He was father to Richard Sarsfield, captain general to Henry the 3d, in 1230. Henry, a grandfon of this Richard Sarsfield, came to Ireland and fettled in Cork. He intermarried with the Fitzgeralds, from whom he kad the lands of Bealogh Far ye and Kilmallock, fix miles in length, in the county of Limerick, which eftate his defcendants enjoyed for many generations. Our general's great grand father, was Sir William Sarf field, who married Anne, daughter to Sir Patrick Barnwell, and by her had Peter and many other children.-This Peter married Elenor, daughter to Ferlagh O'Dempfy, lord vifcoun Glenmalier, and by her had Pa“ trick our heroe's father, who married a daughter of Roger Moor.

Very little is known of the early period of Sarsfield's life, but his edu cation feems to have been a military one, for he was while yet young, a colonel in the Irish army. He fought at the Boyne under general Hamilton, whofe death fo difpirited the Irish, that to it may be chiefly afcribed the lofs of that battle. When the Irish fell back to Limerick, and this city was befeiged by William, one Boiffeleau, a Frenchman, was govern

ог,

the duke of Berwick and Sarf field were next in command. Three days after the commencement of the fiege, Sarsfield performed a military Coup de maiu, that at once evinced his genious and his bravery. Having intelligence that a convoy with artillery and other neceffaries for a fiege was on its way to join the English my, he formed a refolution to illue of the town with a chofen body ops, and ac cordingly he by a fe'y paffed the Shannon at night, d the convoy, fpiked the 'ew up the powder, deftroyft of the ammunition and

retreated in fafety by the fame way he came before it was poffible for the befiegers to interrupt him. This mafterly maneuvre rendered William defperate, and he determined on immediately ftorming the town. The English troops accordingly advanced, carried the counterfcarps and mounted the breach; but the garrifon emulous of doing fomething equal to the atchievments of the Proteftants of London Derry, quickly fhewed that to reduce the town was no fuch easy matter as they might magine. Like another Carthage, the very women joined their efforts to thofe of the men and fought with the most enthufiaf tic fury, fo that notwithstanding the moft violent affault upon the breach, the English after a conteft of three hours, were repulfed with great flaugh

ter.

William was fo disheartened by this defeat, in which he and his auxiliaries loft more than 2000 men, that he immediately raised the fiege and fet off for England.

The honour of this victory which protracted the fate of Ireland, was due to Sarsfield, but unhappily for his country, his other efforts were rendered ineffectual by the deftructive spirit of jealoufy which preyed in the breasts of thofe who acted along with him. St. Ruth, a brave but a vain man, commanded with Sarsfield at the bat tle of Aughrim. Sarsfield's reputa tion was fo high amongst his country men, that St. Ruth envied him, and therefore by an unpardonable and even treacherous breach of duty did not make him privy to his arrangements before the battle.

It was this mifunderstanding be tween the generals that loft the battle, and with it Ireland. Every thing hung on this event, the right of William and James to this country was to be determined as well as that of the

Proteftants

Proteftants and Catholics. The Irish had almost gained a complete victory when St. Ruth fell and expiated his wicked vanity by a foldier's death The Irish not being then able to act in concert, fed on all fides, and left the field to the English who made a moft inhuman and cruel ufe of their victory, not granting to their valiant and brave enemy the leaft quarter.Sarsfield after the battle of ughrim returned again to Limerick, refolving to defend it to the laft. General Gincle with his force befieged it, but the Irish deferted by James and in defpair of further affiftance from the French, figned a capitulation which guaranteed to them the free exercife of their religion, and the full poffefon of their civil rights.

Il mankind have heard with indigration of the infamy and treachery with which the English afterwards broke this treaty, ratified at Limerick, and to this hour the unfortunate Catholics of Ireland are the victims of their perfidy and want of principle. Sarsfield with a great many of the Irish nobility and 18,000 men went over to France, and was afterwards killed at the battle of Landen.-He married a daughter of the earl of Clanrickard by whom he had one fon, named Janies Edward Francis Sarsfield.

000

The Life of Mr. Charles O'Cono".

(Continued from page 133.)

I have been often fo much led away by this confideration, that I felt the lofs of Mr. O'Conor's intended hifto. ry of Ireland to be more ferious than it would appear on first view No man was better acquainted than he with the original fources of it, no man

knew better the fpirit of the parties and of our clans before and after the reformatiou-no man had laid himself out for fuch a task fo early in life as he did-no man divided his company more between protestants and catholics, between higher and lower orders-no man fcorned more to facrifice hiftorical truth on the altars of prejudice and no man felt more fenfibly the wrongs and the calamities of his countrymen of all defcriptions." e declaim," faid he," on the miferies of 1641, and we pafs unncticed the fevere famines and miferies of 1727, 28, and 29. In 1740, a dreadful famine fpread over the face of the nation: the cinelties of 16+1 were more fparing of our inhabitants our counties were converted into graves, and this fhews the din of war and the rage of party makes a deeper impresion than the filent woe of a much greater walle of the human fpecies." See his Maxims, Dublin, 1757.)

It has been obferved by Mr. Walker in his history of the Bards, that our national ftyle of mufic borrowed its melancholy caft, from the calamities and the fpoliation of the natives; the fame obfervation is applicable to Mr. O'Conor; he had been eye-witnefs to too many woes from his infancy, and his fenfibility was fo much affected by the recollection of what he faw, and what he heard, that he would fometimes fnatch his harp to divert recollection; but then inftead of profiting by the remedy, he would find it worle than the difeafe, his feelings would derive more force from the founds which were congenial with them. Memory would fummon up a long train of ancient adventures, and he would throw by his harp, faying with emotion, it is like the effect which the harp of David had on Saul."-One of our late Bards had

the

A fubfcription raifed by the merchants of Cork and Dublin, to buy off in London, that perfecuting rage which could not be fatiated by cruelty at home, was the only pretext that could be alledged for this feverity a rumour was malicioufly propagated that this fubfcription was intended for the Pretender. The Rev. Mr. But ler, archbishop of Cafhel, and the RevMr. Mc. Carthy, bishop of Cork, were accused of granting indulgences to those who would fubfcribe for this purpose. The committee appointed to inquire into this matter owned that the fum of their evidence amounted merely to this; that fome letters were found by which it appeared that a collection was made in 1731, to procure a fuppreffion in England of the bill against popifh folicitors, and the bill for difarming papifls, (fee their own report Dublin printed 1732) Yet they refolved that it appeared to them, that under colour of oppofing thefe bills, great fums had been collected; of imminent danger to the government, and chiefly by the influ

tors.

It is very obfervable that of 1080 priests then in the kingdom, banished into bogs, deprived of all the comforts of life, and almost every intercourse with the human fpecies, not more than a dozen abandoned their principles, to avoid perfccution, or to accept the £40. which were held out to them, as an inducement to apoftacy. O'Rorke returned to Belanagare in 1734, died there of a complication of diforders, contracted by fleeping fometimes in he open air, and fometimes in mife. rable hovels, among the bogs and

marshes of Conamara. Such was the end of a man who had converfed with kings and emperors; and paffed his early years in affluence and ease. Mr. O'Conor ordered the following diftich to be engraved on his tombftone.

ence of the popish clergy. As they give no reafon why this appeared to them, without having any evidence to juftify this conftruction, it is to be prefumed they examined with a jaundiced eye which made what was white appear otherwife.

confideret,

et propriæ menor Animam piis fuffragiis, Divinæ Mifericordiæ commendet.

Thofe hiftorians who have brought our history down to the conclufion of this reign, have in fact given no hiftory of Ireland during the period that occurred from the revolution to the death of George II.

of a party of English by whom the They may have given the hiflory Irish lords were treated with ignominy and contempt. The history of what Mr. Knox calls a proteftant garrifon in Ireland, (fee his fpeech in the debates of 1793.) but they neglected the bulk of the people and affected to fuppofe, that no fuch people exifted.*

In order to fill up the page, they have turned their eyes to the rebelli ons in Scotland; they then advert to the violent and vindictive meatures of the commons of England against de

NOTE.

But of all the other laws which oppreffed the unfortunate people, that act of the ft of George II. 1927, which deprived them of their franchife, that grand crieerion which diftinguishes a freeman from a slave, the right for voting for reprefentatives who are to make laws to bind their lives, liberty and property, which my Lord Holt called the nobleft birthright, and most invaluable privilege of the fubject. I fay that law of all others, appears to me to have been the most unaccountable, the most cruel, and the moft unneceffary.Counsellor Stanley's fpeech in the debates of 1793. It is well known that they voted in the election of that P-t of George II. which afterwards disfranchifed them. Ibid.

luded men, whom humanity muft pity, fince they were willing, however erronioufly, to facrifice their interests to their principles. But what has all this to do with the hiftory of Ireland during thofe angry times? how comes it that fince the enacting of the penal laws, our hiftorians find no tranfaction on which they could reft the dignity of hiftory, except the ufurpations of the English Parlia ment reverfing the decrees of the Irish in the caufe of Annefly, and enacting laws to secure the dependance of Ireland on the parliament of Great Britain? How comes that our nobility were degraded into English fquires, our gentry into English boors, and our country into an English plantation That England monopolized our trade, controuled our legiflature, and difpofed of our lives and fortunes without our confent; and that Ireland was left the melancholy pre-eminence among the nations of Europe of being fupreme in mifery and contempt. I forget who it was faid that a tyranny which governs by the fword, can have no advocates but the men of the fword, and fuch was Cromwell's by the fame rule, a legal tyranny which by forms of juflice and ceremonies of law retards the progreflive improvements of nations, can have no advocates but

NOTES.

See primate Boulter's 2 vols. 8vol. Dublin 1770.-Thefe curious letters are ftyled by the editors of them."Letters which now are, and in all probability will ever remain the most authentic hiftory of Ireland, for that fpace of time in which they are written;" that is gentle reader, from 1724 to $739!" Now to that authentic hiflory I refer for every thing that I have advanced in this page, fee vol. 1. p. 17, 19, 44, 45, 92, 107, 157, 219, &c. &c.

the few that are interested in its continuation.

Such was the fituation of Ireland during thofe unhappy times, in which a political fatality compelled our kings to fanction calamities they detefted.*

An ifland diverfified with extenfive forefts foon became a wild wafte, and almost all the industry of the people was limited to destruction, our woods were felled, but no trees were planted in their ftead. The bulk of the people ceafed not only to improve but to till, they contracted lazy habits, and lived or starved as water-creffes and wild roots were plentiful or Icarce.

Their conquerors treated them as beings of a fpecies not quite as low as the brute, but inferior to the human. They faid that they were a mean, ignorant, fuperitious hord of favages, that Ireland was another Boeotia, and that the intellets of the natives were ftupid by the potatoe. Thus they infulted national character in every corner of Europe, and when they had profcribed our industry, and rendered the improvement of the country penal by act of parliament, they mocked the miteries they themfelves had occafioned.

No comedy was acceptable if fome wild Irishman was not introduced, whofe actions were the most excentric, whofe opinions were the most fuperftitious