into, the causes which produced those disturbances, and which have at times entirely changed the character of a people, naturally generous, noble-minded, and hospitable, and converted one of the most fertile countries in Europe into little better than a barren and unproductive wilderness.
It may not be uninteresting to take a hasty survey of the principal events that took place in Ireland during the last century, and which eventually led to the disastrous rebellion of 1798; indeed, as the history of my father's life is intimately connected with that Rebellion, it is indispensable that the state of parties in his day should be rightly understood, in order to form a correct estimate of the position he occupied, and the line of conduct he pursued.
When the city of Limerick opened her gates to admit the forces of William and Mary, and consented to abandon the cause of the monarch who had already abandoned them, it was on the solemn faith of a treaty granting them certain rights and privileges. It is useless to say that the garrison would have been ultimately compelled to surrender, when we know that, a very few days after the capitulation was finally adjusted and signed, a formidable French fleet arrived in the Shannon, with forces, arms, and provisions in abundance. By this treaty, known by the name of the Treaty of Limerick, it was agreed, among other matters, that the Roman Catholics should enjoy such privileges in the exercise of their religion as they had enjoyed in the reign of King Charles II.; and their majesties engaged to