still dear to them: he is considered as the last of their heroes; and his name, even to this day, is seldom mentioned among them without a sigh or a tear13. Dundee, indeed, appears to have been a very extraordinary man. Beside great knowledge of the military art, the talent of seizing advantages, and the most perfect recollection in battle, he possessed, in no common degree, that distinguishing feature of the heroic character, the power of influencing the opinions of others, and of inspiring them with his own ardour.

Fortune did not prove more favourable to the affairs of James in Ireland. His most important enterprise was the siege of Londonderry. Before this town he appeared in person, with a large army, commanded by the mareschal de Rosen, de Maumont, general Hamilton, the duke of Berwick, and other officers of distinction. But so bold was the spirit of the inhabitants, that instead of tamely surrendering, they gallantly repelled all attempts to reduce the place, and even annoyed the besiegers with their sallies. At length, however, weakened and distressed by famine, and diminished in number by pestilence, its too common attendant, they were reduced almost to despair. In order finally to complete their depression, in this frightful extremity, mareschal de Rosen in the absence of James, collected all the protestants in the neighbouring country, to the number of four or five thousand, without distinction of age, sex, or condition, and cruelly placed them between his lines and the walls of the town; where many of them were suffered to perish of hunger, from a persuasion that the besieged would either relieve their friends or surrender the place. But this barbarous expedient had no such effect: it served only to confirm the inhabitants in their resolution of holding out to the last man. Happily, before their perseverance utterly failed, a reinforcement arrived from England with ammunition and provisions, and the besiegers thought proper to abandon the undertaking1.

13. Macpherson. 14. King. Burnet. Duke of Berwick. James II. 1689.

The

The difficulties of James now crowded fast upon him: Soon after the failure of this enterprise, the mareschal, created duke of Schomberg, landed in Ireland with ten thousand men. But the impracticable nature of the country, his unacquaintance with it, and the declining season, prevented that able and experienced general from making any progress before the close of the campaign. During the winter, however, though his troops suffered greatly by disease, he gained some advantage over the Irish; and William, in order to quicken his operations, and put at once

A. D. 1690.

an end to the war, came over in person, with a fresh army, the beginning of next summer.

James, on this occasion, embraced a resolution that has been considered as rash, but worthy of a sovereign contending for his last kingdom. Though his army was inferior in numbers as well as in discipline, to that of his rival, he determined to put all to the hazard of a battle. He accordingly took post on the southern bank of the Boyne, and extended his troops in two lines, opposed to the deep and dangerous fords of that river. No position could be more advantageous. A morass defended him on the left, and in his rear lay the village of Dunore, where he had entrenched a body of troops. But all these circumstances, so favourable to James, did not discourage William from seeking an engagement. After having reconnoitred the situation of the enemy, he resolved, contrary to the advice of Schomberg, to attack them next morning, though under no neJULY 1. cessity of running such a risk. His army accordingly passed the river in three divisions, one of which he headed in person. Schomberg, who led another, was killed soon after reaching the opposite bank, but not before he had broken the Irish infantry. The Irish cavalry, commanded by general Hamilton and the duke of Berwick, behaved with more spirit, charging and re-charging ten times. But even they were at last obliged to yield to superior force. General Hamilton was made prisoner; and James, who had

shewn

shewn some courage, but no conduct, thought proper to retreat toward Dublin, under cover of the French auxiliaries, who had never been put into disorder. His loss was but small, not exceeding fifteen hundred men; yet was the victory complete, as many of the Irish troops deserted their officers during the following night, and returned to their several homes15.

The subsequent conduct of James was more blameable than either his precipitancy in risking a battle, or his behaviour during the engagement, allowing both to be deserving of censure. No sooner was he informed of the dispersion of his army, than he despondingly gave up Ireland as lost; and, leaving the inhabitants of Dublin to make their own. conditions with the victor, immediately embarked for France, though he had still many resources left. By bravely collecting his scattered, but not annihilated forces, and drawing troops from his different garrisons, independent of new levies, he might have appeared in the field more formidable than ever; whereas his pusillanimous flight, by disheartening his friends, and encouraging his enemies, left but a melancholy prospect to his generals.

But these new resources, and the consequences of neglecting them, did not occur to a mind broken by accumulated misfortunes. Besides, the fugitive monarch tells us, that he had hopes of being able to recover the English crown, by means of an armament from France, during the absence of William and his veteran troops. These hopes, however, suddenly disappeared: though, on his arrival at Brest, the prospect seemed to brighten. He was there informed, that the French navy had gained a signal victory over the combined fleet of England and Holland, commanded by the earl of Torrington and admiral Evertzen, and that Tourville was riding triumphant in the channel. All this was nearly true; and a descent on England, in favour of James, might

15. Ralph. King. Duke of Berwick. James II. 1690.

certainly

certainly have been made to great advantage, while it was in the power of the French fleet to have prevented the return of William. But the flight of that unfortunate prince from Ireland, had so discouraging an aspect, and Lewis XIV. placed so little faith in the perpetual rumours of insurrections and discontents in England, that he was resolved not to risk an army in such an enterprise. He therefore lent a deaf ear to all James's proposals for an invasion. He even refused him a small supply of ammunition for the remains of the army in Ireland, saying, that whatever should be sent thither would be so much lost. As a proof of his sincerity, he dispatched transports to bring off his own troops. And James, labouring under the deepest mortification and self-condemnation, was made severely sensible, when too late, that a prince who deserts his own cause, will soon see it deserted by all the world.

The Irish, however, though abandoned by their king and his grand ally, did not resign themselves to despondency, or attempt by submissions to conciliate the clemency of their invaders. Seeming ashamed of their misbehaviour at the passage of the Boyne (for it does not deserve the name of a battle) and anxious to vindicate their reputation, they every where made a gallant resistance; a circumstance which contributed not a little to aggravate the tormenting reflections of James, by convincing him, that his adverse fortune was more to be ascribed to his own imprudence than to the disloyalty of his subjects, or their want of zeal in his service.

After visiting Dublin, William advanced with his whole army to invest Limerick; into which the remains of James's infantry had thrown themselves, whilst the cavalry, under the command of Berwick and Tyrconnel, kept the field, in order to convey supplies to the garrison. Limerick is situated on the Shannon, where that river is broad, deep, and rapid. Part of the town stands on the Munster side, part on

16. James II. 1690.

an

an island in the Shannon, and the castle on the side of Clare. These three divisions were united by two bridges. William, not daring to cross the Shannon in the face of the enemy's cavalry, invested Limerick only on the south side; so that it was in no danger of being distressed for want of provisions. Aware of this disadvantage, he attempted to carry the place by storm, after having made a practicable breach in the walls. But although ten thousand men, by a kind of surprize, made their way into the town, the Irish charged them with such fury in the streets, that they were driven out with great slaughter'. Chagrined at his failure in that assault, which cost him near two thousand men, William raised the siege in disgust, and returned soon after to England 18.

AUG. 30.

But this repulse, though inglorious to the British monarch, afforded short relief to the adherents of the dethroned prince. Lord Churchill, created earl of Marlborough, who may justly be denominated the evil genius of James, arrived soon after in Ireland, with five thousand fresh troops. More active and enterprising than William, and even, perhaps, already more deeply skilled in the whole machinery of war, he reduced in a few weeks, Cork and Kinsale, though both made a vigorous defence; and having put his army into winter quarters, he returned to England covered with glory at the close of the campaign19.

Ireland, however, was by no means yet subdued. Athlone, Galway, Limerick, and other places, still held out. Athlone was besieged in the beginning of next A. D. 1691. campaign by baron Ginckle, who commanded the forces of William. And by an effort of boldness and

17. Duke of Berwick's Mem. vol. i.

18. Id. Ibid." He gave out, through Europe," says the duke of Berwick, "that continual rains had been the cause of his abandoning the enterprise; "but I can affirm that not a drop of rain fell for above a month before; or "for three weeks after." Mem. vol. i.

19. Ralph. King. Duke of Berwick.

vigour,