urbanity of manner, and fuch attractive convivial qualities, that he was regarded as a very pleasing companion. In confequence of thefe mental and perfonal qualifications, Mrs. Efmond became enamoured of him. In private life, he was confidered as honourable and humane; but on this occafion, he yielded to the delufions of bigotry, which rendered him a traitor to his king, and infpired him with a malignant defire of fubverting the beft conftitution in the univerfe, and of erecting, on its ruins, the pandemonium of France, with all its concominant horrors. Affuming the femblance of loyalty, he applauded the exertions of captain Swayne, and even cooperated with him in extinguishing that spirit of difaffection, which prevailed among the inhabitants of Profperous and its vicinity. He dined with him at an inn there on the twenty-third of May, and continued to enjoy the glow of focial mirth with him, till a few hours before the perpetration of thạt bloody fcene, which he had for fometime meditated.

«Talibus infidis, perjurique arte Sinonis,

"Credita res."

He was lieutenant of the Clane cavalry, commanded by captain Griffith, and he perfuaded many privates of the corps to defert their colours, and to join him in the attack on Profperous, which is about three miles from Clane.

ATTACK UPON CLANE BY THE REBELS.

The garrifon there, confifted of a company of the Armagh militia, commanded by captain Jephfon, and a few of the Clane yeomen cavalry. Early on the morning of the twenty-fourth of May, the main body of the rebels ftole into the town unperceived; but a drummer and the trumpeter having been alarmed, the former, after beating a few ftrokes of his drum, was driven into the guard-houfe; how ever, the trumpeter alarmed the garrifon.

Captain

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Captain Jephfon, on looking out of his window, faw the ftreets crowded with rebels, armed with dif ferent weapons: The foldiers, who were at billets in the town, endeavoured to come forth; but as each house was befet by a body of pikemen, they were obliged fingly to fight their way through them; and in attempting to do fo, two of them were killed on the spot, and five were badly wounded. However, the remainder, notwithstanding the furprise, affembled, and gallantly repulfed the rebels. In the fecond attempt which they made, fix rebels, dreffed in the clothes and mounted on the horfes of the Ancient Britons, entered the town, with the view of impofing themfelves as yeomen, an artifice which in fome meafure fucceeded; for captain Jephfon approached them, laid his hand on the neck of one of the horses, and afked the rider, whence he came ; on which he damned him, drew his fabre, and made a cut at him; for which he was inftantly fhot by one of the foldiers, and the remainder were wounded in their retreat.

About three o'clock captain Griffith received an express at Millicent, his feat, by a yeoman, that a large body of rebels had attacked the guard of Clane: The captain arrived there in fifteen minutes, and found that, by the fteady conduct of part of his troop, who were armed with carbines, which they ufed with good effect, the infurgents had received fuch a check, as to afford time to about forty of the Armagh to turn out. The yeomen and militia had not fired more than three rounds, when the rebels difpersed and the captain, on his arrival, found the troops purfuing them, and burning the houses on the common, in which they had taken refuge. They killed a good many of them, and took fix prifoners of the popifh perfuafion, four of whom were captain Griffith's tenants. One of them was condemned and hanged at the drum-head in Clane; the other five were hanged the fame day at Naas.

At his return to Clane, about five in the morning, he heard of the carnage at Profperous. On muftering the guard, he found his fecond lieutenant, a ferjeant and seventeen privates, one of whom was feverely wounded; the other three had deferted with their own arms, and thofe belonging to other yeamen of his troop. He had hardly time to draw up the yeomen and militia in the street, when a party of rebels, mounted on the horses and furnished with the arms and accoutrements of the Ancient Britons, made a charge into the town. By one volley they brought down fix or feven of them; the remainder fled precipitately, and took fhelter behind a strong party of rebel infantry, which were approaching from Profperous, and which made a formidable appearance, not fo much from their numbers, though confiderable, as from the brightness of their arms, and the fcarlet coats and helmets of which they had plundered the foldiers at Profperous.

As they were not ftrong enough to attack fo numerous a party, and thinking it difhonourable to retreat, the captain, in concurrence with the militia. officers, refolved to take poft on an elevated fpot near the Commons, where they could not be furrounded or out-flanked; and there they waited for the enemy, who began a fmart fire on them, but without effect, as the elevation was too great. Our troops, having returned the fire, killed and wounded a confiderable number of them, on which they fled in great dismay, and were charged by the captain and his fixteen yeomen, who cut down many of those whofe heads were ornamented with the helmets of the Ancient Britons, or the hats of the Cork regiments. In their flight, they dropped a great quantity of pikes, pitch-forks, mufkets and fabres.

He returned to Clane, refreshed his men, and fet out for Naas, whither he had orders to march; but a fhort time before he left Clane, he was joined by one of his yeomen, of the name of Philip Mite, who fecretly delivered him a letter, in which he commu

nicated

nicated to him the conduct of Elmond, who, he faid, had commanded at the attack of Profperous; and that he (Mite) had accompanied him to the entrance of that town, and then made his escape. He had scarce received this intelligence, when Efmond appeared and joined the troop, with his hair dreffed, his boots and breeches quite clean, and fully accoutred. The captain had fortunately fufficient command over himself, to reprefs his indignation on see, ing him, and to hold his peace till he arrived at Naas, where, having drawn up his troop in front of the gaol, he committed Efmond in five minutes after they halted.

When Mite was awakened, and was compelled to join the rebels, who were proceeding to Profperous, he objected against attending them; on which Efmond, who headed the party, defired him to banish his fears, as, he faid, the mafs of the people of Ireland would rife that night.

He was afterwards conveyed to Dublin, was tried by a court-martial, and convicted of high treafon, on the clearest evidence, and was hanged on Carlisle bridge the fourteenth of June. He fummoned captain Griffith to give evidence on his trial, and as it was not as favourable to the doctor as he and his friends expected, a banditti the next night but one plundered and damaged his property at Millicent to the amount of 3000l.

INSURRECTION NEAR DUNLAVIN.

On the night of the twenty-third of May, the rebels having broke open the gaol of Ballymore-euftace, one of the prifoners, who made his efcape, arrived at Dunlavin, and informed captain Ryves, who commanded a corps of yeomanry there, that the town would be attacked by a numerous body of rebels that night, or early in the morning.

At the dawn he perceived large columns of them moving round the adjacent country, and many proteftant

teftant houses on fire; and knowing, from the cruel and fanguinary fpirit which the rebels had difplayed at Ballymore-euftace, that they meditated the total extermination of all proteftants and loyalifts, he was driven to the neceflity of adopting a meafure, which nothing but motives of felf-prefervation and the emergency of the occafion could juftify. The only troops in Dunlavin were his corps of yeomen, and the light company of the Wicklow militia, commanded by captain Richardfon; and the number of prifoners confined in the gaol there for treafon far exceeded that of the garrifon.

The captain marched out of the town with a party of yeomen cavalry to encounter the rebels; but they were so numerous and defperate, that he was obliged to return, after fome of his men had been piked.

The officers, having conferred for fome time, were of opinion, that fome of the ycomen who had been difarmed, and were at that time in prifon for being notorious traitors, fhould be hot. Nineteen therefore of the Saunders-grove corps, and nine of the Narramore, were immediately led out and fuffered death.

It may be faid, in excufe for this act of fevere and fummary justice, that they would have joined the numerous bodies of rebels who were moving round, and at that time threatened the town. At the fame time they discharged the greater part of the prifoners, in confideration of their former good characters.

ATTACK ON BALLYMORE-EUSTACE.

As the united Irishmen in the neighbourhood of Ballymore-euftace were known to have an immenfe quantity of arms, captain Beevor was fent there on the tenth of May with detachments of the ninth dragoons, the Tyrone, Antrim and Armagh militia, tộ compel a furrender of them, by living at free quar

ters.

He had every reafon to believe, that he had completely fucceeded in the object of his miffion, as

he