and other Kerry gentlemen, it was decided to transport the army across the arm of the sea which lay between, to Bear Island, on the other side of which, on the opposite shore, stood the castle of Dunboy. But, from the roughness of the weather, it was not till the last day of May the army could be moved from Carew castle. The sick were then placed with a strong guard in the Island of Whiddy; and on the first and second of June the army crossed Bantry bay. On the 4th, the castle of Dunmanus was surprized by Owen O'Sullivan; and on the next day intelligence reached the camp that a Spanish vessel had put into the bay of Camnara, near Ardee. The rebel party seem at this period to have conceived the notion that the English might be discouraged by the dangers and difficulties of their undertaking. Richard MacGeoghegan, constable of the fort, was sent to obtain a parley with the earl of Thomond, to whom he pretended great affection, and warned him of the dangers to which he was about to be exposed by the useless attack of so strong a place. He advised him not to risk his valuable life by landing on the main land, " For 1 know,” he said, " that you must land at yonder sandy bay, where before your coming the place will be so trenched and gabioned as you must runne upon assured death.” Such, in fact, was the contrivance and expectation of the rebels. A low sandy beach presented the only obvious point at which an enemy's attempt might be expected, and it was strongly defended in the manner described by MacGeoghegan. But the circumspection of Carew overreached the tactics of his antagonists. He first contrived, with a small party, to get possession of a little island close to the sandy bay; on this he placed a couple of falconets and landed two regiments, so as to lead the enemy to believe that from that position he intended to attack their works and effect a landing on the beach. But, in the mean time, moving about in a small pinnace, Carew discovered a very convenient landing-place on the main land, which was concealed from the Irish party by a small eminence, and, though within a few hundred yards, separated from them by a deep rocky cleft which reached in for half a mile. Having made this observation a few hours before, he was enabled to conduct the operation in a most unsuspicious manner. While his men on the lesser island were making all preparations for an attack, and the whole attention of O'Sullivan's party on the shore was engrossed by watchful and anxious expectation, Carew stood on the further side of the island to direct his own captains, who were sailing up for the purpose of effecting a landing. To these he pointed out the unsuspected and unguarded spot, and the vessels again stood out from the bay, and, tacking short, reached it without notice, and landed their troops to the amount of two regiments under Sir C. Wilmot and Sir Richard Percy. When Carew saw that they were disembarked, he immediately ordered his own regiment and the earl of Thomond's into their boats, and they were all quickly under sail and out toward the same spot. This could not of course escape the notice of the enemy, who watched with all their eyes; and the nature of the movement was at once conjectured. Away they all rushed at their utmost speed; but they had a long circuit to perform, and before they could be half round the cleft, the lord-president with his whole party were landed and drawn up to meet them on good firm ground. A skirmish not worth detail was the result, and the Irish party were put to flight. About two hours after this incident, the Irish received the cheering intelligence of the Spanish vessel, already mentioned, having landed in Ardee; and as the lord-president was afterwards informed by some of those who were then among the Irish, the account confirmed their courage, at a moment when they were beginning to waver. At Ardee, the ammunition and treasure were delivered to O'Sullivan Beare himself, who forwarded a supply of ammunition to Dunboy. The treasure amounted to £12,000, and was sent in shares to different Irish chiefs, £1500 being the share of O'Sullivan Beare; some letters from Ardee also were sent to different persons. One of these from the Jesuit Archer to Dominick Colling, a friar in Dunboy, is worthy of notice. Letter from James Archer, Jesuit, to Dominick Collins, Jesuit at Dunboy. "Your letters of Thursday last came to our hands, but our disagreeing in some matters, makes to bee slacke in performing your desire, yet you must take better order for the premises; in the meane while, however becomes of our delayes or insufficiencies, bee yee of heroical minds, (for of such consequence is the keeping of that castle, that every one there shall surpasse in deserts any of us here; and for noble valiant souldiers shall passe immortall throughout all ages to come;) for the better encouraging, let these words be read in their hearing: out of Spaine we are in a vehement expectation, and for powder, lead, and money, furnished. Now to come to more particular matters; understand, that there are but two wayes to attempt you, that is scaling with ladders, or battery: for scaling, I doubt not but your owne wits neede no direction; and for battery, you may make up the breach by night. The higher you rayse your workes, every way the better, but let it bee thick and substantiall: raise of a greater height that worke captaine Tirrell made, betwixt the house and the cornell, make plaine the broken house on the south side: for fire work direction doe this, prime the holes and stop in the balls, with powder mixt through the materiall well, and some powder that shall take fire; the rest you know, as you have heard me declare there. By all meanes possible send me one ball, and the rest of the saltpeeter. This is in haste till better leasure. Campe this Thursday. "Your loving Cousen, "To Father Dominicke Collins, these in haste." The following letter is also valuable for the distinct view it will give the reader of the operations which the writer describes: A letter from John Anias, to Dominick Collins, Jesuit, at Dunboy. "Be carefull of your fortifying continually; with a most speciall care rayse in height the west side of chambers on your port; fill your the south and north side with hides and earth; what battery is made *Pacata Hib. suddenly repayre it like valiant souldiers; make plaine in the south side the remnant of the broken houses; make wayes out of the hall to scowes and cast stones upon the port, and if the enemy would attempt the like, dig deepe that place wee first begun, and a trench above to defend the same, as I have sayd unto you. Although wee expect speedie reliefe out of Spaine, yet bee you wise to preserve the store of victualls discreetly. Devise yourselves all the invention possible to hold out this siege, which is the greatest honour in this kingdome. With the next I shall prepare shoes for you; send me the cord as long line, add the rest of the saltpeter, withall the yron borriers, seven peeces in all. Salute in my name Richard Magoghegane, praying God to have of his speciall grace that care of your successe. From of June, 1602. the campe, the "Your loving Cousen, "JOHN ANIAS.”* "To Father Dominick, Beerehaven, these.” This John Anias was very soon after taken prisoner by John Berry, the constable of Castlemagne, and condemned to die by the sentence of court-martial. While under sentence of death, he wrote the following characteristic letter to the baron of Lisnaw: A letter from John Anias to the Baron of Lisnaw, a little before his execution. “In trust is treason; so Wingfield betrayed me. My death satisfies former suspicions, and gives occasion hereafter to remember mee; and as ever I aspire to immortallize my name upon the earth, so I would request you by vertue of that ardent affection I had toward you in my life, you would honour my death, in making mention of my name in the register of your countray. Let not my servant Cormack want, as a faithfull servant unto me; let my funerall and service of the Catholique church bee observed for the soule. Heere I send you the passe and letter of that faithlesse Wingfield, having charged the bearer upon his dutie to God, to deliver this into your hands. O'Sullivan was strange to mee, but inures himselfe to want mee. Commend mee to captaine Tirrell, O'Connor, your sister Gerode Oge. This the night before my execution, the eighth day of November, 1602, and upon this sudden I cannot write largely, "Your loving bedfellow, "ISMARITO." The next day after the landing, Carew having led out the army to a narrow isthmus within a mile of the castle, stole out of the camp shortly after to view the ground in its immediate vicinity. Proceeding on horseback with Sir C. Wilmot, until they approached within small shot of the castle, they were soon discovered and saluted with a few discharges from the soldiers upon the walls; but with the exception of Sir Charles' horse which was wounded in the foot, they suffered no injury. Within "twelve score" of the castle, an unsuspected posi+ Ibid. *Pacata Hlib. tion, most curiously adapted for their purpose, was discovered by the prompt perception and military eye of Carew. A slight rise in the ground concealed the spot from the castle, but was not high enough to interrupt the range of a small platform among the rocks, which seemed to have been cut out by the hand of nature. for a battery. Neither the owner of the castle, nor one of his countrymen in the English camp, were aware of the treacherous recess which had so long awaited the guns of an enemy to render it fatal. When the lordpresident returned to his officers and explained his design to plant a battery among the rocks on the other side of the castle, Owen O'Sullivan and other Irish gentlemen insisted that it would be impossible to find space among the rocks for cannon to be placed so as to command the castle. Carew assured them that he would plant his battery without the loss of a man, and in seven days make himself master of the place. In the castle, no apprehension was entertained of their danger; they attempted to annoy the army by a cannonade, but their balls fell near or in the camp without force to do any mischief. The castle of Dunboy was a square pile of building enclosed with a strong wall sixteen feet in height, and faced with turf, faggots, and pieces of timber to the thickness of twenty-four feet. A low platform was sunk on the point from which any attack was considered likely to be made; and the entire skill of its defenders was exhausted in foreseeing and providing against every possible danger. Their knowledge was nevertheless but rude, and all these precautions were neutralized by the oversights they committed, the disadvantages of the structure they had to defend, and the rapid judgment of Carew. way was Several days elapsed before the president could bring his plan into effect. The landing of the cannon was found to be an operation of great difficulty. The only landing-place which had the necessary advantages of being near the projected position, and accessible without the risk of interruption, was upon examination found to present insurmountable obstacles to the conveyance of the guns, as the broken by marshy and rocky passages. There was another still more convenient spot, but to reach it, a narrow creek close to the castle walls was to be entered; and this at last was resolved on. The mouth of this creek was within forty yards of the castle, and Carew therefore sent in the greater part of his stores and lesser ordnance in boats, which stole in undiscovered in the dead hours of a dark night; but their boats were unequal to the weight of the cannon and culverins, and no one "durst adventure in the hoy to carry them by night.' To meet this difficulty, captain Slingsby volunteered to enter in the hoy by daylight, with thirty musqueteers. Disposing these men so that with the least possible exposure they could when required keep up a fire upon the castle gunners, captain Slingsby took advantage of a very favourable breeze, and the castle only succeeded in making two discharges upon him before he swept full sail into the creek, when he was instantly out of range of its guns. While these operations were in progress, other important points were also carried; the Irish had fortified the little island of the Dorsies, with three pieces of Spanish artillery, and forty chosen men. Carew, considering that it might easily be taken while the attention of the castle was kept in play by his approaches, then fairly in progress, sent Owen O'Sullivan, and captain Bostock, in a pinnace and four boats, with a hundred and sixty men to attack the island. They succeeded in taking the fort after a smart opposition; there Owen O'Sullivan had the fortune to recover his wife, who had been a prisoner for the last eight months. The spoil was large, five hundred milch cows being taken on the island; the fort they razed to the ground. On the same night a bullet from the castle wall entered the circle of officers who stood in conference with Carew in the midst of their camp, and smashed several bones of captain Slingsby's hand. On the following night about midnight, captain Tyrrel gave them an alarm, having approached so near as to pour a volley into the camp which riddled the tents well, but hurt nobody; a very slight resistance was sufficient to compel this active partizan to retire. Many other slight accidents occurred daily, while the gabions, trenches, and platforms, were in course of execution, until the 16th, when they were finished. One of these days, Sir G. Carew was with the earl of Thomond and Sir C. Wilmot, taking a ride along the shore, when Carew espied one of the artillery-men on the castle wall traversing a "this fellow," said the president, "will have a shot at us," gun; he quickly reined in his horse and watched the event. He had scarcely spoken the last word, when the gun was fired, and the ball struck the earth between him and his companions, who had spurred on, and just cleared the spot with their horses' heels, when the earth was thrown about them. Carew, glad to see them safe, told them laughing, that if they were as good "cannoneers as they were commanders, they would have stood firm as he did," and explained that "the gunners ever shoot before a moving mark. ” up as At five o'clock in the morning of the 17th, the whole of Carew's preparations were made, and his battery began to play. He wasted none of his fire on the strong barbican, but ordered the guns to be levelled at the castle which stood unprotected at a dangerous height above; and about nine, a south-western tower, the fire from which had been very troublesome, came with its falcon, thundering to the ground, burying under it many of the garrison, and filling up the injudiciously narrow space of six or seven feet between the castle and the outer wall. The English guns were next turned upon the west front of the castle, which soon in like manner encumbered the court with ruin. The garrison on this sent out an offer of surrender on condition; but as they did not discontinue their fire, their proposal was not received. An assault was then commanded, and its details having been fully arranged, the barbican was quickly scaled by the companies appointed, who were bravely seconded by the remainder of Carew's and the earl of Thomond's regiment, and a long, desperate, and confused fight of several hours began, of which no description can give any adequate idea. Whenever the hostile parties met hand to hand, the advantage |