whom Louvois hated. For these reasons this minister thwarted his measures, and retarded the assistance which Lewis had promised toward his restoration.

The

XXX. Yet, notwithstanding all his opposition, the succours were prepared, and the fleet ready to put to sea by the latter end of February. The French king is said. to have offered an army of fifteen thousand natives of France to serve in this expedition; but James replied, that he would succeed by the help of his own subjects, or perish in the attempt. Accordingly, he contented himself with about twelve hundred British subjects, and a good number of French officers, who were embarked in the fleet at Brest, consisting of fourteen ships of the line, seven frigates, three fireships, with a good number of transports. French king also supplied him with a considerable quantity of arms for the use of his adherents in Ireland; accommodated him with a large sum of money, superb equipages, store of plate, and necessaries of all kinds for the camp and the household. At parting, he presented him with his own cuirass, and embracing him affectionately, "The best 'thing I can wish you (said he) is, that I may never see you again." On the seventh day of March, James embarked at Brest, together with the count D'Avaux, who accompanied him in quality of ambassador, and his principal officers.

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He was detained in the harbour by contrary winds till the seventeenth day of the month, when he set sail, and on the twenty-second landed at Kinsale in Ireland. By this time, king William perceiving himself amused by Tyrconnel, had published a declaration, requiring the Irish to lay down their arms, and submit to the new government. On the twenty-second day of February,

h James in this expedition was attended by the duke of Berwick and by bis brother Mr. Fitzjames, grand prior, the duke of Powis, the earls of Dover, Melfort, Abercorn, and Seaforth; the lords Henry and Thomas Howard, the lords Drummond, Dungan, Trendraught, Buchan, Hunsdon, and Brittas; the bishops of Chester and Galway, the late lord chief justice Herbert; the marquis D'Estrades, M. de Rosene, Mareschal de Champ; Mamoe, Pusignau, and Lori, lieutenant generals; Prontee, engineer general; the marquis d'Abbeville, sir John Sparrow, sir Roger Strictland, sir William Jennings, sir Henry Bond, sir Charles Carney, sir Edward Vaudrey, sir Charles Murray, sir Robert Parker, sir Alphonso Maiolo, sir Samuel Foxon, and sir William Wallis; by the colonels Porter, Sarsfield, Anthony and John Hamilton, Simon and Henry Luttrel, Ramsay, Dorrington, Sutherland, Clifford, Parker, Pureel, Canon, and Fielding, with about two-and-twenty other officers of inferior rank.

thirty ships of war had been put in commission, and the command of them conferred upon admiral Herbert; but the armament was retarded in such a manner by the disputes of the council, and the king's attention to the affairs of the continent, that the admiral was not in a condition, to sail till the beginning of April, and then with part of his fleet only. James was received with open arms at Kinsale, and the whole country seemed to be at his devotion; for, although the protestants in the north had declared for the new government, their strength and number was deemed inconsiderable when compared with the power of Tyrconnel. This minister had disarmed all the other protestant subjects in one day; and assembled an army of thirty thousand foot, and eight thousand cavalry, for the service of his master.

XXXI. In the latter end of March, James made his public entry into Dublin, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants. He was met at the castle gate by a procession of popish bishops and priests in their pontificals, bearing the host, which he publicly adored. He dismissed from the council board the lord Granard, judge Keating, and other protestants who had exhorted the lord lieutenant to an accommodation with the new government. In their room he admitted the French ambassador, the bishop of Chester, colonel Dorrington, and, by degrees, the principał noblemen who accompanied him in the expedition. On the second day after his arrival in Dublin, he issued five proclamations: the first recalled all the subjects of Ireland who had abandoned the kingdom, by a certain time, on pain of outlawry and confiscation, and requiring all persons to join him against the prince of Orange. The second contained expressions of acknowledgment to his catholic subjects for their vigilance and fidelity, and an injunction to such as were not actually in his service, to retain and lay up their arms until it should be found necessary to use them for his advantage. By the third he invited the subjects to supply his army with provisions; and prohibited the soldiers to take any thing without payment. By the fourth he raised the value of the current coin; and in the fifth he summoned a parliament to meet on the seventh day

of May at Dublin.

Finally, he created Tyrconnel a duke, in consideration of his eminent services.

6 XXXII. The adherents of James in England pressed him to settle the affairs of Ireland immediately, and bring over his army either to the north of England, or the west of Scotland, where it might be joined by his party, and act without delay against the usurper; but his council dissua ded him from complying with their solicitations, until Ireland should be totally reduced to obedience. On the first alarm of an intended massacre, the protestants of London. derry had shut their gates against the regiment commanded by the earl of Antrim, and resolved to defend themselves. against the lord lieutenant. They transmitted this resolution to the government of England, together with an account of the danger they incurred by such a vigorous measure, and implored immediate assistance. They were accordingly supplied with some arms and ammunition, but did not receive any considerable reinforcement till the middle of April, when two regiments arrived in Loughfoyl, under the command of Cunningham, and Richards. By this time, king James had taken Coleraine, invested Kilmore, and was almost in sight of Londonderry. George Walker, rector of Donaghmore, who had raised a regiment for the defence of the protestants, conveyed this intelligence to Lundy, the governor. This officer directed him to join colonel Crafton, and take post at the Longcausey, which he maintained a whole night against the advanced guard of the enemy; until being overpowered by numbers, he retreated to Londonderry, and exhorted the governor to take the field, as the army of king James was not yet completely formed. Lundy assembling a council of war, at which Cunningham and Richards assisted, they agreed, that as the place was not tenable, it would be imprudent to land the two regiments; and that the principal officers should withdraw themselves from Londonderry, the inhabitants of which would obtain the more favourable capitulation in consequence of their retreat. An officer was immediately despatched to king James, with proposals of a negotiation; and lieutenant general Hamilton agreed that the army should halt at the distance of four miles from the town. Notwithstanding this preliminary, James advanced at the head

of his troops; but met with such a warm reception from the besieged, that he was fain to retire to St. John's Town in some disorder, The inhabitants and soldiers in garrison at Londonderry were so incensed at the members of the council of war, who had resolved to abandon the place, that they threatened immediate vengeance. Cunningham and Richards retired to their ships, and Lundy locked himself in his chamber. In vain did Walker and major Baker exhort him to maintain his government. Such was his cowardice or treachery, that he absolutely refused to be concerned in the defence of the place, and he was suffered to escape in disguise, with a load of match upon his back; but he was afterwards apprehended in Scotland, from whence he was sent to London to answer for his perfidy or misconduct.

§ XXXIII. After his retreat, the townsmen chose Mr, Walker and major Baker for their governors, with joint authority; but this office they would not undertake, until it had been offered to colonel Cunningham, as the officer next in command to Lundy, He rejected the proposal, and with Richards returned to England, where they were immediately cashiered. The two new governors, thus abandoned to their fate, began to prepare for a vigorous defence: indeed their courage seems to have transcended the bounds of discretion, for the place was very ill fortified: their canon, which did not exceed twenty pieces, were wretchedly mounted; they had not one engineer to direct their operations: they had a very small number of horse: the garrison consisted of people unacquainted with military discipline: they were destitute of provisions: they were besieged by a king in person, at the head of a formidable army, directed by good officers, and supplied with all the necessary implements for a siege or battle. This town was invested on the twentieth day of April: the batteries were soon opened, and several attacks were made with great impetuosity; but the besiegers were always repulsed with considerable loss. The townsmen gained divers advantages in repeated sallies, and would have held their enemies in the utmost contempt, had they not been afflicted with a contagious distemper, as well as reduced to extremity, by want of provision. They were even tantalized in their distress; for they had the

mortification to see some ships which had arrived with supplies from England, prevented from sailing up the river by the batteries the enemy had raised on both sides, and a boom with which they had blocked up the channel. At length, a reinforcement arrived in the Lough, under the command of general Kirke, who had deserted his master, and been employed in the service of king William. He found means to convey intelligence to Walker, that he had troops and provisions on board for their relief, but found it impracticable to sail up the river: he promised, however, that he would land a body of forces at the Inch, and endeavour to make a diversion in their favour, when joined by the troops at Inniskilling, which amounted to five thousand men, including two thousand cavalry. He said he expected six thousand men from England, where they were embarked before he set sail. He exhorted them to persevere in their courage and loyalty, and assured them he would come to their relief at all hazards. These assurances enabled them to bear their miseries a little longer, though their numbers daily diminished. Major Baker dying, his place was filled with colonel Michelburn, who now acted as colleague to Mr. Walker.

§ XXXIV. King James having returned to Dublin, to be present at the parliament, the command of his army devolved to the French general Rosene, who was exasperated at such an obstinate opposition by a handful of half starved militia. He threatened to raze the town to its foundations, and destroy the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, unless they would immediately submit themselves to their lawful sovereign. The governors treated his menaces with contempt, and published an order that no person, on pain of death, should talk of surrendering. They had now consumed the last remains of their provision, and supported life by eating the flesh of horses, dogs, cats, rats, mice, tallow, starch, and salted hides, and even this loathsome food began to fail. Rosene, finding them deaf to all his proposals, threatened to wreak his vengeance on all the protestants of that country, and drive them under the walls of Londonderry, where they should be suffered to perish by famine. The bishop of Meath, being informed of this design, complained to king James of the barbarous intention,