I was obliged willy nilly to go with them,and,half-dragging and half-carrying me,they brought me by the path,which now became very steep,for some hundred yards without stopping,when suddenly coming to a stand,I found myself close before the door of some house or hut,I could not see which,through the planks of which a strong light was streaming.
At this door my conductor stopped,and tapping gently at it,it was opened by a stout fellow,with buff-coat and jack-boots,and pistols stuck in his belt,as also a long cavalry sword by his side.
He spoke with my guide,and to my no small satisfaction,in French,which convinced me that he was one of the soldiers whom Louis had sent to support our king,and who were said to have arrived in Limerick,though,as I observed above,not with truth.
I was much assured by this circumstance,and made no doubt but that I had fallen in with one of those marauding parties of native Irish,who,placing themselves under the guidance of men of courage and experience,had done much brave and essential service to the cause of the king.
The soldier entered an inner door in the apartment,which opening disclosed a rude,dreary,and dilapidated room,with a low plank ceiling,much discoloured by the smoke which hung suspended in heavy masses,descending within a few feet of the ground,and completely obscuring the upper regions of the chamber.
A large fire of turf and heath was burning under a kind of rude chimney,shaped like a large funnel,but by no means discharging the functions for which it was intended.Into this inauspicious apartment was I conducted by my strange companions.
In the next room I heard voices employed,as it seemed,in brief questioning and answer;and in a minute the soldier re-entered the room,and having said,'Votre prisonnier--le general veut le voir,'he led the way into the inner room,which in point of comfort and cleanliness was not a whit better than the first.
Seated at a clumsy plank table,placed about the middle of the floor,was a powerfully built man,of almost colossal stature--his military accoutrements,cuirass and rich regimental clothes,soiled,deranged,and spattered with recent hard travel;the flowing wig,surmounted by the cocked hat and plume,still rested upon his head.On the table lay his sword-belt with its appendage,and a pair of long holster pistols,some papers,and pen and ink;also a stone jug,and the fragments of a hasty meal.His attitude betokened the languor of fatigue.His left hand was buried beyond the lace ruffle in the breast of his cassock,and the elbow of his right rested upon the table,so as to support his head.From his mouth protruded a tobacco-pipe,which as I entered he slowly withdrew.
A single glance at the honest,good-
humoured,comely face of the soldier satisfied me of his identity,and removing my hat from my head I said,'God save General Sarsfield!'
The general nodded 'I am a prisoner here under strange circumstances,'I continued 'I appear before you in a strange disguise.You do not recognise Captain Hardress Fitzgerald!'
'Eh,how's this?'said he,approaching me with the light.
'I am that Hardress Fitzgerald,'I
repeated,'who served under you at the Boyne,and upon the day of the action had the honour to protect your person at the expense of his own.'At the same time Iturned aside the hair which covered the scar which you well know upon my forehead,and which was then much more remarkable than it is now.
The general on seeing this at once recognised me,and embracing me cordially,made me sit down,and while I unstrapped my pack,a tedious job,my fingers being nearly numbed with cold,sent the men forth to procure me some provision.
The general's horse was stabled in a corner of the chamber where we sat,and his war-saddle lay upon the floor.At the far end of the room was a second door,which stood half open;a bogwood fire burned on a hearth somewhat less rude than the one which I had first seen,but still very little better appointed with a chimney,for thick wreaths of smoke were eddying,with every fitful gust,about the room.Close by the fire was strewed a bed of heath,intended,I supposed,for the stalwart limbs of the general.
'Hardress Fitzgerald,'said he,fixing his eyes gravely upon me,while he slowly removed the tobacco-pipe from his mouth,'I remember you,strong,bold and cunning in your warlike trade;the more desperate an enterprise,the more ready for it,you.
I would gladly engage you,for I know you trustworthy,to perform a piece of duty requiring,it may be,no extraordinary quality to fulfil;and yet perhaps,as accidents may happen,demanding every attribute of daring and dexterity which belongs to you.'
Here he paused for some moments.
I own I felt somewhat flattered by the terms in which he spoke of me,knowing him to be but little given to compliments;and not having any plan in my head,farther than the rendering what service Imight to the cause of the king,caring very little as to the road in which my duty might lie,I frankly replied:
'Sir,I hope,if opportunity offers,I
shall prove to deserve the honourable terms in which you are pleased to speak of me.In a righteous cause I fear not wounds or death;and in discharging my duty to my God and my king,I am ready for any hazard or any fate.Name the service you require,and if it lies within the compass of my wit or power,I will fully and faithfully perform it.Have I said enough?'