'That is well,very well,my friend;you speak well,and manfully,'replied the general.'I want you to convey to the hands of General Boisleau,now in the city of Limerick,a small written packet;there is some danger,mark me,of your falling in with some outpost or straggling party of the prince's army.If you are taken unawares by any of the enemy you must dispose of the packet inside your person,rather than let it fall into their hands--that is,you must eat it.And if they go to question you with thumb-screws,or the like,answer nothing;let them knock your brains out first.'In illustration,I suppose,of the latter alternative,he knocked the ashes out of his pipe upon the table as he uttered it.
'The packet,'he continued,'you shall have to-morrow morning.Meantime comfort yourself with food,and afterwards with sleep;you will want,mayhap,all your strength and wits on the morrow.'
I applied myself forthwith to the homely fare which they had provided,and I confess that I never made a meal so heartily to my satisfaction.
It was a beautiful,clear,autumn morning,and the bright beams of the early sun were slanting over the brown heath which clothed the sides of the mountain,and glittering in the thousand bright drops which the melting hoar-frost had left behind it,and the white mists were lying like broad lakes in the valleys,when,with my pedlar's pack upon my back,and General Sarsfield's precious despatch in my bosom,I set forth,refreshed and courageous.
As I descended the hill,my heart expanded and my spirits rose under the influences which surrounded me.The keen,clear,bracing air of the morning,the bright,slanting sunshine,the merry songs of the small birds,and the distant sounds of awakening labour that floated up from the plains,all conspired to stir my heart within me,and more like a mad-cap boy,broken loose from school,than a man of sober years upon a mission of doubt and danger,I trod lightly on,whistling and singing alternately for very joy.
As I approached the object of my early march,I fell in with a countryman,eager,as are most of his kind,for news.
I gave him what little I had collected,and professing great zeal for the king,which,indeed,I always cherished,I won upon his confidence so far,that he became much more communicative than the peasantry in those quarters are generally wont to be to strangers.
From him I learned that there was a company of dragoons in William's service,quartered at Willaloe;but he could not tell whether the passage of the bridge was stopped by them or not.With a resolution,at all events,to make the attempt to cross,I approached the town.
When I came within sight of the river,I quickly perceived that it was so swollen with the recent rains,as,indeed,the countryman had told me,that the fords were wholly impassable.
I stopped then,upon a slight eminence overlooking the village,with a view to reconnoitre and to arrange my plans in case of interruption.While thus engaged,the wind blowing gently from the west,in which quarter Limerick lay,I distinctly heard the explosion of the cannon,which played from and against the city,though at a distance of eleven miles at the least.
I never yet heard the music that had for me half the attractions of that sullen sound,and as I noted again and again the distant thunder that proclaimed the perils,and the valour,and the faithfulness of my brethren,my heart swelled with pride,and the tears rose to my eyes;and lifting up my hands to heaven,I prayed to God that I might be spared to take a part in the righteous quarrel that was there so bravely maintained.
I felt,indeed,at this moment a longing,more intense than I have the power to describe,to be at once with my brave companions in arms,and so inwardly excited and stirred up as if I had been actually within five minutes'march of the field of battle.
It was now almost noon,and I had walked hard since morning across a difficult and broken country,so that Iwas a little fatigued,and in no small degree hungry.As I approached the hamlet,I was glad to see in the window of a poor hovel several large cakes of meal displayed,as if to induce purchasers to enter.
I was right in regarding this exhi-
bition as an intimation that entertainment might be procured within,for upon entering and inquiring,I was speedily invited by the poor woman,who,it appeared,kept this humble house of refreshment,to lay down my pack and seat myself by a ponderous table,upon which she promised to serve me with a dinner fit for a king;and indeed,to my mind,she amply fulfilled her engagement,supplying me abundantly with eggs,bacon,and wheaten cakes,which Idiscussed with a zeal which almost surprised myself.
Having disposed of the solid part of my entertainment,I was proceeding to regale myself with a brimming measure of strong waters,when my attention was arrested by the sound of horses'hoofs in brisk motion upon the broken road,and evidently approaching the hovel in which I was at that moment seated.
The ominous clank of sword scabbards and the jingle of brass accoutrements announced,unequivocally,that the horsemen were of the military profession.
'The red-coats will stop here undoubtedly,'said the old woman,observing,I suppose,the anxiety of my countenance;'they never pass us without coming in for half an hour to drink or smoke.If you desire to avoid them,Ican hide you safely;but don't lose a moment.They will be here before you can count a hundred.'
I thanked the good woman for her hospitable zeal;but I felt a repugnance to concealing myself as she suggested,which was enhanced by the consciousness that if by any accident I were de-tected while lurking in the room,my situation would of itself inevitably lead to suspicions,and probably to discovery.
I therefore declined her offer,and awaited in suspense the entrance of the soldiers.