the way, they proceeded by easy marches toward Ross, where he arrived on the 12th, and erected his battery before the walls.

The garrison was inconsiderable, but the rebel army lay in great force in the vicinity, and during the night 1500 men were added to their strength.

The marquess anxiously awaited the vessel which the council had agreed to send after him with bread and ammunition, but of this the motives of their party policy served to retard the execution. Under various pretences it was deferred until the wind became unfavourable, and the marquess, after seeing his troops suffer severely, was compelled to send for supplies to Duncannon fort, from which the governor, lord Esmond, forwarded to him all the bread and ammunition he could spare: with these he also sent his own bark, and another vessel mounting a small gun, which for a time gave much trouble to the garrison, but a battery was planted against it, and as the wind and tide were unfavourable to escape, the crews were compelled to leave their vessels and make the best of their way to the marquess.

Unable to wait any longer for supplies of which he must have had slight expectation, the marquess opened his fire, and a practicable breach was soon effected. He commanded an assault; but the garrison were in fact as strong as their assailants, and these were retarded by woolpacks and other obstacles under the cover of which they were repulsed with some loss. The position of the marquess was become perplexing enough, his whole stock of food amounted to four biscuits à man, and at this moment general Preston hung upon his rear with 6000 foot, and 650 horse. The marquess called a council, and after considering all circumstances, resolved to face Preston, and take the alternative of a battle, or a retreat towards Dublin. On his advance, Preston retired towards a strong line of wood and bog, and was joined by the body of men which he had thrown into Ross. The marquess took his ground for the night on a large heath within two miles of Ross, and within sight of the rebel quarters. On the next morning early, he observed that they were in motion, and conjecturing from their movements that they intended an attack, he rode up to Sir H. Willoughby the serjeantmajor-general, and gave orders for the disposition of his little army. The soldiers of the marquess were drawn up in battle array on the slope of a rising ground, with the six pieces of artillery between the divisions. Between the two armies there lay a low swell of the ground just sufficient to conceal the infantry from each other. To the top of this both generals sent out small parties, which returned without coming to blows. After closely inspecting the ground, the marquess gave orders to Willoughby to advance the men to the top of the hill, as they would thereby gain the advantage of the sun and wind. loughby obeyed his orders, but a mistake was committed by the lieutenant of the ordnance who neglected to bring forward the guns. While this error was repaired, the enemy's horse collected for an attack in a broad lane between two high ditches: two regiments were advanced to oppose them, and drawn up against the entrance of the lane, and as this for a short time had the expected effect of checking their intended movement, the two culverins were in the interval brought up and planted to advantage, so as to bear into the mouth of

the lane: when this was completed, the two regiments were commanded to open to the right and left, very much in the style of Milton's rebel host, who probably took a hint from the battle of Ross, which was fought perhaps before the composition of his poem: the reader may recollect the manœuvre in Paradise lost,* which we should here quote, but that thirty lines of verse would be an unsuitable interruption in the middle of a fight. As the English infantry unfolded their front "to right and left," the culverins discharged their contents upon the rebel cavalry with such effect, that eighty men were killed at one fire: they were thrown into a panic, and with cries of dismay and terror, rushed out of the lane into the next field. The cannon of the marquess were that day worked by Sir T. Esmond's seamen, who maintained their fire with unusual skill and effect, by which means the disorder of the enemy's cavalry was kept up; the marquess sent orders to his cavalry, commanded by lord Lucas and lord Lisle, to charge them. This charge was rendered in some degree difficult by the hot cannonade which the English sailors kept up, and the entrance into the park was obstructed by a formidable ditch. The gallant officers nevertheless promptly obeyed their lieutenant-general's command, and rode up to the ditch in a style not unworthy of Melton, where the ditches are not often as formidable, and the steeds much better. Lucas had the misfortune to be thrown with his horse, and before he could rise, was severely wounded in the head. Lisle's horse was so severely wounded that he was forced to mount another: a confused and desultory skirmish which was rather individual than collective, ensued: and thus the two bodies continued for a long time mixed together, and fighting man to man. During this time the marquess was in great uneasiness about his horse, as the confusion of the combatants was so great. He now decided to cross the ditch and to attack the main body, which as yet stood inert under the fire of the battery which had played on their ranks from the commencement of the cavalry's charge. He caused a strong party of the musqueteers to fire a few vollies upon them while he led his men across the ditch; and when they had come within a convenient distance, the word was passed to charge, and setting up a loud cheer, the English rushed forward against the enemy. The enemy did not await the collision; but turning about, fled in great confusion over the bog. The flight continued until they reached a hill on the other side where they had quartered the night previous. Here they attempted a stand, but on four regiments moving forward to attack them, they turned again and continued their flight until they had the Bannow between them and danger. Preston then ordered the bridge to be broken behind them: his loss amounted to five hundred men, with all his ammunition and baggage: among the slain were many persons of rank. The marquess lost twenty men. His victory was complete, but the conduct of his cavalry gave rise to mysterious doubts and suspicions: as the result of their charge was both unusual and difficult to be accounted for on any supposition, but that they were privately, under some influence, engaged to counteract the operations of the marquess. They were in point of number, nearly equal to the rebels, who, in addition

*Paradise Lost, book VI. 558.

to the state of confusion and flight in which they were assailed, were extremely inferior in all respects, both in men, horses, arms and discipline; nor could it on any reasonable ground, drawn from previous experience, be imagined that they could continue for a few minutes to exchange blows with their opponents, without being routed with much loss: such had, till then, been the uniform result, and mostly under circumstances less favourable to the English. On the flight of Preston's foot, his cavalry were allowed to march off without further molestation, to the great vexation of the marquess, who clearly saw that some sinister influence had accompanied him to the field, and paralyzed one of his most effective arms, so as very much to impair the value of his victory. Preston had indeed committed an oversight, in a very high degree advantageous to the earl's subsequent movements: as it was imperatively necessary that he should lead back his men, destitute as he was of all means of subsisting them or keeping the field. He must otherwise speedily have become involved in difficulties, which would place him at the mercy of a force like Preston's, overwhelming in numbers, and amply provided with every munition of war. Had Owen O'Neile been in the place of Preston, he would undoubtedly have pursued a far different course; instead of the unpardonable mistake of a battle, he would have watched with Fabian caution the movements of an exhausted enemy who had neither food nor ammunition for more than the effort of an hour: he would have hung upon his retreat, which could not have been postponed another day, and pursued his daily diminishing numbers and exhausted force into the defiles and dangerous passes of sixty miles of most difficult march; and before half of its difficulties were overcome, he would have burst upon his exhausted and broken troops at some unfavourable moment, and with twenty men to one, have rendered even a struggle hopeless. Instead of this, Preston, having rashly ventured the fight, with the precipitance of fear, overlooked the real condition of the conquerors, and to prevent a pursuit which was not to be expected, by breaking down the bridge over the Bannow he cut off his only prospect of success, and secured the retreat of the marquess. By this ill-conceived step of his enemy, the marquess was left unmolested by a foe, to pursue his difficult and distressing march over a road nearly impervious to his artillery and baggage; and which presented difficulties formidable to his officers and men. In the mean time, the distress of the lords-justices was fast increasing: they were become so destitute of all means of support for the small garrison retained in Dublin, that at last they were compelled to quarter them upon the inhabitants who were themselves in a condition not much better. The suffering in consequence rose to a considerable height, and the fear much greater; for while the citizens were deserting their homes, under the apprehension of approaching destitution, it was known that the marquess, with his famishing army, were on their approach to the city. To ward off this severe emergency, some means were taken by the government, but ere they could in any way be effective, the marquess arrived. The effect was deplorable; to have the slightest hope of maintaining the army thus unseasonably increased, they were not only forced to expel all strangers, amounting to many thousand English; but were compelled to make a second inroad upon the merchants' stores, which

deprived them of all their remaining commodities, and was insufficient to remedy the evil.

We shall not here need to dwell on the treaties and commissions which commenced about this time between the king's commissioners and the confederates. We have already in several memoirs, had occasion to notice them as fully as their intrinsic importance demands. The reader is probably aware of the general view which we have taken of the conduct and designs of the two main parties thus opposed to each other. The popular party and their opponents are at this time little to be recognized in their real and peculiar characters, from the overwhelming agency of a party and of a policy, wholly distinct from either: and of which it was the present object to keep up the contention between them. This fact is here the more essential to our purpose to notice: because in strongly animadverting on the line of conduct observed by this middle party, the parliamentary rebels of England, it has been difficult to preserve with any tolerable distinctness the just line between the actual parties of Irish growth; a difficulty much increased by the complication which existed in the composition of the popular party. There were the mob, under the control of their spiritual guides, who acted solely with the view of obtaining the ascendancy of their church: they were mainly headed by a class of adventurers, who while they were subservient to those, had purposes entirely peculiar to themselves. Another great party who acted with these, but under the influence of far other motives, were the Roman catholic nobility and gentry, who were driven to arms by the wrongs and insults they had received from a government, equally cruel, unjust, and insolent to all, and acting under the authority of the rebel parliament of England. It was unfortunate, and led to much added bitterness, and has left prejudices not yet abated, that this confusion of objects and interests was not at the time sufficiently understood or allowed for. The Roman catholic lords, by confusing their own cause with that of the clergy, rendered redress difficult, and gave a tone of injustice and extravagance to their complaints, by demands which were embodied in most of their state papers, and which we believe to have been very far from their real objects: and thus it occurred that their real, just and constitutional complaints, were not very unreasonably classed with the pernicious and exorbitant demands with which they were thus embodied. Far worse at the time than these, was the animosity pervading the minds of the mass on either side, always incapable of just distinctions, and never correctly informed: to all of these, one impression distorted by a million fears and rumours, refracted into every monstrous uncouth and unholy shape through the universal atmosphere of terror that had fallen upon the country, presented itself to the apprehension: it was the combined effect of the worst crimes committed by fanatics, plunderers, or oppressors, in each of the many parties and political sects which on either side were confused together. The most moderate of the rebels were involved in the massacres committed by the banditti of O'Neile and his plundering confraternity: while the most humane, loyal and temperate of the protestants were not free from the odium of the parliamentary puritans, who had an equal disregard for both. To these reflections we shall here only add, that having attentively per

used the documents of a public nature in which the representations of each of these parties is set forth, we should be reluctant wholly to subscribe to any one of them. But generally speaking, the real objects of the aristocracy on both sides only required to be sifted from demands that were not sincere, and reproaches which were not just, to bring them to a perfect agreement.

It is to the immortal honour of the marquess of Ormonde, to have stood clear from the crimes and prejudices of both parties, and to have been trusted and honoured by the wise and good of all; an honour more conspicuous, because of all the great public men of his day, it can be claimed by himself and the earl of Clanricarde alone. While he beat the rebels in the field of battle and resisted the lords-justices in council, he was at the same time anxiously watching for every occasion to bring about that peace which was so desirable to all, on the most just and equitable basis. The confederates forwarded their remonstrance, already quoted in this volume, to the king, who sent to the marquess, observing strongly the impossibility of complying with some of the petitions it contained. He was equally unfavourable to a letter which he received from the lords-justices and council. The terms proposed by either party were indeed sufficiently extreme, to leave room for ample modifications between; if the Roman catholic lords would alter the entire existing constitution of Irish laws and government in favour of their own party, the lordsjustices were as importunate in their remonstrances against any peace with the rebels, unless on the terms of a universal forfeiture of the estates of all who had taken arms, without any distinction of persons or circumstances. The marquess of Ormonde, disapproving of the misrepresentations by which they were endeavouring to mislead, and at the same time harass and distress the king, sent over private messengers to rectify these mischievous and delusory statements. This expedient had been indeed prevented for some time, as the lords-justices in their displeasure at the result of a former communication to the king by means of which the marquess was vested with new powers, endeavoured to remove the future recurrence of such an inconvenience, by an order in council, that, "the lieutenant-general of the army should licence no commander, officer, or soldier of the army to depart out of the kingdom upon any pretence whatever, without the allowance of the board first had obtained, &c."* The order had been easily passed in council, where for many months there was no attendance of any but the most obsequious of the lords-justices' own creatures, as the intrusion of the committee of the English parliament who were allowed to sit in the council and govern all its proceedings, had the effect of disgusting and deterring every respectable person of any authority or independence. Hearing this, the king sent over an express prohibition against this irregularity, so inconsistent with his own authority where it was as yet least impaired. The Irish council which had not yet arrived at the point of direct defiance of the royal authority, was compelled to yield in a case where it had acted with manifest illegality; and the parliamentary officers were excluded. Of this the immediate consequence was the

* Carte.