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county of Tipperary; but till the beginning of May he was not able to get two thousand foot and three hundred horse together. With these he sent the earl of Castlehaven to reduce the places yet held by O'Neile in Leinster, which it was dangerous to leave behind them when the army advanced towards Dublin. "Castlehaven, very sorrily provided with materials for a siege, invested Maryborough on the 9th, took it on the 16th, as he did Athy on the 21st of that month; that small body of forces being all the while in terrible distress, sometimes two or three days without eating, and ready every moment to break, being only kept from doing so by some small sums of money, which the marquis of Ormond, as fast as he could borrow, sent for their relief.

The marquis in the mean while was assembling all the forces he could raise at Leighlin bridge, and marching them from thence to Cloghgrenan, near Catherlogh, very uneasy at not being able to advance nearer Dublin, at a time when it was reduced to extremity, "there being (as "he thought himself obliged in duty to the king's service and to his highness to tell prince Rupert in a letter of May 7) not ten days' provision of bread in the place, so that if the harbour were but blocked up, the forces within it must fall to nothing immediately." There cannot be a greater cause of vexation to a general than to see an hopeful opportunity of effecting an enterprise of such vast consequence, so easy in the execution, and so sure of succeeding, lost for want of a very small assistance. Jones was about May 10 reinforced with five hundred foot out of England; but had little reason to expect more in haste; and these were an inconsiderable 70 addition of strength to him, the greatest part of them being such as had formerly served the king in England, and being taken in Colchester, were driven by the fear of

n See his letters, Y. 417, 424, 425, 440, 447, 449, 450, 451, 453, 459, 463. ° Y. 394, 413 and 416.

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the present tyranny of the rebels in England, and for relieving themselves in their distressed condition, to enlist for the Irish service. He was daily growing weaker by the great desertion of his soldiers, both old and new; some captains fell off from him with their companies entire; so that he was under very unhappy apprehensions, as many that served under him were in great hopes, of an attempt being made upon Dublin when Leinster was cleared of the Ulster enemy. As soon as that was effected, the marquis of Ormond3, writing on May 23 to Mr. Fanshaw to solicit prince Rupert for some prize goods, whereon to get credit from merchants, expresseth himself in these words: "I think it more than probable, and so to be demonstrated, that five thousand pounds in money at present would reduce Dublin; at least to the extremity of guarding and sustaining all that party within the circumference of their lines, wherein they could not possibly subsist any time without present considerable supplies of force and provisions." So little was wanting to the reduction of that kingdom, and the making it eminently serviceable for the recovery of the king's other dominions.

The marquis of Ormond found it the greatest difficulty in the world to keep the Irish together. The license hitherto given them in their winter quarters, which were always at large in the country confused, and without the possibility of keeping them under any kind of discipline, made every fatigue, though but of ordinary marches and duty, insupportable to them, any longer than they were constantly supplied with money, which could not be done out of the stock of the kingdom. The army under lord Inchiquin began at last in the end of May to draw out into the field, and was no less pressing for impossible sums of money than the other; and though they had not such retreats to friends out of the field as q Ibid. 487.

P Y. 476.

the others had, and by reason of their having been continually garrisoned were under more obedience; yet their discontent and mutiny were more to be apprehended, because the effect thereof would at best be a running away to the English. To prevent this, it was absolutely necessary to make all possible provision for both, and the marquis could not neglect that provision, though he saw plainly the ill consequences of all delays, which, unavoidable as they were through want of money, allowed Jones time to solicit and expect supplies, and might either cool the good affections of very many in Dublin, or render them ineffectual, if forces and provisions were sent out of England. When all the forces joined, there was another impediment to the service, almost as troublesome as want, and causing as great interruption, though it arose from an excusable emulation between the Irish and English touching their past and present faithfulness, and power to contribute towards restoring his majesty. This however took up much of his time to keep it from growing to more hurtful differences, and whilst he studied to dispense his care and kindness to them with indifferency, it hindered the advantages that might be made of both, and rendered his life a perpetual vexation. Notwithstanding these difficulties, he found means to send sir G. Monroe (lately come over from the king with a commission to command in the north) with one hundred horse and one thousand six hundred foot into Connaught, to make a diversion in favour of the Ulster Scots, and prevent sir C. Coote's drawing any assistance from his forces in the former province. The marquis of Clanrickard joining Monroe, and finding means, chiefly out of his own purse and credit, to supply the troops, they made up a body of five thousand foot and one thousand horse, with which they reduced Sligo, with all the forts held for 71 the parliament in that country; and sir George advanced with a good party to strengthen the army before Derry,

whilst Clanrickard endeavoured to secure Connaught against the designs and incursions of Owen O'Neile. The lord lieutenant mustered also on June 1 an army of six thousand foot and two thousand horse near Catherlogh; but could not stir from thence till he had borrowed eight hundred pounds of sir James Preston, which at that time kept the forces from disbanding. By the help of that sum, and of a little meal taken upon credit, he took in Kildare, Talbot's-Town, and Castle-Talbot. But there the money and meal failing, and having borrrowed about one hundred pounds from twenty several officers to give the soldiers sustenance, he was forced to stay on the west side of the Liffy, and thereby lost an opportunity of engaging Jones, who with a much less force had drawn out of Dublin as far as Johnstown. So meanly was he provided for an expedition, the undertaking of which could be justified by nothing but the necessity of attempting Dublin before supplies arrived out of England, and those within the place who were faithful to his majesty, and importuned him daily to advance, were discovered and destroyed.

His advance, though too soon to allow a proper provision for his army, was not early enough to prevent the ill consequences that he apprehended from a delay. For Jones, in his letter" of June 6 to O. Cromwell, expresses himself with great satisfaction: "Here is arrived part of the corn designed us, which came in most opportunely, our provisions being at that very instant quite out, nor knew we how to be supplied; notwithstanding all means used, and particularly by looking into all private stores here, wherein upon return was not found what would be for more than six days' provision for this city.-There are daily discoveries of treacherous spirits within us, some of whom have been proceeded withal according to their demerits for being unto others exemplars. I had ere this

r Bishop of Clogher's MSS. folio. No. III. p. 626.

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taken the field with this small party; but that I know not what may be the condition of this city in my being from it before the arrival of more forces, for confidingly securing it and other considerable garrisons."

There is in the letter here quoted a very remarkable passage in these words; "I have hitherto fomented (as) still I do) the differences between Owen Roe and Ormond, and am now on the same design for taking off Preston also with his Irish army, which is now also taking. It will be of high consequence to the utter and speedy breaking of their whole powers. This correspondence between Jones and Preston seems by the expressions in this paragraph to have been but lately commenced, and was probably the consequence of the lord lieutenant's refusing to make the latter master of the ordnance (as he desired in a letter of his on April 8) upon the death of sir T. Lucas. It hath been already observed, that several, who had seemed to forward the peace, endeavoured to frustrate the good effects of it, when they found their irregular and ambitious aims not so fully complied with as they expected'. It was impossible to answer the expectations of all that had a great opinion of their own merits. All the expedient which the marquis of Ormond could find out to prevent the ill consequences thereof was to make choice of the most deserving and considerable to be obliged, and to keep a watchful eye over the rest. Lord Taaffe was by the peace deprived of his post of general of Munster, and remained without employment till upon this vacancy he was made master of the ordnance; a charge for which he was well qualified by his capacity and experience, and which he well deserved by his extraordinary affection and services to the crown. Preston seems to have been disgusted by this preference of Taaffe but it seems (as one Rochfort, by whom the 72 correspondence with Jones was carried on, says in his

S Y. 230.

t Ib. 244.