ound generally
carried on 'between the Irish robbers and the French privateers,' then
swarming the Irish coast. From eight to ten of these desperate
characters were sent to Cork for trial at every assize of Bear Haven.
They swore vengeance upon the upright magistrate; and in the year
1704, a French privateer hove in sight--soon anchoring, he faced M.
Fontaine's house. The vessel mounted ten guns, with a crew of eighty
seamen. The Huguenot mustered all his men, amounting to twenty, and,
sending the Papists away, he supplied the Protestants with muskets. This
reduced his force to seven men, besides himself, wife, and children, and
four or five of these were of but little use.

Fontaine posting himself in a tower over the door, the rest of the party
occupied the different windows. The lieutenant now landed with twenty
men, and, approaching the dwelling, he took aim and fired at M.
Fontaine, but missed him. The Huguenot then discharged a blunderbuss,
with small leaden balls, one of which entered the neck of the
privateersman, and another his side, when his men carried him back
wounded to the ship. This unexpected resistance from a minister made the
captain furious, when he sent to the attack twenty more men, under
another commander, with two small cannons. 'I must acknowledge,' he
says, 'that being unaccustomed to this sort of music, I felt some little
tremors of fear when the first cannon ball struck the house; but I
instantly humbled myself before my Maker, and having committed myself,
both soul and body, to His keeping, my courage revived, and I suffered
no more from fear. I put my head out of the window to see what effect
the ball had produced on our stone wall, and when I perceived it had
only made a slight scratch, I cried out for joy, 'Courage, my dear
children, their cannon balls have no more effect on our stone walls than
if they were so many apples.'

The wife of M. Fontaine displayed the greatest self-possession and
bravery on this trying occasion, carrying ammunition, acting as surgeon,
and encouraging all by her words and actions. 'Courage, my children,'
said she, 'we are in the hands of God, and it is not fear that will
insure our safety; on the contrary, God will bless our courage. If you
cannot fire yourselves, you can load the muskets for your father and
others who are older and stronger than you are; drive away all fear, if
you can, and leave the care of your persons to God.' The fight continued
from eig