nobleman attempted, without a reply, to force him to a battle but the wary veteran eluded all his efforts, and after several skirmishes with a variety of fuccefs, returned disappointed to Ulfter. He was join, ed by the marquis of Antrim, who had revolted from the royalifts, enraged by the difappointment of the hopes which he had entertained of being appointed lord lieutenant. The marquis had led into Ireland a body of Scottish Highlanders, augmented his force with Irish troops at Wexford, and caufed an alarm by a formidable appearance, when he was fuddenly defeated, with the destruction of his brave Highlanders, by an army of confederates. Making boastful promises to Jones of important fervices by his influence in Ulfter, that general promifed him fupport, and O'Neal agreed to place himself and his army under his command: but the latter, foon dif covering this nobleman's infignificance, refumed his former place as chief general of the northern Irish.

CHAP.

XXV.

cio's pro

ceedinge.

The nuncio, who, on the furrendry of Athlone, The nunhad fled thence to Galway, endeavoured here to collect a fynod of his ecclefiaftical partizans to confirm his cenfures but Clanricarde, invefting the city, prevented the affembly, and obliged the citizens to pay a contribution, and to renounce all connexion with the nuncio. While this prelate permitted O'Neal, his general, to treat with the puritans of Dublin, the mortal enemies of the catholics, he fulminated his comminations against the armistic and treaties with heretics. The general affembly, having ratified the armiftice, proclaimed O'Neal a traitor,

and

XXV.

CHAP. and renewed the appeal to Rome, they were further exasperated by an outrage of this prelate, who seized their meffenger fent to the pope, and robbed him of his papers. All catholics, particularly his adherents of Galway, were interdicted, under the feverest penalties, from correfpondence with him; and, in a letter figned by the prolocutor of the affembly, he was admonished to depart the kingdom, and to prepare for his defenfe, before the fovereign pontiff, against the articles of their accusation.

Ormond's

zeturn.

As

In fuch a fituation of affairs Ormond arrived at 1048. Cork, and was received by Inchiquin with the re fpect properly payable to the king's lord lieutenant. The marquis had retired to England, on his refignation of the royal fortreffes to the parliament, and thence, after fome time, fled to France, from appre henfions of danger, with his eldest fon, lord Offory, where he affifted the queen of England with his ad. vice in her negociation with the Irish deputies. he had been disappointed of supplies in France, he endeavoured, on his arrival in Ireland, to conciliate the proteftant army of Munfter by promises. The king, though a prifoner, found means to fend him private inftructions, contradictory to his public declarations; on the authority of which, toge, ther with the powers granted by the queen and prince, he proceeded to treat with the general affem. bly at Kilkenny, for the purpose of uniting in a common cause the proteftant and catholic royalists. Having conferred fome time with their commiffioners at his houfe at Carrick, fourteen miles from

Kilkenny,

XXV.

Kilkenny, he was perfuaded, for the readier dispatch CHAP. of business, to remove to his castle at the latter. He was received at Kilkenny with the moft pompous respect, and attended by his own guards; but his negociation was for fome time interrupted by a mutiny A mutiny. in the army of Inchiquin. To make their peace in time with the ruling power of England seemed a wife measure to several officers, who accordingly fent propofals to the English parliament, and might foon have prevailed on troops difcontented from want of pay, to attempt to force their paffage to Jones in Dublin or O'Neal in Ulfter. The perfonal exertions of Ormond and Inchiquin were powerfully feconded by a meffage, in the critical time, from the prince of Wales, that princeRupert, the king's nephew, was foon to arrive with that part of the English navy which had revolted to the royalifts, with ammunition and provifions for the army in Munster; and that the prince of Wales himself was fhortly to appear among them. By the emprifoning of fome officers, and the difplacing of others, this army was fo modeled, as to enfure its future attachment to the royal caufe.

abroad.

Conclufi

mond's

1648.

The negociation of Ormond, on his return to Kilkenny, was was facilitated by intelligence from on of OrThe deputies, who had been fent to treaty. Rome, returned with plenty of relicks and benedictions, but deftitute of fupplies, and without advice from the pope, who left the confederates to their own judgment with refpect to the conditions which they fhould ask in matters of reli

gion.

CHAP. gion. The news of a remonftrance, presented ta XXV. the English parliament by its own army, demanding the king's death, on account of his people's blood fpilled in the civil war, made a forcible impreffion on both proteftant royalists and confederates. Peace was concluded on the fame conditions nearly in civil affairs as in the treaty of 1646 in ecclefiaftical more favourable terms were given to the catholics, who, with a repeal of all penal statutes, were fecured in the full and free exercise of their religion. With respect to an actual establishment the terms were not precife, but referved for the free and authentic declaration of the monarch's pleafure. A degrading circumftance to the marquis, and obftructive of his future operations, was the ftipulated article of twelve commifsi, oners of trust, nominated by the general affembly, who were to take care that the treaty fhould be duly executed, until its ratification in a full and peaceable parliament; and were to participate in the lord lieutenant's authority, fo far that, without the approbation of the majority of them, he could neither levy money nor men, nor place garrifons for defenfe. To reconcile the proteftants to this treaty, he published a declaration, in which, among other matters, he stated that he had made no accommodation with those who had any fhare in the barbarities committed in the beginning of the rebellion; and that he had not condefcended to any articles until the army in England had proclaimed their nefarious defign against their fovereign's life.

Whatever

XXV.

Whatever hopes might have been conceived in CHAP. favour of the royal caufe from this tedious negociation, its conclufion was far too late for the perfonal fervice of the king, fince that unfortunate prince had received the mortal ftroke before the news of the convention arrived at London.

CHA P.