wing of the army, accompanied by Prince George of Denmark, and they passed the Boyne at the ford of Old Bridge, between the army of James and the town of Drogheda; and it was not without difficulty that this measure was accomplished. Here the charger of the Prince of Orange got entangled in a bog or morass at the other side of the river, where he had landed, and where he was forced to alight until one of the royal attendants succeeded in extricating "Sorrel" (for so was the royal charger named) from his entanglement in the morass, and assisted the prince to remount.

As soon as all the troops had passed over the Boyne water, and were put in some order, the Prince of Orange commanded them to march; and constantly was he seen upon the alert, with his large conspicuous triangular hat and nodding plumes, urging "Sorrel" in full gallop at the head of his cavalry, his sword drawn, and his wounded arm freed from the scarf which had supported it. He waved his sword on high, and encouraged and inflamed the soldiery to battle.

At this sight the troops of King James manifested a disposition to retreat. King James, however, endeavoured by every method and persuasion he could use to rally his men, while loudly he repeatedly called out to them,

"On, on ye brave!"

while to his general officers he expressed his fixed determination "to make a bold and resolute effort for the recovery of his throne; for that all the hopes of his restoration depended upon the result of that day!"

The Prince of Orange now despatched twelve battalions and nine squadrons to strengthen his right wing, and placed himself at the head of the left wing of his army. The right, as we have before observed, was commanded by Count Menard Schomberg; the centre by Field-Marshal Duke of Schomberg, and the left by William.

In the meantime all the forces of King James, except the detachment which had retired to Duleek, promptly gathered from all quarters, and formed a firm and formidable phalanx around their king. Here the battle raged loud and stormy, but with various success, for about an hour, representing both to the eye and ear all the horrors of civil and foreign war commingled. Here waved in the breeze the silver lilies of France; there undulated the silver harp of Erin, the golden lion of old merry England; and the Scottish unicorn, with the bordure of the thistle; next the Belgic lion in refulgent gold; then the dark, black eagle of Brandenburgh, with the ominous raven of Denmark, all waving in the morning breeze, and in the fierce discordant attack shaken to and fro, like the woods of some ancient forest. Here, and every where, resounded the languages of France, England, Holland, Denmark, Germany, and Ireland—all spoken promiscuously. May we then not observe, what a scene was there combined! withal the various and varied nations, their troops' uniforms consisting of various and discordant hues, all combining and forming the different tints of the rainbow, including many ultra and even plus-ultra dyes of the arc of heaven!—green, blue, black, yellow, scarlet, and some undefinable colours. The varied look that caught the eye, and the varied language that irresistibly reached the ear, rendered this ever most remarkable battle-scene truly another Babel! While Frenchmen fought against their fellow-subjects in some quarters of the field—while in others brave Britons contended against Britons—and, alas! the sons of unhappy Ireland fought against each other in opposing ranks!—Oh, the reflection was dreadful!

At this period of the battle Tyrconnel defeated the English, who were commanded by General De Ginckle, and who thereupon suddenly retreated. The Prince of Orange, perceiving what Tyrconnel had done, rallied the English cavalry, and remonstrated with them upon their flight. When thus urged, they rushed again upon the charge, and not without some success.

The Prince of Orange brought up his Dutch cavalry and the Enniskilliners to support the charge; his Highness then wheeled to the left, and the Enniskilliners, through mistake, did the same. Upon this the prince galloped furiously to the right, and drew up his Dutch troops. The Enniskilliners upon this became conscious of the mistake which they involuntarily had committed, and they instantly reoccupied their ground, and fought resolutely.

At this momentous crisis of the battle, the brave Tyrconnel strained every nerve to support the troops under his command. He galloped in front, and from flank to rere, while every where he exhorted, encouraged, and animated the troops, as onward he galloped through the ranks.

Here Tyrconnel encountered the Brandenburgh cavalry, with their gallant colonel at their head, who, not unobserved by Tyrconnel, throughout that well-fought field performed prodigies of valour. The duke and colonel met, and closed in single combat, managing the broad sword with equal—nay, with consummate skill; when a private of the Brandenburghers, perceiving that the duke had the advantage of his leader, presently level ling his carbine, and aiming at Tyrconnel, he suddenly fired it off. The duke escaped, but his noble charger fell, and flung with tremendous force to the earth the hero whom he had borne. In an instant the colonel was on his feet, and raised his gallant opponent in his arms.

"Brave and truly noble colonel! accept my warm and grateful thanks for this truly generous and heroic act; and permit me, at the same time, to know to whom I am so much, so highly indebted?"

"Noble duke," rejoined the valiant stranger, "for such I know you to be, indeed you much overrate my service. However, at some future time, more propitious than the present, my name shall be divulged to you; at the present moment I have reasons quite sufficient to cause me to decline the explanation which you require. But you shall have two pledges, and from a true knight, for the fulfilment of my promise, solemnly made in the battle-field!"

He then loudly called to his equery: "Ho! Malcolm, bring Fergus from the rere!" While on the instant the equerry advanced, bringing a noble Hanoverian charger of a beautiful cream colour, who loudly snorted, neighed, and proudly pawed the ground. The stately animal was ready caparisoned for the field.

The colonel next took a ring from off his finger; it was an antique cameo, exquisitely sculptured; the gem was a ruby of immense value; the subject was the genius of Victory crowning Hercules.

"This," said the colonel, "you must permit me to place on your hand, as an humble mark of my esteem and admiration of the brave who belong to every country. This and my trusty charger are the gages for the fulfilment of my promise."

"In return," replied the duke, "noble and generous stranger," at the same moment taking from out his bosom a diamond star, which was appended to a chain of gold, "receive this diamond star!" And flinging it with much grace around the colonel's neck, he added: "Wear this for sake of me! This morning it was given me by my king, who commanded me to place it around the bravest neck and the boldest heart I should this day meet in the field."

"Then," rejoined the