entreated him to give the enemy battle before their whole ftrength was collected, and his garrifon diminished. Lundy ftill affected vigour; as the Irish had paffed the Bann, he was now to prevent them from croffing the Finn Water: he ftationed his forces for this purpofe; but, in the hour of danger, he refused to fupport them, fhamefully abandoned his own poft, and hid himself within the walls of Derry, thutting the gates against many of those who fought the fame refuge.

"In the meantime, two Engiifh colonels, Cunningham and Richards, arrived in Lake Foyle with two English regiments. They notified their arrival to Lundy, whofe orders they were to obey, advising him to fecure the paffes he had already abandoned, that if a battle fhould be neceffary, he might engage to more advantage with their reinforcement to fupport him. On his return to Derry he received their letter; his written answer directed them to land; his meffenger delivered his orders, that they should leave their men on board, and come to the city with fome of their officers to confult on the measures neceffary in the prefent juncture, when there were not provifions for ten days, though all unneceffary perfons fhould be removed. Eleven officers from the fhips and five of the town formed a council of war, in which it was readily agreed, in confequence of Lundy's reprefentations, that the place was by no means tenable; that the English regi ments fhould not land; that the principal officers should privately withdraw from the town, and leave the inhabitants to make the best conditions in their power with the enemy. These refolutions were communicated to the town-council, where it was refolved to offer terms of capitulation to James, who now advanced flowly towards the city.

Thefe proceedings were not long a fecret to the people; they faw their leaders flying, the English regi ments preparing to return to England with all the pro

vifions

vifions intended for their relief, although Lundy affured them they should land. They exclaimed against the governor, the council, and every suspected officer; they roared out for vengeance against their betrayers. In the phrenfy of rage and terror, they flew one officer as he was haftening to escape from the city; another they wounded. In this moment of diftraction, Murray, a brave and popular captain, arrived at the head of a reinforcement, and, although Lundy commanded him to retire, infifted on entering the town, and was received with acclamations. To the foldiers who eagerly crowded round him, he inveighed against the bafe purpose of furrendering to a cruel and perfidious enemy, and was heard with rapture, While he expoftulated with Lundy, they rushed to the walls, pointed their cannon, and fired on James and his advanced party, who approached to take poffeffion of the city. While the more cautious, and timid fent a deputation to apologize for this violence of an head-ftrong populace, they with one voice declared for defence. Governor, councils, magiftrates, at once loft all authority. Lundy refigned all care of the city and concealed himself in his own house. The garrifon chofe for themselves two new governors, Walker, the gallant ecclefiaftic, and one major Baker, that if either fhould fall they might not be left without command, By direction of these men they were formed into eight regiments, amounting to feven thousand and twenty men, three hundred and forty-one officers.

When the first fudden agitation had fubfided, their refolution grew compofed and deliberate. They fuffered the timid to depart unmolefted. Lundy, by connivance of the new governors, escaped to the fhips in a disguise fuited to his meannefs, bending under a load of match. The ftores were viewed, orders iffued, and obeyed with regularity; each regiment had its own ground, each company knew its own baftion; they repaired each to their poft without any military parade, but without confufion or diforder. Eighteen clergymen of the efta

M

3

blished

blifhed church, and feven non-conformist teachers, cheerfully fhared the labours and dangers of the fiege; and, in their turns, every day collected the people in the cathedral church, and by the fervour of their devotions, and those strains of eloquence which their circumstances infpired, animated and enflamed their hearers. Some jealoufies, however, broke out from thefe different religious parties, even in the hour of their common danger; and one diffenting teacher pronounced thofe unworthy to fight for the proteftant cause who should refufe to take the covenant. But the difcreet and pious of both parties prevailed, preached obedience and mutual union, and laboured to elevate the people to the utmost pitch of that devotional spirit which renders courage irrefiftible.

And here one might dwell with aftonishment on this defperare attempt of a garrison, in a town meanly fortifed and miferably fupplied; as yet encumbered with thirty thoufand fugitives who could give them no affiftance, and affailed by twenty thoufand befiegers. But the plain, unftudied, unadorned effufions of their brave governor, Walker, rife above all elaborate defcription. "It did beget," faith he, "fome diforder among us and confufion, when we looked about us and faw what we were doing, our enemies all about us, and our friends running away from us. A garrifon we had, compofed of a number of poor people frightened from their own homes, and feemed more fit to hide themfelves than to face an enemy. When we confidered, that we had no perfons of any experience in war among us, and those very perfons that were fent to affift us, had fo little confidence in the place, that they no fooner faw it but they thought fit to leave it; that we had but few horfe to fally out with, and no forage; no engineers to instruct us in our works; no fire-works, not fo much as a handgrenado to annoy the enemy; not a gun well mounted in the whole town; that we had fo many mouths to feed, and not above ten days provision for them in the opinion

of

of our former governors; that every day feveral left us and gave conftant intelligence to the enemy; that they had fo many opportunities to divide us, and fo often endeavoured to betray the governors; that they were fo numerous, fo powerful, and well-appointed an army, that in all human probability we could not think ourfelves in lefs danger than the Ifraelites at the Red Sea; when we confidered all this, it was obvious enough what a dangerous undertaking we had ventured upon. But the refolution and courage of our people, and the neceffity we were under, and the great confidence and dependence among us on God Almighty, that he would take care of us and preferve us, made us overlook all thofe difficulties."

With minds thus poffeffed, they refifted both the perfuafions and affaults of their befiegers. They made their fallies in a manner unauthorized by military rules. Any officer that could be fpared engaged in the adventure, and any foldiers who pleafed followed his ftandard. Such were the repeated fucceffes of this irregular war, that when the befiegers battered the walls, the garrifon had the hardiness to advise them to fpare their labour and expence, as their gates were ever open, and wider than any breach they could make. Eleven days James continued his affaults with repeated mortifications, and without any profpect of fuccefs. Impatient of his difappointments, he left the camp and returned to Dublin, peevishly exclaiming, that if his army had been English they would have brought him the town piece-meal. The only exploit performed in his northern expedition was that of reducing the fort of Culmore, and this he was fufpected to have atchieved by the help of money. The garrison of Derry still continued to defeat all the attempts of their befiegers, and to harrafs them by fuccefsful fallies. But they were foon threatened with more terrible enemies, difeafe and famine. The heats of fummer proved even peftilential to men fatigued and confined, and their fcanty and unwholefome diet en

flamed

flamed their diforders. In the heavinefs of their affliction, and their melancholy forebodings, they difcovered in Lake Foyle thirty fhips, which they doubted not had been fent to their relief from England. Thefe indeed contained troops, arms, ammunition, and provifions, under the command of Kirk; but Kirk was too much hardened against the diftreffes of his fellow-creatures to make any hazardous attempt in favour of the garrifon. He was alarmed at the magnificent accounts of the force and difpofitions of an enemy who were caft into confternation at his appearance. He hefitated, and returned no cheerful anfiver to the fignals of the befieged. The enemy, encouraged by this irrefolution, prepared to oppofe his paffage. Their batteries were planted, and their forces ranged on each fide the lake where it grew narrow towards the city, and from two oppofite forts they ftretched a boom across the water, formed of ftrong timber joined by iron chains and ftrengthened by thick cables. The fleet, to which the garrifon looked for relief, set fail and difappeared.

With great difficulty, and after repeated difappointments, they at length received the afflicting intelligence from Kirk, that as he found it impoffible to force a paffage by the river for his ftores and victuals, he had failed round to Lake Swilly, if by any means he might give fome diverfion to the enemy, and fend fupplies to the proteftant forces collected at Enniskillen. He comforted them, at the fame time, with an affurance that he would ftill relieve them; that more forces were hourly expected from England; that both there and in Scotland affairs were entirely favourable to the new government; that by the intelligence he had gained, the

* It is remarkable that the perfon who conftructed this BOOM, by which the fiege was protracted, was the grandfather of the late unfortunate Coigley, who was executed at Maidftone, June 1798, for high treafon. Ed.

befiegers