'
In the heat and bustle of clearing for action, died very sud
denly the Secretary of State for War, Louis Frangois Marie
Le Tellier, Marquis de Barbezieux. Clever, but debauched,
all the women mourned him. Enamoured of pleasure and yet
indefatigable in business, he burned the candle at both ends,
and finished at thirty-three. So strong his talents that, with a
little more steadiness, he bade fair to rival in renown his
father, the great Louvois. "^ Chamillart, Minister of Finance,
was preferred to the vacant post. An excellent billiard player,
but a shallow official, he was expected to organize victory as
well as to manage the exchequer, a burden under which Col
bert or Louvois might have staggered, perhaps sunk. Taken
from the desk, without a particle of military knowledge, this
pleasant parasite was to aid Louis in drawing up plans of
campaign. He would dictate orders to Catinat and Venddme,
discuss sieges with Vauban, and tactics with Montal :
" Blood, he speaks terribly, but for all that
I do not greatly believe him ; he looks as like
A conjurer as the Pope to a coster-monger."
In the conjuncture, James II. resolved to send the Duke of
Berwick to Rome, to congratulate Pope Clement XL, who
had just succeeded Innocent XIL, and to watch over the Stuart
interests in the turn of events. The young general was par
ticularly instructed to offer his services in connection with the
army which France was urging His Holiness to raise, and Car
dinal Janson, ambassador to the Papal Court, had orders to
support the Englishman's proposals.
Accordingly, Berwick bade farewell to his young wife in
January. Halting at Turin, he had several conversations on
English affairs with the Duke of Savoy. The recent death of

' This Prince de Vaudemont was the illegitimate son of Charles IV. of
Lorraine. Vide Saint-Simon for a very curious account of him.

EMPTY PROTEST. 431
the little Duke of Gloucester making a gap in the Protestant
succession, WilUam had caused a bill to be introduced into
Parliament, appointing the Duchess Sophia of Hanover (grand
daughter of James I.) and her issue heirs of the British crown,
in the event of the Princess Anne and himself dying childless.
Thus were excluded fifty-seven Catholic princes and princesses
having stronger hereditary claims.' The Duchess of Savoy
(daughter of Henriette, Duchesse d'Orleans) being the nearest
in blood, after the children of James IL, Berwick represented
to Victor Amadeus that his silence on so important a question
would probably be imputed to acquiescence ; and that it suited
neither his honour nor his interest to blink a transaction which
deliberately effaced his family rights. At first the wily prince
made difficulties, hinting that his remonstrances would not
only be futUe but might bring upon him a host of powerful
enemies. On hearing, however, that Louis expected him to
take steps in the matter, he instructed his minister at St.
James's to protest publicly against the Act of Exclusion ; and
so, attended by a notary, the ambassador appeared before
Parliament, and delivered a pompous, hollow expostulation.
From Turin, Berwick proceeded to Modena, where he con
ferred seriously with its duke, impressing upon him how great
would be Italy's danger if hostilities broke out ; for, apart
from the damage and disorder always following in the track
of foreign troops, the petty sovereigns would be at the mercy
of the conqueror whoever he turned out to be ; with the view,
then, of preventing war, or at least of making themselves re
spected, it was their duty to unite in arms. Our hero suc
ceeded in putting his highness into a precious fright He
declared himself ready to do whatever the Pope desired— and
incontinently with Italian cunning began philandering with
Austria. And Berwick went to Rome. On arrival he had to discuss
a prickly point of etiquette, a subject which the courts of
that time considered of profoundest gravity. The Duke in
sisted that during audience with His Holiness he should be

Macpherson, " Original Papers."

432 DUKE OF BERWICK AND CLEMENT XL
supplied with a tabouret, a favour which had been extended
to Turenne, and to which Spanish grandees, whose rank was
not superior to his own, aspired. Not without fifteen days'
controversy did the doctors in punctilio contrive a compromise
to this effect — having made the regulated genuflexions, and
kissed the pontifical slipper, the Duke of Berwick would be
embraced by the Vicar of Christ, who might then deign "to
walk with His Grace through the suit of rooms.
At his first reception, Berwick informed Clement that affec
tion for his person and zeal for Holy Church, induced James
II. to place at his disposal the military services of his son, and
to proffer the aid of a choice brigade of Irish soldiers. With
many delicate compliments the Pontiff declined to bind him
self to any particular course. Not that he disapproved the
Bourbon claim ; as Cardinal Albani he had joined in the
advice given by the Papal Court to Charles II. in favour of
the Duc d'Anjou, and he was actually contemplating the
neutrality of Italy through a confederation of Italian states.
But, listless and timid, he always faltered when it came to the
push. He acknowledged the expediency of possessing troops
worth their salt ; but he dreaded the displeasure of the
Emperor, of whom the Italians stood mightily in awe. In
fact, the Holy Father would do nothing beyond raising a few
bad regiments, which were worse than useless. As usual, the
shilly-shally ended in offending both sides.
Jocosely propounding in the course of conversation that
priests were sorry judges of military matters, Clement re
quested Berwick to ascertain if the two gentlemen he wished
to appoint generals were men of professional merit. These
officers, consequently, waited on the Duke, and reported their
services. One, Conte Massimo, governor of Saint Angelo, had
been formerly a subaltern in Flanders, but had dwelt at home
at ease for forty years. The other, Conte Paulucci, brother of
the Cardinal of the same name, could only boast of having
been a captain of horse in peace time. Promising material
out of which to manufacture generals on the verge of
hostiUties !
Notwithstanding Cardinal Janson heartily endorsed Ber-

ILL NEWS.

433

wick's political and military admonitions, nothing essential
could be effected with the good-tempered, well-meaning Pope,
who had sense enough to perceive what he ought to do, but
lacked nerve to adopt a resolute course in, it must be con
fessed, very difficult circumstances.
After six weeks of sterile diplomacy, tidings reached Ber
wick which caused him to take hasty leave of the Pontiff, and
with a heavy heart to travel night and day to France.

LII.

"LE PETIT ABBE" AND "PERE LA PENSEE."

1701.
F late years James II. had been faUing in health
and increasing in devoutness. Penance and con
templation were the business of his days — "the
horror he had of his past disorders made him
think he could never do enough to make reparation for
them." '
An old soldier, once zealous in military administration, we
may imagine him interested in the camp of Compiegne. He
thus describes it : " Never was anything of that kind better
worth seeing, never was an army of about 50,000 or 60,000
men so well chosen, so well clad, and so well mounted ; what
care and pains have not the officers taken, and moneys have
they not spent to distinguish themselves, their regiments, or
even each private troop or company to gain the favour of
their prince ; it is commendable in them, and no more than
their duty ; but at the same time, I cannot hinder myself
from making this melancholy reflection. How very few of
that formidable army think of their duty to the King of
Kings, that does so much honour to their profession as to
call himself the Lord of Hosts." There is nothing uncommon
in all this : many a veteran, graceless in lusty manhood, grows
rigidly catholic or noisily evangelical as grey hairs and in
firmities multiply ; but what may really surprise us is that the

Clarke, "Life of James II."

SYMPTOMS OF EVIL. 435
injured Stuart now began to pray for his enemies, and, to the
terror of the Queen, to desire death. A warning sign.
On Good Friday, the 4th of March, he fainted away in
chapel. To all appearance, however, he was as well as usual
in the course of a few hours. But a week afterwards paralysis
seized him while he was dressing. Speedily rallying, Dr.
Fagon recommended him to try the waters of Bourbon
I'Archambault ; and thither the Duke of Berwick, who had
reached Saint Germain early in April, accompanied his father
and Mary of Modena.
Louis provided handsomely for the poor exiles in their
trouble. Horses in troops were placed at their disposal ;
100,000 francs a month were furnished for expenses; and a
favourite lord-in-waiting, D'Urfe, had orders to see that James
and Mary received the same honours that would greet the
most Christian King.
While the Bourbon waters were effecting a partial restora
tion, the European ground-swell expanded. Austria and
France armed apace. Peace was pronounced certain with
official effrontery, while every energy was furbishing up for
war. To the infinite disgust of the insinuating Tesse, Catinat
received command of the army which would oppose Prince
Eugene in Lombardy. Boufflers would lead in Flanders ; the
irrepressible Villeroy air his martial graces in Germany. The
King named the Duke of Berwick as one of the lieutenant-
generals of Marechal de Boufflers ; a mark of favour, certainly,
for the beloved Duc du Maine and the Comte de Toulouse
were also to gallop under that boldest of dragoons.
On the other side, how irksome to a man of his temper the
situation of William, of Orange ! Like his uncle, his health was
ruined ; but, unlike James, reUgion acquired no soothing in
fluence. Politics and war continued the head and front of all
things : he had saluted his " txhs cher frere le Roi d'Espagne,"
and yet his relations with the recalcitrant Kaiser grew daily
closer. Weak as he was, he would out with the sword at
once, were it not for adverse "parliament-men," who had
coarsely forced Lady Orkney to disgorge Irish acres, and
who now presumed to impeach Bentinck — foreigner-abhorring

436 ''LE PETIT ABBE" AND "PERE LA PENSEE!'
churls, whom not even an intercepted letter, in which Melfort
discussed Scottish Jacobitism with his brother of Perth,
could inflame to the requisite wrath.
Early in June, James returned to Saint Germain, as far as
gout was concerned, the better for the cure. He could ride ;
and leaning on the arm of the devoted Mary, saunter along
the palace terrace; but he occasionally spat blood, and evi
dently his condition was precarious. No immediate danger
being apprehended, Berwick joined his division in Flanders,
where drilling, accoutring, moving about cannon, organizing
the commissariat, cramming the fortresses with munitions,
argued poorly for concord. The Duke tells us, that the
officers on both sides used to meet frequently, not merely on
courteous terms, but lavishing mutually the nicest ' compli
ments. It was not the cue of either party to bite the thumb.
In those days, indeed, uncouth manners seldom disfigured
gentlemen. Culture might be less widely extended than at
present, but habitual politeness was, perhaps, more charac
teristic of the military calling than in this " advanced " age,
when speculation lures all ranks of society — when the man
of peace expounds tactics, and the " Special Correspondent "
questions the strategy of approved soldiers.
In Italy, however, was rough play. Ordered to conciliate
the neutral Venetians, and to be nowhere aggressive," Catinat
stood at ease, while Prince Eugene, marching through the
valley of Trent, debouched with 30,000 men on the plains of
Verona, and detached a large body of cavalry to the lower
Adige. Urged by the Governor of the Milanese to watch the
upper part of that river and the Tyrolese gorges, the French
marshal held Rivoli, and massed a large force in front of
Verona, hoping thereby to frustrate the Imperialists should
they offer to pass the river near that city, or to make an
attack on Peschiera.
But Eugene stretching along the lower Adige as far as
Badia, Catinat fixed his right at Legnano and Carpi, without
weakening the infantry corps at Rivoli, for an Austrian
detachment still facing that point, he suspected an intention
of crossing the river thereabout. Previously flowing south-

EXCELLENT FENCE. 437
ward, the Adige turns sharply to the east at Verona ; hence,
although somewhat stronger than his opponents, the French
man was yet not strong enough to defend the immense arc,
the cord of which Eugeneheld. The ImperiaUsts being mani
festly able to concentrate far quicker than the Franco-
Spaniards could draw together, the Prince expected to beat
his enemy in detail. Amusing him, therefore, with demonstra
tions at Rivoli and Verona, he despatched a column to
Ferrara, as if intending to enter the Modenese, whose duke's
Austrian proclivities were ill concealed. Again Catinat length
ened his Une, by occupying Stellata, opposite the new Impe
rialist post. The French being now broken up into seven or
eight corps, Eugene thought the time come for executing his
project With 15,000 men, horse, foot, and guns, he would proceed
secretly to Carpi, and overwhelm Saint Fremont, who lay there
with only five regiments of dragoons. Subsequently joined
by the Prince de Commerci at the head of a great force of
cavalry, he would rout Tesse at Legnano. In this way cut in
twain, the French army might easily be disposed of seriatim,
and Italy be lost to the Bourbons.
Excellently planned, the expedition did not entirely answer
its purpose. Beaten certainly was Saint Fremont After a
fierce milee of cavalry, the Austrian foot and guns appearing
on his flank compelled a retreat which was effected in fair
order, chiefly because Commerci, impeded by excessive rain,
could not effect a junction in time. Ruinous disaster was
thus averted ; but the loss of Carpi and shortness of ammuni
tion obliged Catinat to retire behind the Oglio, and Eugene
became master of the whole country between the Adige and
the Adda, with the single exception of well-manned Mantua.'
Le petit Abbd had manoeuvred adroitly. Scarce an advan
tage pertaining to his shorter line of operations had been
missed. P^re la Pensee, on the defence, did not reach the
mark of his great reputation. Still, allowance should be
made for the peculiar difficulties of his position. He was
' " Mdmoires de Fouquiere."

438 "LE PETIT ABBE" AND "PERE LA PENSEE."
encumbered with precise orders from presumptuous Versailles :
" rarement reussit-on, quand on suit un plan qui n'est pas le
sien." He complained that, although he could obtain no trust
worthy intelligence respecting the adversary, every design of
his was known at the Austrian headquarters. Could he pin
his faith on Victor Amadeus, whom no friend ever satisfied,
no foe conciliated ? and how inspiriting the thought that the
Prince de Vaudemont, PhiUp the Fifth's governor of Milan,
had a son and a nephew (Commerci) lieutenant-generals under
Eugene. Great was the discontent at Versailles. How were French
fortunes to be retrieved in Lombardy? Nothing better could
"le Grand Monarque, la vieille Sultane, et I'heros au billard,"
conceive than the despatch of Villeroy. Inveighed against in
society, the selection evoked a chorus of lord-in-waiting appro
bation. Catinat received the mortifying news en philosophe,
and the army extolled his moderation and virtue.
But the plausible officer was not to go forth without a
taste of the public sentiment. One evening, just before his
departure, he lounged with a self-complacent air into the
royal salle-d-manger, as the King was about to leave the
supper-table. An admiring hum ran through the household
ranks. But the Duc de Duras, who neither liked nor re
spected the favourite, went up to him, and taking him cordially
by the hand, exclaimed : " Monsieur le marechal, tout le monde
vous fait des compliments d'aller en Italie ; moi, j'attends a
votre retour a faire les miens." Completely confounded
Villeroy answered not. Lords and ladies smiled with cast-
down eyes. Apparently the King took no notice of the
prophetic sarcasm.
On the 22nd of August, the " heros de cour " joined the
army, boasting how he would eject the Imperialists from Italy
faster than they had entered it. With a modesty equal to his
merit Catinat quitted not the service, and without a murmur
fell in as second in command.' No sooner in the saddle than

' We are reminded that in the Crimea Sir Colin Campbell patriotically
consented to serve under a junior and less experienced officer.

CHIARI. 439
De VUleroy essayed to justify his patron's sagacity, and to
revive the out-manoeuvred troops by a coup de thMtre.
In spite of the reasons, adduced by Catinat, for suspecting
the Duke of Savoy, the new general blindly arranged with
that double-dealing prince an attack upon the Imperialist
camp, firmly established between canals, and masked by the
walled town of Chiari.
As usual, Eugene was informed of the French plan, and of
its proposed mode of execution. Catinat demonstrated the
uselessness of the operation even if it proved successful. Nay,
so clearly did the veteran presage misfortune, that he insisted
on the order for onset being read over to him three times.
Then, turning to his staff, he said calmly, " Allons, messieurs,
il faut obeir ! "
So sanguine was Villeroy, that he omitted to make a recon
naissance. He looked for a smart affair with the Austrian
rear-guard — voild tout! On the contrary, he found the entire
force of the enemy ranged behind intrenchments. Catinat
fought like a private grenadier to crown with success a venture
he had condemned ; Victor Amadeus strove to lull suspicion
by freely exposing his life at the head ofthe assaulting columns.
The French dashed furiously at the intrenchments, but were
bloodily repulsed, with a loss of 300 officers and 4,000 men.
No more fighting for two months. Then Villeroy cantoned
at Cremona, with the view of ensuring communication with
Mantua, which Eugene prevented by occupying Borgoforte.
The Prince also obtained a strong place south of the Po by
wheedling the Princesse de la Mirandola, who good-naturedly
handed over to him a Franco-Spanish garrison she had lately
welcomed within her gates.
The campaign over, Marechal Catinat repaired to Paris.
Louis received him civilly, but merely conversed with him
about his journey and the state of the roads ! He did not see
him in private, neither did the illustrious old soldier take any
pains to procure such an audience Without family influence,
and used to speak — " Avec la libertd
D'un soldat qui salt mal farder la vdritd,"

440 "LE PETIT ABBE" AND "PERE LA PENSEE!'
Catinat's ill success could not be pardoned, while Villeroy's
incompetency was continually rewarded.
Nicholas Catinat belonged to a very xes^ectakAe famille-de-
robe. For a time he pleaded at the bar, but having lost a
cause which he believed to be just, he renounced law, and,
entering the army, allowed no chance of distinction to escape
him. Struck with his conduct at the siege of Lille, Louis gave
him a lieutenancy in the guards. By dint of merit slowly
rising to the highest rank, he obtained a marshal's baton in
1693, and died in 1712, at the age of seventy-four. One day,
looking over the list of marshals, the King stopped at his
name with the remark : " C'est bien, la vertu recompensee." In
1 70 1 Prince Eugene, hearing that there was discussion at Ver
sailles whether Villeroy, Venddme, or Catinat should com
mand the French in Italy, exclaimed : " Si c'est ViUeroy qui
commando je le battrai, si c'est Vendome nous nous battrons,
si c'est Catinat je serai battu." So long as fortune smiles, a
man wants neither friends nor compliments.
General Trochu describes the marshal amongst the troops.
He used to walk about the camp with hands folded behind
the back, a cane under the left arm, and the head bent down
in a position of reflection. Hence the soldiers, to whom he
was dear, although a strict disciplinarian, were wont to say :
" Voili le pere la Pensee," a sobriquet which never left him.
Such the officer whom a Versailles fop superseded in front of
Eugene. On this campaign Fouquiere makes some pertinent observa
tions. As regards Carpi, he says, the Austrian general was
really great. In the case of Chiari, sheer littleness distin
guished Marechal de Villeroy. By forcing the apparently
insignificant post of Carpi, Eugene did the wisest thing possi
ble to compass the destruction of the allied army — " c'est ce
qui s'appelle penser avec profondeur d'esprit." But from the
rush on Chiari, M. de Villeroy could expect no positive ad
vantage ; neither the repulsion of Eugene from the Milanese
frontier, nor the acquisition of freer elbow-room, which would
have improved the tactical position of the French forces.
Though the Duke of Berwick was not concerned in these

MILITARY COMBINATION. 441
affairs, they have been noticed as illustrations of the danger
attending the dispersion of force, and the grand results which
may accrue from a slight combat on an important strategic
point ; per contra, the bootless bloodshed consequent on the
"dash" of a commander incapable of serious reflection:
" Chez un grand general," said Napoleon I., " il n'est pas de
grandes actions suivies qui soient I'ceuvre du hasard et de
la fortune; elles derivent toujours de la combinaison et du
genie."

LIIL
" NUNC DIMITTIS."
1701.
]HE intoxication produced by Charles's will soon
gave way to gloomy foreboding. How ill the
opening flourish of rapiers augured for France, we
have seen. And death was busy. After a sharp
altercation with his most Christian brother, fat and worse than
luxurious Philip of Orleans, gorging a prodigious supper, was
struck down with apoplexy. " Eh bien. Monsieur Fagon, mon
frere est mort" " Oui, Sire, nul remede n'a pu agir." The
great King wept sore. Nigh too was the end of a poor rela
tion most generously cared for.
Again the Duke of Berwick was summoned from camp to
attend his ailing father. On the 2nd of September, by a
curious coincidence, under precisely the same circumstances
as before, James fainted away, while the pathetic anthem from
Jeremiah rang through the chapel. The weary would soon
be at rest. Sometimes in a lethargy, sometimes speaking
with unusual clearness, he lingered for several days, nursed
unceasingly by the Queen, whose love and tender solicitude
touched every heart. He took affectionate leave of the Prince
of Wales, and his especial darling little Louise Marie. The
former he admonished respecting his duties of prince, son, and
brother, but on "la consolatrice" (as he had called the beautiful
child when he first beheld her in the bonne's arms) approach
ing the bed, he blessed her with overpowering emotion. " My
daughter," said James, " serve your Creator in the days of your

MARV BEATRICE PREVAILS. 443
youth. Consider virtue as the greatest ornament of your sex.
Follow close the steps of that great pattern of it, your
mother, who has been no less than myself overclouded with
calumnies, but time, the mother of truth, will, I hope, at last
make her virtues shine as bright as the sun."'
Prayer and meditation absorbed the dying Stuart. So
resigned was he that, observing Mary's anguish, he murmured,
" Songez, madame, que je vais etre heureux k jamais." From
Louis XIV. downwards, writes Berwick, the French court
came frequently to Saint Germain, to witness the piety of the
Christian warrior. So strangely did the scene affect the
Prince de Conti that he declared he had a mind to remain at
the chateau, in order to profit by what he saw, and to comfort
his cousin Mary. Odd as it seems to us, the door of the
chamber of death was left unguarded, the bed curtains un
drawn, so that people entering as they listed gazed on the last
agonies of the unfortunate King ; his eyes closed, the better
to abstract his attention from the things of this world, his lips
muttering supplication.
Having received extreme unction, he forgave his enemies,
emphatically naming William of Orange, the Princess Anne
of Denmark, and the Emperor.
While this poor life was ebbing fast, a grave question agi
tated the Council of State : should the son of James II.
be permitted to assume the title of King of England which
the father had borne without protest since the recognition of
William IIL? True to the dynastic principle, the Dauphin
and the Duke of Burgundy urged "Yea"; the ministers
argued " Nay." At first Louis appeared to lean towards the
negative, but scarcely was he clear of the debaters when Mary
of Modena confronted him in the apartment of Madame de
Maintenon, and passionately conjured him not to be less
generous to her son than to her husband, not to refuse the
boy " un simple titre seul reste de tant de grandeur." The
Sultana added her potent entreaties. The King yielded, as
men generally do in such circumstances, (our strong-minded

Somes' "Tracts."

444 "NUNC DIMITTIS,"
mistresses brand us as tyrants !) and at his next visit to Saint
Germain assured his expiring cousin that he would acknow
ledge James III. Behold ! all the British present threw them
selves on their knees with the cry : " Vive le Roi ! " Was this
benignity, sentiment, or a counterblast to WUUam's Austrian
intrigues ? None can tell ; but all may understand how fatal
was the decision for France.
Three days afterwards, on the i6th of September — a Friday,
as he had prayed — James II. died, bearing himself to the last
with a noble fortitude. Then the English, Scotch, and Irish
officers, led by the Duke of Berwick, saluted the Prince of
Wales their King. With bray of trumpet, an Irish herald
proclaimed the monarchy en Pair at the castle-gate. " Le Roi
est mort, vive le Roi ! "
Crushed with grief, Mary of Modena immediately retired
to the convent of Chaillot, where on many sad occasions she
had sought the consolations of religion ; and in the dead of
night, twenty-four hours afterwards, Berwick, Middleton, and
other nobles deposited the royal corpse in the church of the
English Dominicans at Paris, leaving the heart, as they passed
by, to the care of the Chaillot nuns.
The misdeeds and the well-doing of James II. have not
been concealed in these pages. We know him to have been
a blind and presumptuous ruler, but we cannot deny that he
was a firm, friend, a considerate master, a sincerely religious
man. If his temper was naturally harsh, no Massacre of
Glencoe can be laid to his charge. While his political in
fatuation and his private frailties are freely censured, let not
the lying, the ingratitude, the unnatural treachery which
overthrew him be slurred over, if not absolutely justified.
The French salutation of James III. dovetailed exactly
with Dutch projects. Hitherto William had failed to rouse
his heavily-taxed subjects to warUke enthusiasm, and yet with
habitual tenacity of ^purpose he was determined to fight in the
Imperialist ranks. On the 7th of September, prior to Louis's
act of affectionate folly, a secret treaty was signed at the
Hague between the plenipotentiaries of Austria, Holland, and
England, to " procure for his Imperial Majesty a satisfaction

DEATH OF A GREAT MAN, 445
just and reasonable, and for the King of Great Britain, and
the lords of the States General sufficient security for their
lands, navigation, and commerce."
The Grand Alliance really signified " a new partition."
" When the terms of it," says Sir John Dalrymple, "were ex
amined by the public, it was found that the ItaUan domi
nions of Spain were destined for the Emperor, who had the
worst right to them ; the Spanish Netherlands to the Dutch,
who had no right at all ; and the Spanish Indies as a prey to
Holland and England, who had as little." '
But it was intolerable that France should dictate a king to
Englishmen. The lately torpid nation took fire. A new
parliament was called. Being Whig, and staunch to the
Grand Alliance, supply was forthcoming without stint. Forty
thousand soldiers, as many seamen and marines, were voted.
The Prince of Wales, just twelve years old, was attainted ;
and, but for the opposition of certain peers, the ex-Queen
would have been similarly maltreated.
But the vigorous mind which had so artfully fostered the
coming turmoil was not to inspire the coalition forces. For
long past William's health had been bad, and a fall from his
horse sufficed to bring his various distempers to a head. He
indulged in no delusion. " Je tire vers ma fin," he said, with
serene courage ; and, when the agony began, being unable to
speak to Portland, the great Nassau placed that faithful
servant's hand upon his heart, and, pressing it there, passed
quietly away on the 8th of March, 1702, in his fifty-second
year. Pen and ink, so merciless to James Stuart, have portrayed
William of Orange as an angel of light. Nothing succeeds
like success. Crimes which gain their ends are so begilt and
burnished now-a-days as to stand for virtues in the public eye.
Berwick's remarks about his father's arch-enemy are apposite :
" Although," he writes, " I have no cause to bless the memory
of this Prince, I cannot deny him the faculties of a great man,
and, if he had not been a usurper, of a great king. He had

' " Memoirs of Great Britain."

446 "NUNC dimittis:'
extraordinary intelligence, was an astute politician, and, no
matter the obstacles in the way, never turned aside from his
object. The determination to dethrone a Prince, at once his
uncle and father-in-law, attests his ambition, to gratify which
he stooped to means revolting to the conscience of an honest
man and contrary to the dictates of Christianity."
" A sceptre snatch'd with an unruly hand,
Must be as boisterously maintain'd as gain'd ;
And he that stands upon a slippery place
Makes nice of no vile hold to stay him up."
With all his ability, he never acquired popularity. Even
death, at whose awful coming personal and political dislikes
usually vanish, wrought no re-action in his favour. Public
honours were withheld ; his supporters showed little or no
emotion. Gossips maliciously pointed out that the horse
which threw him had formerly belonged to Sir John Fenwick,
for whose execution he was popularly held responsible.
However disinclined to worship " the glorious, pious, and
immortal memory," we may acknowledge that, compared with
many of his party, William's mien is noble. Foul truly was
the breath of the herd surrounding him. The conspirators
who had cast down James intrigued without ceasing against
the foreign idol of their choice. The Uberty they sought was
licence for their own tran.sgressions. They preached religious
liberty, and persecuted all who disputed their version of
theology. From the death-bed of King James dates the illustrious
service of the Duke of Berwick as a general-in-chief. We
have traced his education in arms through fifteen eventful
years. The time has come when France would bear substan
tial witness to the professional deserts of James Fitzjames.
By the accident of his birth he acquired an elevated mili
tary rank. Like his "sailor" brother Henry, he might have
enjoyed sinecure pay and pension. But of another stamp —
grave, thoughtful, assiduous — he revolved the art of war, and
in divers workshops served rough apprenticeship. A boy, he
rode against the Turkish cavalry by the side of Charles of

valiant and wise. 447
Lorraine. In Ireland he faced Schomberg's veteran batta
lions. Under the eye of Luxembourg he led French divisions
to the charge. By nature apt for the field — was he not a
nephew of John Churchill ? — study and practice shaped and
matured his military talents.
No mere royal bastard in a general's uniform was Berwick,
but an active officer, brave yet prudent, just and temperate in
dealing with all men, earnestly religious, but never a bigot ; a
firm friend, dutiful son, faithful husband, affectionate father.
No sycophant like Villeroy, no passed master in small talk
like Lauzun — " les grands hommes sont mauvais courtisans "
— he owed independent command neither to court favour nor
to feminine influence : " La vaillance
Qui vous va de simple Brochet
Etablir mardchal de France." '
Our task is over. How a young EngUsh gentleman fitted
himself for a great office has been told.
The Duke of Berwick was an English soldier no more. A
naturalized Frenchman, he was about to fight and conquer at
the head of French and Spanish armies. Henceforth his
place in history was beside Venddme and Villars.

• Antoine Hamilton to the Duke of Berwick. Brochet (pike) was a
nom de socidtd of the Marshal.

INDEX.

I LBEMARLE, Duke
of (Fitz-James), 2, 15 ;
anecdote of, 216; his
marriage, 426.
Anjou, Philip of, 425.
Anne, Princess of Denmark, her
letter to Queen Mary, 95 ; her
abuse of William IIL, 341.
Antrim, Earl of, his regiment, 153.
Argyll, Earl of, his rebellion and
death, 3, 4.
Arms, 52, 349.
Artillery, 54, 361.
Athlone, 261, 291.
Aughrim, 304.
Baden, Prince Louis of, 31.
Balcarres, Earl of, 103.
Bantry Bay, battle of, 177.
Barclay, Sir George, 400, 403.
Barlow, Lucy, 11.
Battalion, 57.
Beachey Head, battle of, 259.
Beaumont, Col., Court-martial on,78.
Berwick, James Fitz-James, Duke
of, his birth and education, i,
2; proceeds to Hungary, 14-31 ;
created duke, 24 ; at Mohacz,
31 ; his opinion of Charles of
Lorraine, 36 ; Governor of Ports
mouth, 37 ; at Beaminster, 86 ;
surrenders Portsmouth, 108 ; in
terview with Louis XIV., 109 ; G

joins Hamilton, 158 ; at Done
gal, 174 ; routs Inniskilleners,
17s ; perplexes Schomberg, 205 ;
combat at Cavan, 215 ; at the
Boyne, 245 ; in Clare, 268-275 ;
his plan, 277 ; at Birr, 280 ; made
captain-general, 280 ; at St. Ger
main, 290 ; before Mons, 333 ; at
Leuze, 337 ; taken prisoner, 377 ;
friendly with the Dauphin, 384 ;
his marriage, 385 ; under Villeroy,
390 ; at Marly, 396 ; on secret
service, 399; returns to France,
405 ; serves in Flanders, 406 ;
his son bom, 407 j his wife dies,
414 ; goes to Rome, 416 ; his
trouble with a princess, 419 ; his
second marriage, 422 ; repairs to
Italy, 431 ; advises the Pope, 432.
Boisseleau, General de, at Lime
rick, 268 ; commended by Louis
XIV. 277.
Boufflers, Mardchal de, 387 ; sur
renders Namur, 394 ; as a diplo
matist, 409 ; his camp, 415.
Bouillon, Cardinal de, 416 ; his
strange quarrel, 418-420.
Boyne water, 242.
Buda-Pesth, 17-23.
Burnet, Bishop, 25, 403.
Caillemotte, Colonel de la, 227 ;
his heroic end, 247.

45°

INDEX.

Cambray, Fdndlon, Archbishop of,
420.
Catinat, Mardchal, 408, 437; his
patriotic obedience, 438, 440.
Cavalry, 52, 56.
Chamillart, M. de, 430.
Chamlay, Marquis de, 126.
Charles I., 139.
Charles 1 1., 146.
Churchill, Arabella, i, 2, 68.
Churchill, John, see Marlborough.
Clancarty, Lord, 179, 282.
Clarendon, Earl of, 87, 95.
Clement XL, 430, 432.
Confederates, disunited, 138.
Contractors and their patrons, 59,
362.
Cornbury, Lord, 86.
Courts-Martial, 62.
Cromwell, Oliver, 143.
Cutts, Jack (the Salamander), 369,
394-
Dartmouth, Earl of, 84.
D'Avaux, Comte, his notion of
James IL, 156 ; his view of affairs,
167 ; tells how the Irish were
armed, 171 ; his military advice,
196.
Derry, 153.
Desmond, Earl of, 133.
Douglas, General, 244 ; at Athlone,
¦ 261 ; plunders, 262.
Dragoon, the, 53, 357, 387.
Dundee, Viscount, 103 ; his death,
191.
D'Usson, General, 314, 317.
Elizabeth, Queen, 134.
Engineering, military, 56, 361.
Eugene, Prince of Savoy, 22, 26,
31, 437-
Fenwick, Sir John, 403.
Ferguson (Preacher), 4, 85.

Feuquidre, Marquis de, 370, 380,
411.
Feversham, Earl of, 7, 9, 89.
Fletcher of Saltoun, 4.
Forbes, Lord, 91.
Froude, Mr. 329.
Fusiliers, 85.
Geraldines, 128.
Ginkell, General de, 250 ; takes
command, 284 ; before Athlone,
294; at Galway, 313; gains
Limerick, 324 ; in Flanders, 379,
387.
Glamorgan, Earl of, 140.
Grace, Colonel Richard, 261, 298.
Graces, charter of, 136.
Grafton, Duke of, 6, 282.
Grenadiers, 53, 358.
Grey, Lord of Wark, 4, 8, 10.
Guards, Royal, 40.
Halifax, Earl of, 105.
Hamilton, Anthony, I, 122, 166;
wounded, 187.
Hamilton, General Richard, 154,
160, 168 ; at the Boyne, 245 ;
taken prisoner, 250 ; at Calais,
405.
Henry VIII. smites and soothes,
130.
Hougue, La, 343.
Infantry, 57 ; excellence of British,
62.
Inniskilleners, 173,205.
Innocent XL, 74.
James I., 135.
James II., interview with Mon
mouth, II ; duped by* Sunder
land, 65 ; meddles with Test
Act, 67 ; his amour with Lady
Dorchester, 68 ; imprisons the
bishops, 69 ; at Salisbury, 89 ;

INDEX.

451

abandoned, 94 ; escapes to
France, 109 ; lands at Kinsale,
155; at Dublin, 157; proceeds
to the north, 162; before Derry,
163 ; anecdote of, 178 ; disavows
Rosen, i8i ; his coinage, 197 ;
at Drogheda, 204; on the Boyne,
234 ; his indecision, 239 ; retires
to Dublin, 252 ; lands in France,
257 ; at La Hougue, 344 ; pro
tests against the Peace of Rys
wick, 411; refuses a compromise,
412 ; on camps, 434 ; his illness,
435 ; his death, 443.
Jeffreys, Lord Chancellor, 12, 100.
KiUiecrankie, battle of, 190.
Kirke, Major-General, 171, 176,
280.
Lauzun, Duc de, 98 ; at the Boyne,
251 ; his portrait, 266.
Levies, Irish, their excellent
physique, 158.
Limerick, Treaty of, 328.
London, Compton, Bishop of, 93.
Lorraine, Charles, Duke of, 16, 27,
31 ; his death and character, 384.
Louis XIV., his quarrel with the
Pope, 73 ; declares war, ^^ ;
welcomes James IL, 110; his
military notions, 338 ; in his
gardens, 339 ; his gout, 366 ; in
a passion, 391 ; gives up vin de
champagne, 396; his Spanish
intrigues, 423-425.
Louvois, Marquis de, anecdote of,
77 ; his death, 335 ; his adminis
tration, 347 ; his glory, 363.
Lucan, Countess of, 385 ; married
to the Duke of Berwick, 396 ; her
death, 414-
Lundy, Colonel, 154.
Luttrel, Colonel Henry, 289, 292.

Luxembourg, Mardchal de, at Leuze,
337 ; his determined character,
367 ; his wise conduct, 376, 378 ;
his death and character, 384.
Mackay, General, 190, 294, 305,
368.
Maintenon, Madame de, 365, 373,
443-
Martinet, Colonel, 351.
Mary of Modena, her flight, 98;
Louis admires her, iii ; her
dutiful love, 124 ; at St. Germain,
345 ; disdains a compromise,
412 ; overcomes Louis XIV., 443.
Marlborough, Earl of, at Sedge
moor, 9 ; deserts to the Dutch,
89 ; his expedition to Ireland,
279 ; warns James 1 1., 383 ;
accused by Fenwick, 403.
Maumont, General de, 122, 167.
Melfort, Earl of, 161, 168, 198.
Melonifere, Brigadier de la, 258.
Militia (train-bands), 41.
Mohacz, 30-32.
Monmouth, Duke of, 3-12.
Mons, Siege of, 331-334-
Mount-cashel, Viscount, 188.
Mousquetaires du Roi, 356.
Musters, false, 48, 347, 351.
Neerlanden, 374.
Neerwinden, 374.
O'Donnel of Tyrconnel, 135.
O'Donnel Balderick, 313, 316.
O'Neil, Hugh, 135.
O'Neil, Owen Roe, 140, 144.
O'Regan, Teague, 227, 323.
Ormond, Duke of, 142.
Parsons, Lord Justice, 137.
Pay, military, 44-47, 348.
Penal laws, 145.
Perrot, Sir John, 134.

452

INDEX.

Petre, Father, 65.
Petty, Sir William, 143.
Plunket, Archbishop of Armagh,
148.
Portland, Bentinck, Earl of, 409,
416, 445-
Prendergast, John P., 136, 137.
Prendergast, Major, 402.
Prior, Matthew, 409.
Purchase and sale of commissions,
43. 347, 353-
Recruiting, 42, 348.
Recruits, their unsteadiness, 159.
Rice, Chief Baron, 152, 257.
Rinuccini, Cardinal, 140.
Rising of 1641, 137.
Rosen, General de, description of,
171 ; his brutality, 180 ; his differ
ences with the King, 207.
Russell, Admiral, 344, 403.
Ruvigny, Marquis de, 292 ; his
stroke at Aughrim, 309.
Ryswick, Peace of, 409.
Saint- Ruth, General, 290; his
orders disobeyed, 299 ; his death,
308; Irish opinion of him, 312.
Sarsefield, Patrick, 9 ; in Donegal,
186 ; seizes Sligo, 214 ; captures
guns, 269 ; his birth and charac
ter, 270 ; repulses enemy, 275 ;
created Earl of Lucan, 290 ; his
plan, 300 ; meets Ginkell, 324 ; at
Steinkerque, 369; his death, 379.
' Savoy, Duke of, 395, 406, 429.
Schomberg, Duke of, 82, 201 ; de
scribes his men, 203 ; at Dun
dalk, 206 ; his opinion of the
officers, 210; he refuses to ad
vance, 211 -, his efforts at reform,
223 ; his courtesy, 230 ; affronted
by William III., 237 ; his death,
248.
Scots, Royal, 8 ; mutiny of, 62.

Sedgemoor, battle of, 8-10.
Settlement, act of, 152.
Sdvignd, Madame de, 112.
Solms, Count, 105, 245, 368 ; kOled,
379-
Sunderland, Earl of, 65.
Taaffe, Count (Earl of Carlingford),
16, 22.
Talmash, General Thomas, 292 ;
rallies fugitives, 307 ; before Lim
erick, 321 ; retreating, 379 ; his
death, 383.
Torcy, Marquis de, 409, 416, 423.
Tory, origin of, 147, 285.
TourviUe, Admiral de, 343, 381.
Tyrconnel, Duke of, remodels
army, 150; made viceroy, 152;
commands the troops, 258 ; goes
to France, 280 ; at Limerick,
291 ; his death and character,
317-
Tyrone, Con, Earl of, 130.
Uniform, military, 51, 349.
Ursins, Princesse des, 416, 417, 419,
421.
Vauban, Mardchal de, 125, 334,
362 ; demurs to the Peace of
Ryswick, 410.
Vaudemont, Prince de, 390.
Villars, Mardchal de, 30 ; his in
dustry and talent, 34, 337.
Villeroy, Mardchal de, 385, 392 ;
his foUy, 409.
Waldegrave, Lady, 15, 385.
Wales, Prince of, 70, 112.
Walker, Rev. George, 163, 183, 233 ;
his death, 253.
Wentworth, Lady, 3, 7.
William of Orange, his foreign
pohcy, 72 ; deceives James II.,

INDEX.

453

75 ; alliance with Catholic powers,
8 1 ; lands at Torbay, 84 ; in Ul
ster, 232 ; is hit, 237 ; leads the
horse, 249 ; in Dublin, 258 ; before
Limerick, 268 ; raises the siege,
276 ; at Neerwinden, 376 ; his
partition intrigues, 423 ; his
death, 445.

Wilson, Colonel, his Ulster regi
ment, 327.
Winchester, Dr. Mew, Bishop of,
acts as a gunner at Sedgemoor, 9.
Wolseley, ColonelWilliam, 187, 215.
Zulestein, Count, 71.

ERRATA.
Page 18, line 21, for " Bishop Mee " read " Bishop Mew."
„ 28, note, for " swzer feathers " read " swine feathers."

THE END.

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