be a recluse at La Trappe, than
to be generalissimo of the half naked savages who burrowed in the dreary
swamps of Munster. Any plea was welcome which would serve as an excuse
for returning from that miserable exile to the land of cornfields
and vineyards, of gilded coaches and laced cravats, of ballrooms and
theatres, [740]

Very different was the feeling of the children of the soil. The island,
which to French courtiers was a disconsolate place of banishment, was
the Irishman's home. There were collected all the objects of his love
and of his ambition; and there he hoped that his dust would one day
mingle with the dust of his fathers. To him even the heaven dark with
the vapours of the ocean, the wildernesses of black rushes and stagnant
water, the mud cabins where the peasants and the swine shared their meal
of roots, had a charm which was wanting to the sunny skies, the cultured
fields and the stately mansions of the Seine. He could imagine no fairer
spot than his country, if only his country could be freed from the
tyranny of the Saxons; and all hope that his country would be freed
from the tyranny of the Saxons must be abandoned if Limerick were
surrendered.

The conduct of the Irish during the last two months had sunk their
military reputation to the lowest point. They had, with the exception of
some gallant regiments of cavalry, fled disgracefully at the Boyne, and
had thus incurred the bitter contempt both of their enemies and of their
allies. The English who were at Saint Germains never spoke of the Irish
but as a people of dastards and traitors, [741] The French were so much
exasperated against the unfortunate nation, that Irish merchants, who
had been many years settled at Paris, durst not walk the streets
for fear of being insulted by the populace, [742] So strong was the
prejudice, that absurd stories were invented to explain the intrepidity
with which the horse had fought. It was said that the troopers were not
men of Celtic blood, but descendants of the old English of the pale,
[743] It was also said that they had been intoxicated with brandy just
before the battle, [744] Yet nothing can be more certain than that they
must have been generally of Irish race; nor did the steady valour which
they displayed in a long and almost hopeless conflict against great odds
bear any resemblance to the fury of a coward maddened by strong drink
into momentary hardihood. Even in the infantry, undisciplined and
disorgan