her conductor. Donal, fearing Finola might object, gently raised her in his arms, and placed her on the croup at the same time, thanking Cuthbert for his kindness. He then ordered twenty of the younger men to ride in advance, as a guard of honour, as he pleasantly styled it; for it was his habit to have everything done after a military fashion. Donal and Nora rode alongside the bride and bridegroom, the Rapparee claiming this privilege on account of his being an old companionin-arms of Nicholas Power during the late war. The old men of the party brought up the rere of the procession, as they wished to travel at their leisure. After having trotted about 800 or 900 yards, the advanced portion commenced to gallop at a furious rate, and horses whose mettle was never before tried were now put to the test, as the riders vied with each other as to who would be the first to announce to his mother the marriage of the bridegroom, and thereby win the 'Kail.'

As the jovial party rapidly approached Ballinaskagh, they saw within a quarter of a mile of Power's comfortable cottage hundreds of bright lights glistening in the distance, and when they came nearer they were received with hearty cheers by the men and boys of the neighbouring villages. After Nicholas Power and his wife dismounted, he ordered that all those who had come to welcome their return should be supplied with plenty of drink.

The bridal party then entered the house, where old Mrs. Power was occupied making preparations to receive the gentlemen and her daughter-in-law's relatives and friends; for, as she said herself, “I know all my own people will manage as best they can to promote, as far as possible, the comfort of the strangers," by which term she styled the bride's numerous relatives.

The guests were all sumptuously entertained in the large barn, which was appropriately fitted up for the happy occasion. Sergeant Power, having placed John, Cuthbert, Kelly of Loughcutra, young Burke of Lisbrien, Mahon of Ryndyfin, and the other gentlemen who honoured him by their presence, at the centre table, thanked them for the honour they did him on the occasion.

When supper was over, dancing commenced and was kept up with unabated vigour until morning, when Donal Bran and Nora, who were general favourites with the rest of the company, were loudly called on to wind up the dancing with a jig. The guests shortly after took leave, and retired to their homes, praying for the future success and happiness of the newly-married couple.

CHAPTER XLII.

PERSECUTION AT HOME-THE IRISH BRIGADE ABROAD.

THE Catholics of Ireland remained in unutterable suspense until the 5th of October, 1692, when the Irish Parliament met in Dublin, on which occasion Sir Richard Leving was chosen Speaker. The Catholics were excluded, as was expected by many of them, and a base and bigoted crew, bent on plunder and confiscation, formed the new Williamite senate. Three thousand nine hundred and twenty-one persons were shamefully robbed of their properties, amounting to 1,060,000 broad acres, the reason given being that the proprietors were not included in either the Articles of Limerick or Galway. The Lallys of Tullinadaly were attainted, and compelled to seek refuge in France: so were the Burkes of Corker. The property of Teige Daly, who was killed at Aughrim, was sold, and the possessions of O'Shaughnessy were seized by the Commissioners of Forfeited Estates, with the exception of Fidane Castle, and the twelve quarters of land which Lady Helena O'Shaughnessy, who still resided there in retirement since the death of her husband, held under her marriage settlement.

However, in the meantime, King James, assisted by his adherents, endeavoured to regain his throne. A fleet was prepared in France, to convey the Irish who had settled in that country after the surrender of Limerick, and some French troops, to invade England. The Armée de Normandie, including King James's household, consisted of 30,000 men and fifty guns. Of this number, the Irish exiles, with the exception of the three regiments of Lord Mounteashell's Brigade and the Regiment of Athlone, which were to remain in France, amounted to about 12,400 infantry, and 800 cavalry, including officers. This large force was to be commanded, under King James, by Marshal de Bellefonds, to whom the Earl of Lucan was to act as Major-General, and the fleet by Admiral the Count de Tourville, a Chevalier of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis; and young Captain Forster of Rathorpe, who was in France since the fall of Limerick, received a colonel's commission from King James. All the preparations for the intended invasion were indeed excellent; the enthusiasm of the exiled Irish was great, and everything seemed at last in favour of the Royal cause.

His Majesty, having invested the young Prince of Wales with the Order of the Garter, accompanied by the Duke of Berwick and Marshal

de Bellefonds, departed for Caen in Normandy, on the 21st of April, and from thence proceeded to Cape La Hogue. On his arrival here, the King was compelled to wait four weeks for favourable wind to enable the fleet to sail for England, as during that time nothing prevailed but 'Protestant winds.' But, unfortunately for his Majesty's cause, in the meantime the Dutch, under Admiral Van Allemonde, formed a conjunction with Admiral Russell in the Downs, and appeared off the coast of France. The English Admiral, who sympathised with King James in his misfortunes, resolved to give him all the assistance in his power in the struggle to regain his Crown, and therefore entered into a secret correspondence with his Majesty for that purpose. He advised the King to put to sea by night if possible, but by all means to prevent a collision between the fleets, as he was willing, he said, to let King James's squadron pass by unmolested; but, as the honour of the English flag was concerned, he must not be defied by them, for no one knew better than the King himself that if a single shot was once fired it would be difficult to say what the result might be where British sailors were concerned. However, the unreasonable bravery of the fiery De Tourville would not consent to this, as he was anxious to distinguish himself in an engagement with the allies, though they were far superior in point of number. Though the combined fleets of England and Holland consisted of eighty-eight strong vessels, and the French only of fortyfour, the contest was fierce, and maintained throughout the day with undaunted valour on both sides. Admiral de Tourville displayed great bravery and naval skill in this engagement, of which King James was an eye-witness. When the Royal Admiral, who stood upon the shore, beheld the effect of his naval tactics, he exclaimed-"IIa! they have got Pepys on board." The King watched the encounter with eagerness, and when he beheld the daring British sailors bravely scrambling one after another up the lofty sides of the French men-of-war, the Sailor King forgot for the moment, in his excitement, that those men who in happier days he had often led to victory in defence of their country against those who were now their allies were his enemies, and doing all in their power to frustrate this last effort to regain his kingdom, and exclaimed with enthusiasm--" My brave English! My brave English!! My brave English!!!" It is probable no other sovereign would have made this remark under the circumstances; but King James, when Duke of York, during the reign of his brother Charles II, had been Lord High Admiral of England, and had gained many great and glorious victories on sea, and could not therefore now help admiring the bravery of his old sailors, whom he had so often commanded. The burning ships now

commenced to throw their shot in all directions, and as many of them had fallen near where the King was standing, his Majesty was advised by the French officers who stood near to retire. He had scarcely done so when the cannon raked the spot, and most of the officers of his staff were slain. After a desperate fight the allies gained the victory, fifteen of the French men-of-war having been destroyed, and for the present all hope of restoring King James was abandoned.

The Irish at home still regularly corresponded with their friends on the Continent, through the medium of the many privateers (142) that plied between Ireland and France; and Colonel Forster constantly wrote to his relatives in the county of Galway, acquainting them with all that took place at the Court of St. Germain-en-Laye, and that of Versailles.

Dermot Oge spent most of his time with Major Forster at Rathorpe, and still entertained hopes that O'Shaughnessy, to whom he often wrote, would yet be restored to the property of his sept; but early in the month of June, 1693, feeling extremely low-spirited and uneasy, he made his will, and several valuable memorandums about the O'Shaughnessy family, which, he said, he hoped would prove useful to posterity (143).

In the following month of August, a deep gloom was cast over Clooneene, Rathorpe, Lissine, and Gortinsiguara, by a letter which was received by Major Forster of Rathorpe, from his son, Colonel Francis, informing him that the brave and dauntless Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan, had died from the effects of wounds received at the bloody battle of Landen, otherwise Neer-Winden or Neer-Hespen, in Flanders, fought on the 29th of July in that year, in which the allies under William III., were completely defeated by the French and Irish, commanded by the Marshal Duke de Luxembourg. The patriotic Sarsfield fell, sword in hand, while bravely charging the enemy, and, receiving the blood which gushed copiously from his death-wound in his hand, he passionately exclaimed-" Oh! God, if my blood had been spilt for Ireland I would die without a murmur!" This sad intelligence spread rapidly through the country, and Colonel Forster also informed his father that he intended returning home in a short time.

The young Chief of Cineal Aodh, who still remained in France, accompanied his first cousin, the Honourable Daniel O'Brien, who became Lord Clare on the death of his father, the third Viscount, in 1691, to Italy, and was rejoiced at the prospect of action.

Marshal de Catinat commanded the French and Irish troops stationed in that country.

The Irish consisted of nine battalions of Lord Mountcashell's Brigade, and had a hard-fought engagement with the enemy at the great battle of Marsaglia, fought on the 4th of October, 1693. The right wing of De Catinat's first line was composed of French and Irish. The latter consisted of the King's and Queen's Regiments of Dragoons, numbering 14,000 men under Lord Kilmallock (144). Lord Clare's infantry, numbering 2,000 men, were placed on the left of the second line, and the Regiment of Limerick and the Queen's Regiment, under the command of Major-General Wauchop, comprised the centre. Prince Eugene of Savoy made a desperate attack, and compelled three of the French regiments to give way before him; but Lord Clare's Irish Brigade, assisted by two French regiments, made a furious charge from the second line, forced back the Germans with great loss, and bore down all before them. All now appeared perfectly safe on the right wing, and a successful charge being made by Lord Kilmallock's dragoons, the French appeared to have won the day; but Prince Eugene brought up his centre, and regained the loss which he had sustained on both wings of his army. General Wauchop, however, did not permit the Prince to triumph long, for he in person led up to the charge the Regiments of the Queen and Limerick. This he perseveringly did three times, without succeeding in breaking the well-disciplined troops of Prince Eugene of Savoy. This obstinate contest continued for four hours, after which time Prince Eugene was compelled to fall back, rapidly retire behind the River Po, and leave the field of battle in possession of the victorious French and their brave Irish allies. Many of the latter were slain, and others badly wounded. The gallant Wauchop, Maxwell, and Fordun, of the Queen's Regiment, fell, and O'Carroll, of the King's Regiment, was also slain. Lord Clare, who fought with great bravery, was mortally wounded, and shortly after died at Pignerole. His brother, the Honourable Charles O'Brien, second son of the Right Honourable Daniel, third Viscount Clare-who was an officer in the Queen's Regiment, and who also fought in this battle-succeeded him as fifth Viscount Clare, and added considerable lustre to that already proud name.

The state of the Catholics in Ireland was now miserable, and the English began openly to violate the solemn Treaty of Limerick in many parts of the country. Several acts of tyranny were practised by the Williamites, and the persecution was so great that even the bigoted Lords Justices found it necessary to issue a proclamation to restrain the cruelties of the local and newly-appointed magistrates. In Galway, the Corporation, which was composed of a low, bigoted, uneducated class,