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himself before the fire . On the alarm of surprise his few companions fled . The Earl , who was now an old man , and , perhaps , willing to relinquish life ^ waited quietly for his executioners . The soldiers entered , and , without knowing who it might be , struck and wounded him . ' Spare me , for I am the Earl of Desmond , ' said the old man ; but he was instantly killed , and his head sent to his old rival and antagonist , the Lord . Ormond . Thus terminated a fend which commenced in a question concerning title to a few fields of meadow land ! Ormond sent the head as a trophy to the Queen . "
The second volume is entirely occupied with the reign of James II ., which we may consider as concluded by the capitulation of Limerick . In his accoutit , Mr . O'Driscol does not spare any party , and if he should be found to have fallen into some inaccuracies , we do not think that any will charge him with partiality , except those violent partizans on both sides , who cannot endure any one who dares to question their opinions . James appears to have
been truly contemptible , and his loss of Ireland mustjbe attributed to his own obstinacy and cowardice . We find him refusing to attack Schomberg when urged by his generals , and insisting on an engagement at the Boyne when his generals wished to avoid it . "In Scotland the jacobite spirit was also gathering strength . It had survived the death of Dundee , and descended upon multitudes too good and brave for such a cause . Perhaps the popular attachment to James in Scotland and England was nourished by his absence
"It is certain that James ' s presence in Ireland speedily destroyed the enthusiasm that ha , d been connected with his name . But the derision with which that name became at length associated never passed away . " It was remarkable , that at the very moment James was expressing his fixed determination to fight , against the opinion and advice of his bravest officers , the true character of the man exhibited itself in anxious forebodings of the event , and precautions for his personal safety . He sent off his heavy baggage , and engaged a vessel at Waterford , to convey him to France . It is
impossible to say what could have been James ' s motive in pressing an engagement . It seemed as if William ' s presence acted with the power of fascination , upon him . When William landed in England , James seemed suddenly to lose the use of his faculties . He became bewildered and confused , and the crown fell from his head without an effort . He retained merel y * and hardly , the power of flight . When again William appeared in Ireland , even this last power deserted the unhappy monarch , and he rushed to his fate at the
Boyne , with a confused and trembling precipitation , which bo one could stay or controul . "— -Pp . 96 , 97 . " Before the first shot was fired , on the morning of the battle , James ' s valour had entirely evaporhted . Instead of leading his soldiers in this conflict , which was to decide the fate of his crown and his posterity , and which he himself had precipitated , he took a position at a safe distance from damjer , and was but a spectator of the battle from the hill of Donore , surrounded by
a few guards and attendants . The tradition in Ireland is , that he interfered several times by his messengers to prevent the Irish cavalry following up the pursuit of the enemy when broken , exclaiming frequently , ' Oh spare my English subjects ! ' James , perhaps , was too confused to know that the troops which had oeen so frequently put to flight by the Irish horse were few of them English . It is hftrd to make the English turn their backs . When , in the course of the day , the battle approached James ' s position on the hill of Donore , the warlike |> rmce retired to a more secure distance at Duleek . where
he soon put himself at the head of the French allies , and te 4 the retreat , the King and the French cousin jr off without « scar . But James soon left his allies behind , and was tfoe first fugitive in Dublin . He verified the fine description of th « foai-fid him * ill holy Writ , who flies * whe * po man pur *
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£ 58 llemew . —O'DnacoPs History of Ireland .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1828, page 258, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2559/page/42/
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