there could now be no scepticism on the
subject. Some hundreds of armed men were already crowding the grounds in
front of the mansion; and from the shouts which rose in every quarter, and
still more from the fires which blazed on every hill round the horizon,
the numbers of the insurgents must have amounted to thousands. It was
evident that we were in a pitfall, and that resistance was only the
protraction of a fate which was now inevitable. The shrieks of the females
and the despondency of the men, who naturally thought that their last hour
was come, were enough to dishearten all resolution. For a few minutes, the
only orders which I could give were to bar the doors and close the
windows. The multitude, new to hostile enterprises, had till now kept at
some distance, warned by their losses in the skirmish with the yeomanry,
and probably expecting the arrival of troops. But the sight of our
precautions, few and feeble as they were, gave them new courage; and
discharges of musketry began to drop their bullets into the midst of our
startled assemblage. It is only justice to the national intrepidity to
say, that every measure which I proposed for defence was unhesitatingly
adopted; and that one of my chief difficulties was to prevent rash
sallies, which must have only terminated in loss of life. The short
interval now allowed to us was employed in barricading the mansion, which
was built almost with the strength of a fortress, and posting every man
who could handle a musket or pistol, at the windows. Still I knew that
this species of defence could not last long; and my only hope for our
lives was, that the firing might bring some of the troops who patrolled
the country to our assistance. But the discharges became closer and
heavier, and still no sound of succour was to be heard. My situation
became more anxious every moment; all looked up to me for their guidance;
and though my garrison were brave and obedient, as became the
high-spirited sons of Ireland, there seemed the strongest probability that
the night would end in a general massacre. Yet there was no
faint-heartedness under the roof; our fire was stoutly kept up whenever
the assailants came within range; and as I hurried from chamber to chamber
to ascertain the condition of our defence and give directions, I found all
firm. Still the terrors of the females--the sight of the first women of
the province flying for refuge to every corner where they might escape the
balls